Overview
Climate Impact Lab is a research organisation established in 2016 as a collaborative initiative drawing expertise from universities and research institutions, including the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, University of California, Berkeley, Rhodium Group and Rutgers University. It is a nonprofit entity focused on measuring real-world impacts and economic costs of climate change using rigorous, evidence-based methodologies. Its work supports decision-making across public and private sectors by quantifying how climate change affects people, communities and economies.
Mission and focus areas
The primary goal of Climate Impact Lab is to produce high-resolution, data-driven insights into how climate change influences human health, labour productivity, agriculture, energy demand, coastal infrastructure, and other economic sectors. It develops detailed climate projection frameworks and applies big data analytics to link historical climate and socioeconomic data with future scenarios. It also generates empirically derived estimates of the social cost of carbon — a critical metric used in policy evaluation, corporate planning and investment decision-making. By making this data accessible, the Lab contributes to more informed risk assessment and climate adaptation strategies among investors, policymakers and sustainability practitioners.
Structure and governance
Climate Impact Lab operates as a collaborative research organisation with contributions from over 25 climate scientists, economists, data engineers and analysts. Its institutional partners include academic and research bodies that provide interdisciplinary expertise in climate science, economics and risk analysis. While based in the United States and administratively supported by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago, the Lab engages global partners and advisory networks to extend its research reach and policy impact.
Programs and offerings
The Lab produces a range of publicly accessible tools and resources, such as the Human Climate Horizons platform offering hyperlocal climate impact data, the Climate Impact Map with historical and projected climate metrics, and specialised datasets available through collaborations with platforms like Microsoft’s AI for Earth. It also offers analytical tools such as the Lives Saved Calculator and adaptation inventories to inform climate policy and investment decisions. Its research outputs include peer-reviewed studies on climate impacts across sectors, which are widely used by governments and financial institutions to integrate climate risk into planning processes.
Our Team
The Climate Impact Lab has a mission to measure and communicate the impacts of climate change on people to empower effective decision-making.
