SEI and partners recently began testing new technologies to enhance the Climate Connectivity Hub, a unique, online search-and-discovery tool they created to help people find information that can underpin efforts to better prepare for the impacts of climate change. The hub’s expanded reach is made possible by a new taxonomy, devised to bridge the diverging terminologies used in climate change and disaster risk decision-making at all levels, worldwide.
In this Q&A, Kate Williamson and Sukaina Bharwani explain the basics of the Climate Connectivity Hub and the new developments they are exploring to improve it.
What is the mission of the Climate Connectivity Hub? Why was it created?
There has long been a communications gap between people working in the fields of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. That is, people in these distinct but complementary fields do not use standardized terminology to describe their work. This can have huge ramifications for actions taking place on the ground. It means that people making decisions on related issues struggle to learn from one another’s work.
For a classic example, consider the phrase nature-based solutions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has its own definition: actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore ecosystems in ways that address societal challenges, and improve wellbeing and biodiversity. But this term is often used interchangeably with other terms, such as ecosystem-based adaptation, ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction, and green infrastructure.
It is easy to be confused when discussion of measures such as these relies on different terms, or on the same words used in different ways. This makes it hard for people seeking to take actions to come to grips with the distinctions – and to find the basics they want. It’s hard to know, say, which barriers are likely to arise, which actions are likely to help, which levers should be taken – or ruled out – to address challenges. In essence, the absence of a shared vocabulary hampers people’s efforts to mine the insights of others’ experiences and insights.
Six years ago, we began working on the Connectivity Hub concept to address these issues. We wanted to create an online tool that could help people working in both fields find what they need: relevant evidence, expertise, tools and methods, and good policy and practice insights.
And now what is the situation? Have things changed?
In a word, yes. The world isn’t static. Six years on, the impacts of climate change are growing before our eyes. The pressures on the public purse are also growing as disasters such as catastrophic floods and fires take their toll. Meanwhile, the amount of information, misinformation and deliberate disinformation is proliferating. Key pieces of information with the potential to provide insights that can underpin change are even more widely diffused across even more unconnected websites, platforms and databases. We are deluged with content of all kinds. This means that it takes even more time to find what we think we are looking for and to discern whether information is reliable.
At the same time, however, new technologies have come on. Artificial-intelligence and machine-learning tools are becoming more sophisticated. We are trying to harness these to help people discover relevant and accurate information.
A screenshot of the Climate Connectivity Hub responding to a search on issues related to nature-based solutions in Europe. A CORDIS project (purple node) is connected to its topic areas (orange nodes) and implementing organizations (green nodes).
Source: The Climate Connectivity Hub
Tell us about the hub’s new features and how they can help people find trusted information – and quickly.
We are integrating technologies that help uncover relevant, policy-oriented insights from the latest projects and case studies from key sources: CORDIS, the database of European Union (EU) research and development projects; Prevention Web, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) knowledge-sharing platform; and Climate-ADAPT, the EU portal for climate adaptation information.
Our recent work through the EU Maximising Impact and Accessibility of European Climate Research (MAIA) project made it possible to expand the underpinning taxonomy, which is open access and designed in a way to make it easy to use in climate research, policy, and practice.
This underpinning taxonomy now provides contextual information for more than 1,000 concepts by building on definitions from authoritative sources: the glossary of the IPCC and the Hazard Information Profiles assembled by the UNDRR and the International Science Council.
For concrete examples, see the hub’s definitions for concepts such as disaster response, heatwaves and co-design.
These new features mean more connections between people working in the field, their projects, their organizations, and the issues that are important to them. We are hoping this can lead to greater and faster paced innovation on the ground.
How could I use the hub? Can you give me some ideas?
Imagine you are working in city government, helping to develop, say, nature-based solutions to manage your city’s increased exposure to urban heat and flash floods. You want your strategy to be informed by tried-and-tested measures that integrate key issues: managing heatwaves, dealing with stormwater, and using green infrastructure. By coming to the hub, you can search using terms such as “urban”, “nature-based solutions”, and “green infrastructure”. The hub connects you with examples of efforts to address similar urban adaptation challenges within Europe and beyond.
Or, let’s say you are working in a city government seeking to be better prepared for disaster risks. You may want in-depth information about what causes flash floods and what can exacerbate or ease the impacts of such sudden flooding. You may want to explore approaches such as “co-design” or “systems thinking” to shed new light on ways to address the issues.
How can I and others help the hub improve?
Have a go and play around with it! You can get started by watching the explanatory video.
Give us your feedback! Do you find it easy to use? Does the hub meet your needs? Has it helped you find new projects or partners, or has it enhanced your understanding of climate change topics? Let us know by filling out our survey. All feedback will be used to shape and improve future iterations of the tool.
A special call to knowledge managers and tool developers: you can import our taxonomy into your own digital tools and platforms through our API (v1, released June 2025).
The Climate Connectivity Hub in brief:
Project / MAIA is an EU Horizon Europe project that seeks to expand the impact and uptake of European climate research.
Project / The EU Horizon project DIRECTED aims to improve the governance and management of climate disasters across multiple civil society and emergency agencies.
Project / The FAIR2Adapt project seeks to improve the accessibility and interoperability of data needed to inform climate change adaptation efforts.
Other publication / The authors advocate for the creation of a climate change "translator" to help climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction communities communicate better.
Perspective / Taxonomies have an important role to play in clarifying the meaning of the term "resilience", which is key to accelerating climate action and pandemic recovery.
Journal article / This article outlines key capacities needed for locally led knowledge co-production processes to address disaster risk and climate change adaptation.
