Climate Center Archives

Why is America still building houses in climate danger zones?

Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at https://www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/f8c00c80-1c41-4796-8f74-9d6f8f87a713 Debris litters a street in Punta Gorda, left, after Hurricane Ian in 2022. Barely two years later, the coastal city in south-west Florida was hit by Hurricane Milton, causing boats to wash ashore, right.

(Outlet: Financial Times) Developers are constructing more in high-risk areas — illustrating the twin challenges of adapting to severe weather while addressing a housing shortage.…Read More

How Can I Lower My Climate Risk When Buying a House?

Collage of a suburban house on a blue background with three colored question marks floating on top.

(Outlet: The New York Times) The danger from extreme weather is growing, and so are insurance costs. Here’s what to know.…Read More

U.S. housing market could lose nearly $1.5 trillion in value due to rising costs of climate change

Screenshot of Benjamin Keys speaking on CNBC with banner reading Benjamin Keys The Wharton School Professor.

(Outlet: CNBC) It’s still too soon to fully calculate the cost of the Los Angeles wildfires, but one thing is clear: The cost of insurance will go up, and that will affect not just the value of LA real estate but of real estate across the nation.…Read More

Will it become impossible to get a mortgage in high-risk areas in a decade?

(Outlet: NPR) Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell warned that it may become impossible to get a mortgage in some high-risk areas in 10-15 years. Is he right? Michel Martin asks University of Pennsylvania real estate professor Ben Keys.…Read More

Incentivizing Consumers to Use Energy Wisely

(Outlet: Wharton Business Daily) Wharton business economics and public policy professor Arthur van Benthem discusses his research on the benefits of dynamic electricity pricing.…Read More

California Wildfires: ESG Initiative Research and Resources

Fire fighting helicopter carry water bucket to extinguish the forest fire.

This collection of ESG Initiative research from the past eight years addresses cost and recovery from natural disasters, in light of the devastating California wildfires.…Read More

Climate Change to Wipe Away $1.5 Trillion in U.S. Home Values, Study Says

An image from the California Palisades wildfires, with palm trees in the background and a religious figurine on top of a demolished site in the foreground.

(Outlet: The Wall Street Journal) Rising home-insurance costs and more homeowners spurning some risky neighborhoods will drive these declines, according to First Street.…Read More

Energy Poverty and Utility Disconnections in the United States, with Sanya Carley

(Outlet: Resources Radio) In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Sanya Carley, a professor and faculty director at the University of Pennsylvania and a university fellow at Resources for the Future, about energy poverty in the United States. …Read More

As climate risks mount, homeowners far beyond California face soaring insurance bills

Burned house and backyard area in California wildfires.

(Outlet: CBS News) As disasters linked to climate change become more frequent in the U.S., homeowners across the country are paying the price through skyrocketing insurance costs — and not only in states like Florida and California that are considered most vulnerable to global warming. …Read More

With Housing Safety And Affordability At Stake, Experts Share Ideas

Map of average annual insurance premiums in the first half of 2023 by county showing many counties already stressed by high premium prices. From National Bureau of Economic Research

(Outlet: Forbes) As wildfires roar across southern California, these natural disasters are not only destroying homes but taking lives. Home insurance costs also are taking on a whole new dimension.…Read More