Coleman P. Burke Distinguished Visiting Professor Katharine Mach is leading interdisciplinary research efforts to translate climate data and knowledge into tangible action and policy.
When she first began her research career, Katharine Mach, the Coleman P. Burke Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Yale School of the Environment, was focused on coastal ocean environments. Yet, she soon realized that there was something missing — the biggest organism in the ecosystem — people.
She pivoted and started diving into how humans are impacting the ocean and how oceans and people are adapting to a changing environment — including warming seas, melting icebergs, and extreme heat. Specifically, she began to research how scientific data is being used to inform climate adaptation — what she calls the science of actionable knowledge.
“The disconnect between the near term and long term is huge,” Mach said. “Much of the work I do is about how to create methods of decision support and evidence to connect little things in the near term with long term pathways to transformation.”
It is now unambiguously the case that the most important adaptation is reducing emissions of greenhouse gases at the same time that we need to increase preparedness. We are pretty good at increasing preparedness for things we have already experienced. We are not good at preparing for the unprecedented.”
Mach grew up in the San Francisco Bay area where she witnessed the impact of the 1991 Oakland fires, which killed 25 people and destroyed more than 1,500 acres of property. The devastating California wildfires in 2018 and 2024 were evidence that what once seemed like once-in-a-lifetime occurrences were happening more regularly, she said.
“Climate change is becoming part of so many different life and work contexts,” Mach said. “People who don’t consider themselves adaptation professionals suddenly find themselves in those positions. They are in the space of effectively being first responders and key supports for adaptive action in the future to climate crises.”
Between July 2023 and June 2024 temperatures were the highest on record and surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels for the full year.
“This year, 2025 has been a banner year for climate complexity. It is now unambiguously the case that the most important adaptation is reducing emissions of greenhouse gases at the same time that we need to increase preparedness. We are pretty good at increasing preparedness for things we have already experienced. We are not good at preparing for the unprecedented,” Mach noted during a recent BIOMES presentation at YSE.
Mach served as director of science for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II Technical Support Unit in 2015 and chairs the department of environmental science and policy at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmosphere, and Earth Science. Her research delves into a range of climate adaptation issues from community floodplain development to the household risks of indoor heat and energy affordability to insurance and climate risks and coastal nature-based solutions.
In one study, Mach worked with the “Super Heat Trio,” scientists and students from diverse disciplines including public health, engineering, and meteorology on a study of heat temperatures within households in Miami-Dade County. They found that many houses were so hot they were effectively functioning as greenhouses. In these homes, temperatures were higher than outdoor temperatures and residents were struggling to pay the costs of air conditioning.
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“We were able to provide evidence in real time that directly informed emerging heat policy in Miami-Dade County,” she said.
At YSE, Mach is teaching a spring course in climate adaptation, which explores the challenges facing various climate change adaptation initiatives. Students analyze the issues across disciplines — from city and regional planning to climate science, political science, and geography — and create solutions and strategies for more transformative adaptations.
Nate Warszawski ’25 MEM, a student in Mach’s class, said the course is helpful in practice because it covers multidisciplinary approaches to climate adaptation.
“The course gives students a foundational understanding of key adaptation concepts so that they can be impactful practitioners post-graduation — and practitioner runs the gamut. Whether you’re going to city-level sustainability or corporate sustainability or to global climate politics, Katie’s class offers flexibility for each student to meet their professional needs and goals,” Warszawski said.
Mach said she hits on three important issues on adapting to climate risks when sharing her research: climate risks are not just exacerbated by a changing climate but are strongly shaped by social, economic and governmental systems; no one is going to adapt on their own; and adaptation touches every part of the human experience.
“Adaptation moving forward really necessitates more collaborative approaches,” she said.
