Miami, FL. – January 13, 2025 – The CLEO Institute [CLEO], a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan organization exclusively dedicated to climate education, advocacy, and engagement, today joined the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and more than 50 labor, industry, health, housing, environmental, academic, and community associations and organizations in unveiling the 2025 Heat Policy Agenda. This strategy provides specific, actionable policy ideas to tackle the growing threat of extreme heat in the United States, which now affects all 50 states.

“Extreme heat has become a public health hazard, increasing the risks for vulnerable groups with chronic illnesses, pregnant women, seniors, unhoused individuals, and outdoors workers, among others,” says Joanne Pérodin, Senior Director of Climate Equity of The CLEO Institute. “In Florida, a 2024 report by the Florida Policy Institute indicated that 1 in 4 residents of Florida are highly vulnerable to extreme heat. That’s over 26% of the state’s population. We need to protect the well-being of all humans.”

“The 2025 Heat Policy Agenda lays out a comprehensive strategy for how to build U.S. resilience to extreme heat using science, technology, and evidence-based solutions,” says Daniel Correa, CEO of the Federation of American Scientists. “These ideas are also designed to increase government efficiency, protect critical infrastructure, and secure our Nation’s economy. We look forward to helping political leaders pursue rapid implementation of this critical agenda with the ultimate goal of protecting the health and wellbeing of people across the nation.”

“Extreme heat doesn’t just affect ‘hot’ places anymore,” adds Dr. Hannah Safford, FAS Associate Director of Climate and Environment. “Even states like Alaska and Maine are now getting dangerously hot over the summer. Fortunately, we’ve identified bipartisan solutions that could be taken up immediately, paying dividends to our society for years to come.”

Rollout of the Heat Policy Agenda comes as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirms 2024 as the hottest year on record, continuing a sustained trend. The 10 warmest years in modern history have all occurred during the past decade. Extreme heat now affects tens of millions of Americans each year, and costs the country more than $160 billion annually in health costs, lost productivity, and other impacts. The Agenda outlines ways the federal government can protect people, places, and the economy, such as by:

• Establishing a clear, sustained federal governance structure for extreme heat.
• Amending the Stafford Act to explicitly define extreme heat as a “major disaster”, thereby unlocking federal relief funds during heat waves.
• Including extreme heat as a core component of national preparedness and public-health capabilities.
• Retaining and expanding critical federal programs that prepare homes and other infrastructure against threats like power outages.
• Transforming the built and landscaped environment through strategic investments in urban forestry and green infrastructure to cool communities, transportation systems to secure safe movement of people and goods, and power infrastructure to ready for greater load demand.
  

“As a Nation, we’ve underinvested in extreme heat relative to other natural hazards – but heat kills more people each year than hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods combined,” observes Grace Wickerson, FAS Health Equity Policy Manager. “Our 2025 Heat Policy Agenda addresses this emerging public health crisis from the ground up, with an emphasis on protecting children, the elderly, and other vulnerable populations.”

The 2025 Heat Policy Agenda represents insights and perspectives from hundreds of practitioners, technical experts, and community leaders. The full list of organizations co-signing the Agenda and urging immediate policy action on extreme heat is listed below. Please fill out this form if your organization would like to be added to this list.

Signatories Urging Policy Action on Extreme Heat

Alliance of Nurses for a Healthy Environment
American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees
American Forests
American Lung Association
Arizona State University’s Knowledge Exchange for Resilience
Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
California ReLeaf
Center for American Progress
Center for Biological Diversity
Center for Energy Poverty and Climate
Center for Invasive Species Prevention
Children’s Environmental Health Network
Climate Mayors
Climate Power
Climate Resilience Center
Climate Resolve
Dade County Street Response
Earth Ethics, Inc.
Elevate
Energy Equity Project
Federation of American Scientists
Food Tank
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
Grid Alternatives
Groundwork USA
ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
Institute for Market Transformation
King County, Washington
Korey Stringer Institute
La Isla Network
League of Conservation Voters
MetroLab Network
Moms Clean Air Force
National Center for Healthy Housing
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Consumer Law Center
National Council on Occupational Safety and Health
National Employment Law Project
National Energy Assistance Directors Association
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Recreation and Parks Association
National Young Farmers Coalition
Natural Resources Defense Council
New America Future of Land and Housing Program
Next100
Organizing Resilience
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Rebuild by Design
Smart Growth America
Smart Home America
Smart Surfaces Coalition
Southeast Sustainability Directors Network
Ten Across Resilience Network
The CLEO Institute
The New Buildings Institute
The Passive House Network
Toxic Free NC
Trust for Public Land
Undaunted K12
Union of Concerned Scientists
Urban Sustainability Directors Network
We Act for Environmental Justice
WeCount!
Women with Broken Heals
Yale Center on Climate Change and Health

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ABOUT THIS COALITION
More than 50 labor, health, industry, environmental, and community organizations join with the Federation of American Scientists to support the 2025 Heat Policy Agenda, a comprehensive, common-sense strategy to tackle the growing threat of extreme heat in the United States. This call for action comes as 2024 is officially declared the hottest year on record, continuing a sustained trend. Extreme heat now affects tens of millions of Americans each year, and costs the country more than $160 billion annually in health costs, lost productivity, and other impacts. Rapid implementation of the 2025 Heat Policy Agenda will mitigate heat impacts, boosting the U.S. economy and making it safer for all Americans to live, work, and play.

RESOURCES

Extreme Heat Policy Agenda