GIS for Climate Action

The GIS for Climate Action course by Esri, offered through Independent Learning platform, provides a practical and insightful introduction to how geographic information systems can be used to address climate change challenges. The course is well-structured, guiding learners through key areas such as visualizing climate data, assessing vulnerability and risk, and exploring mitigation and adaptation strategies.

One of its strongest aspects is the hands-on approach, which allows learners to apply spatial analysis tools to real-world climate issues. The integration of case studies and interactive exercises enhances understanding and makes complex concepts accessible. Additionally, the course emphasizes actionable solutions, such as urban greening and risk mapping, which are highly relevant for planners, researchers, and policymakers. The course is highly valuable for anyone interested in leveraging GIS for climate resilience. It not only builds technical skills but also encourages critical thinking about sustainable solutions, making it a worthwhile learning experience for both beginners and professionals.

Excellent Course for Understanding and Applying GIS to Climate Change

This course offers an outstanding introduction to how GIS can be applied to analyze and address climate change challenges. As a PhD researcher in Architecture and Planning, I found the course incredibly relevant and practical—especially the focus on spatial analysis tools for climate vulnerability, exposure, and adaptation planning.

One of the highlights was the use of real-world case studies and hands-on activities using tools like ArcGIS Pro, Dashboards, StoryMaps, and ArcGIS Solutions. These helped me understand how to create data-driven and equitable solutions for climate resilience, from mapping urban heat islands to planning healthcare accessibility during extreme weather events.

The course content is clear, well-structured, and accessible even for those who may be new to GIS. I especially appreciated the emphasis on local action supported by global insights, and how spatial thinking can lead to real-world change.

Suggestions for Improvement:
More examples from regions like South Asia or the Global South would add broader context.

A few advanced tutorials (optional) could help learners who want to deepen their skills in spatial modeling or climate risk analytics.

Peer feedback or collaboration features could enhance the learning community experience.

Overall, this course is a must for anyone working in climate science, urban planning, public health, or environmental studies. Highly recommended!

I loved this course! I am NOT a natural GIS user, and have never touched anything "GIS related" before (except to watch). I generally stay far away from "big data", and I work very slowly through technical reading and assignments.

Still, this course was so interesting and well presented - the exercises are very well documented, with "hints" to show students how each step is supposed to look when done correctly. The exercises themselves are challenging but awesome - so relevant in both subject matter, skills and the specific Esri tools. It was a lot of work, many hours, and still very satisfying to complete each assignment.

Finally, It gives me such hope, as a long-time climate activist, frantic about the climate work still ahead, to know that Esri makes this course and these fabulous tools available to non-technical people like me. For Free. May thousands of people take this course!

Disappointing. Narrowly avoided 2* review

It seemed like the course was rushed into production, with errors, and a required software upgrade early in the course, which wasn't available at the start of that section.

Suport from the Esri team in the Forum was not apparent, relying wholly on other delegates.

Extremely challenging for inexperienced ArcGIS users. Easy to make minor errors; much harder to find out what the problem was. Some exercises, particularly in the early sections, I was not able to resolve the problems and complete. From the forum posts, others clearly had similar difficulties.

This was my second MOOC. Had it been my first, it would have been my last. In fact I probably wouldn't have persisted beyond the early problems to complete it.