The Weekly: Climate Risk Literacy in Commercial Real Estate
Extreme weather, rising insurance premiums, new carbon regulations, and shifting market expectations are pushing commercial real estate (CRE) into uncharted territory.
From Iowa's pioneering flood-monitoring network to North Carolina's comprehensive resilience blueprint, states are demonstrating what's possible when local leaders take ownership of their climate futures.
Last week, New York City experienced another round of flash flooding thanks to a violent downpour, highlighting a thorny question: When do you harden infrastructure against stormwater, and when do you work with it?
Historically, strong federal environmental regulations drove government action to manage water resources -- that’s changing as more communities experience flooding and see the benefits of nature-based solutions to mitigate those impacts.
Municipal leaders have an opportunity to lead their communities to a resilient future and mitigate flood risk. A case study from Algonquin, IL highlights resiliency investments that have fundamentally transformed how flooding affects the community and have yielded significant cost savings.
Three key levers present opportunity for private capital to improve the resiliency of infrastructure and assets during hurricanes: reduce exposure by pricing in disaster risk, fortify assets with hurricane-resilient materials, create partnerships between public and private actors.
Hurricanes are the most costly type of climate disaster. The high cost comes from population growth in hurricane-prone areas, incentives that motivate rebuilding in those same areas, and physical assets in harm's way that aren't designed to withstand severe hurricanes.