Massive dust storm driven by high wind billowed over much of the Middle East on May 16, 2022 (NASA)

Coastal Futures Resilience Initiative (CFRI)

Year

2026

Grant Level

Seed Grant

Focus Area

Preventing Catastrophic Sea Level Rise

The Coastal Futures Resilience Initiative (CFRI) explores whether large-scale, gravity-fed refilling of below-sea-level basins and shrinking inland seas can serve as a responsible, low-externality, and cost-effective way to directly slow global sea-level rise. Sea levels are set to keep rising for decades, regardless of how quickly (or not) climate mitigation and decarbonization efforts scale. Further, alongside accelerating global warming, rates of sea level rise globally are also accelerating, roughly doubling since the turn of the century. Faster acting sea-level resilience strategies are needed, and strategically sited inland refilling could lower global sea levels by tens of centimeters while protecting trillions of dollars in assets and tens of millions of people. 

CFRI’s first research phase entails proof-of-concept work focused on the Qattara Depression, the Dead Sea, and the Caspian Sea to produce high-resolution physical and geochemical modeling, life-cycle benefit–cost analysis, and governance frameworks. These studies will create a replicable playbook to evaluate, select, and fund future sites.

Program Personnel

Charlotte Love

Program Lead

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Charlotte A. Love, Ph.D., leads program design and execution for CFRI. She holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Engineering (UC Irvine), with research spanning natural hazards, hydrometeorology, and spatial extreme value analysis. Her doctoral, post-doctoral, and fellowships work bridged the gap between science and policy by translating environmental data into information and tools for agency-level decision making. This work encompassed improving flood risk models for flood control infrastructure design, assessing changes in Mississippi River low-flows for shipping channel maintenance, and developing a Composite Natural Hazard Index for Rail to inform transportation resilience investment. As a AAAS S&T Policy Fellow, she gained experience in Federal-level science policy and multi-agency collaboration. Her cross-sector, international consensus-building experience includes co-leading the NSF AccelNet PEER2PEER Transboundary Water Security network spanning North America, MENA, and Central Asia, in collaboration with the National Academies.

Seed Grants

ARC’s Seed grants will provide early-stage funding to catalyze promising ideas addressing catastrophic climate risks.

ARC Seed grants support promising ideas with exploratory efforts, scoping studies, concept development, early-stage research, and small pilot projects, to help develop and refine innovative concepts or unblock initial barriers.

Timeline: ARC Seed grants are provided for 3-6 month engagements.

Grant Amount: ARC’s Seed grants generally provide $30–100K in funding as well as deep engagement on project design and strategy.

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Build Grants

ARC’s Build grants will enable leaders to turn promising concepts into actionable programs.

ARC Build grants support the development of independent organizations or partnerships with existing entities, focusing on activities such as program planning, roadmapping, early implementation, and organizational development.

Timeline: ARC Build grants are provided for 6-month to 1-year engagements.

Grant Amount: ARC’s Build grants generally provide $100-400k in funding as well as strategic and operational support, and a variety of technical expertise.

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Scale Partners

ARC’s Scale grants will empower our partner organizations to achieve significant impact by advancing key program objectives.

ARC’s Scale Partnerships provide targeted support to help organizations working on challenges aligned with ARC’s mission to enhance their efforts addressing climate risks.

In addition to resources, we offer technical expertise, strategic guidance for organizational growth and research, and hands-on support in fundraising and partnership development. By working closely with our partners, we ensure that promising initiatives are well-positioned to succeed and grow.

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