The relationship between business and climate change involves both risks and opportunities. Three risks, in particular, deserve close consideration as each of them highlights business opportunities for the future. Transition Risks What are they? These are the business risks design and construction firms face related to changes in the policy and regulatory landscape; in other... Continue Reading →
Climate change risks may seem too colossal and global for most businesses to be relatable, especially for non-publicly traded companies. Soon enough, however, all businesses will need to take stock and internalize business model impacts of climate change—the transition risks and opportunities— and climate change impacts on business—the physical risks of rising temperatures and related... Continue Reading →
What is a National Climate Bank? Despite the name, it isn’t really a bank in the traditional sense of the word because it isn’t a depository institution. Rather, it’s a non-profit 501(c)(3) created for the sole purpose of leveraging limited public funding (through financing instruments such as market term loans, soft loans, equity investments, and... Continue Reading →
Although the federal government has been delaying or rescinding programs that address alternative energy sourcing and climate resiliency, the Department of Defense (DoD) is looking at ways to reduce energy usage and protect military installations from the effects of climate change. Last month, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (Act) was signed into... Continue Reading →
The dramatic images of water crashing down the Oroville Dam Spillway in California have shown us that we are dependent on infrastructure that is now well over 50 years old. Engineers know that the hydrologic models used to model weather events are based on data that was collected decades ago. As noted in an article... Continue Reading →
In January of 2015, the Obama Administration issued Executive Order 13690. The order was aimed at improving resilience to current and future flood risks and modified the 1977 Executive order 119888, which addressed flood plain development. Among other actions, the new order directed FEMA to develop a proposed amendment to 44 CFR part 9, “Floodplain... Continue Reading →
The scale of the recent Louisiana floods have shown that one of the effects of global climate change is increased rain storms that lead to flooding. Experts say that recent floods in multiple states (from Maryland to South Carolina to Louisiana to Texas) that were identified in the media as a once-in-every 500 or 1,000-year... Continue Reading →
As sea levels rise, design firms need to be aware of the relatively new concept of "resilient" buildings. While many firms will incorporate the principles of resilient design into their practices in the coming decade, doing so is not part of today’s standard of care. Resilient design recommendations are in response to studies that address... Continue Reading →
