ESG Initiative News

February 15, 2018 Bob Meyer Co-Director, Wharton Risk Center Sea level rise threatens coastal communities around the world. In densely developed, low-lying regions such as South Florida, the threat is particularly acute.  One of the most financially vulnerable regions on the planet, an intermediate sea level rise scenario could result…Read More

February 13, 2018 SiriusXM Business Radio Powered by The Wharton School recently had a segment on the Cape Town water crisis.  Host Don Loney of the Knowledge@Wharton show discussed the current situation in Cape Town and what it tells us about the future of water in a changing climate with guests…Read More

February 13, 2018 Carolyn Kousky, Brett Lingle*, Howard Kunreuther, and Leonard Shabman In October 2018, the Wharton Risk Center’s Policy Incubator hosted a workshop designed to evaluate policy options for expanding the number of people with flood insurance in the United States, particularly those of low and moderate income. The…Read More

January 24, 2018 Carolyn Kousky Director of Policy Research and Engagement Climate change is here.  2017 set a record for disaster damages.  Such record-breaking is the new normal.  Hurricane Irma was the strongest storm observed in the Atlantic.  Harvey set a new rainfall record for North America.  Records were set…Read More

January 17, 2018 2017 proved to be one of the costliest disaster years on record.  Total damages in the US for the year are estimated to exceed $300 billion.  Insured losses for all natural disasters in 2017 will total around $135 billion. Do events like these cause (re)insurers to update…Read More

November 20, 2017 Carolyn Kousky Director of Policy Research and Engagement The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is the predominant provider of flood insurance nationally.  Communities across the country can voluntarily join the program. In exchange for their residents being able to purchase federal flood policies, they must adopt minimum…Read More

November 16, 2017 Marilyn Montgomery At the time of this post, Marilyn was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Wharton Risk Center. Flood insurance takes a variety of forms around the world. To complement ongoing discussions about flood insurance reform, the Wharton Risk Center developed an interactive flood insurance market e-platform…Read More

September 15, 2017 Brett Lingle Senior Research Coordinator at Wharton Risk Center Hurricane Harvey destroyed vital roads, public infrastructure, and hundreds of thousands of homes across Houston and southeast Texas. In Florida, Hurricane Irma has left communities reeling with widespread blackouts, severe coastal flooding, and crippled telecommunications systems. When floodwaters…Read More

September 15, 2017 Carolyn Kousky Director of Policy Research and Engagement at Wharton Risk Center The first few days after a disaster, such as we have recently experienced with Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, are about emergency response: making sure people are safe, reuniting families, securing housing, filling necessities and restoring lifelines.…Read More