Most recent 40 articles: Yale Climate Connections - Economic
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How climate change is affecting every U.S. region - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Nov 20) |
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Nov 20 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Climate change is making the weather weird in every region of the United States.
That’s a key takeaway of the new fifth National Climate Assessment, a sweeping, U.S.-focused report in which top climate scientists summarize the latest research on climate change science, impacts, and solutions.
As the climate warms, most of the Eastern United States is becoming wetter and thus faces increased flood risks. At the same time, the Western states are mostly becoming drier, the risk of droughts and wildfires is rising.
The National Climate ... Read more ...
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Green careers can provide a new way forward after prison - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Nov 15) |
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Nov 15 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Kerry Vadasz was sent to prison when she was 20. For years behind bars, she struggled to find direction.
But she says her life changed when she got involved with an environmental literacy and green job training program called Roots of Success.
Vadasz: “It offers opportunity for men and women to actually find a path forward in their life and not have to go back to their old lives.”
Roots of Success is offered at prisons, schools, and job training centers. It exposes participants to career paths in renewable energy, green building, clean ... Read more ...
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In wildfire-prone areas, homeowners are learning they’re uninsurable - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Oct 26) |
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Oct 26 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
It wasn’t the first summer Justin Guay went outside and choked on smoke. Or the second. But by the time wildfire season seemed to last year-round, he decided to move his family away from California and back to Utah, where he’d grown up.
In 2020, Guay bought a house in Wasatch County near the jagged mountains, where he thought the worst climate impacts would be warmer winters with higher snow lines. An avid skier, Guay thought that was bad enough. But this spring, a letter arrived from his homeowners insurance company, brokered through Progressive. ... Read more ...
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The world’s poorest people won’t be able to migrate to escape climate disasters - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Sep 26) |
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Sep 26 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Climate change will cause more intense droughts, extreme flooding, and crippling heat waves in many parts of the world.
In response, some people may become climate refugees.
But Hélène Benveniste of Harvard University found that as conditions become more extreme, it will get harder for many of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people to move. So some will be unable to escape.
“It’s costly to move, particularly if you’re going to move further away, and especially if you’re going to move across borders,” she ... Read more ...
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The Inflation Reduction Act is reducing U.S. reliance on China - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Sep 20) |
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Sep 20 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Do you plan to take advantage of clean energy tax credits?
Tell us about it in this brief survey.
On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. Over a year later, its climate provisions remain a hot topic.
The law’s proponents argue that it’s created a boom in domestic manufacturing jobs within the United States while paving the way for significant climate pollution cuts. Its opponents claim that by accelerating the transition to clean technologies like electric vehicles and solar panels whose main ... Read more ...
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Report card: Biden’s accomplishments on climate justice - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Jun 02, 2023) |
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Jun 02, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Do you plan to take advantage of clean energy tax credits?
Tell us about it in this brief survey.
With President Joe Biden’s election came a slew of promises related to climate justice: During his campaign, Biden made commitments to reduce oil and gas drilling, transition the country toward renewable energy and electric vehicles, and center environmental justice in all aspects of federal climate policy and finance. And since his election, his administration has set its sights on communities in Appalachia, along coastlines, and the Gulf South, all ... Read more ...
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Baltimore residents get career training in urban forestry - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (May 23, 2023) |
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May 23, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Like in many cities, wealthy neighborhoods in Baltimore have lots of trees that provide shade and help cool the neighborhood on hot days. But other parts of Baltimore have few trees.
“Specifically, minority neighborhoods, neighborhoods that have been historically disenfranchised and disinvested in, those are the neighborhoods, unfortunately, that have a very low tree canopy cover,” says Ryan Alston of the Baltimore Tree Trust.
The group hires Baltimore residents and trains them to become neighborhood forestry technicians. These technicians plant ... Read more ...
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Flooding is pummeling the Southeast U.S. These organizers are fighting back. - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Feb 17, 2023) |
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Feb 17, 2023 · Stay in the know about climate impacts and solutions. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Yale Climate Connections
Beverly May, retired nurse practitioner and current epidemiologist at the University of Kentucky, lives maybe 100 feet from the house she grew up in Floyd County, Kentucky. She characterizes her community as “hillbilly country,” an area in central Appalachia that once served as a critical cog in the coal industry’s wheel. When historic floods ravaged the area in late July 2022, May decided to trade in her medical work for flood research and activism with the nonprofit community well-being organization Kentuckians for the Commonwealth.
“I’ve lived here ... Read more ...
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Utility workers are seeing the consequences of increasingly extreme weather firsthand - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Feb 03, 2023) |
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Feb 03, 2023 · Yale Climate Connections
When extreme rain hits, water utility workers need to respond quickly to keep communities safe from flooding, sewer overflows, and other hazards.
“These folks are in the trenches, literally dealing with extreme events,” says Katerina Gonzales, a researcher at the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership.
She’s helping Seattle Public Utilities find ways to engage their front-line workers in preparing for more extreme weather.
“Oftentimes, planning for adaptation is siloed in planning departments or policy departments, and they don’t value the lived experience of the front-line workers,” Gonzales says.
But she says ... Read more ...
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Shift in tuna populations could cost small Pacific islands $90 million a year - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Dec 20, 2022) |
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Dec 20, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
In Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, and other small Pacific island nations, the tuna fishing industry is a linchpin of the economy.
“It is very significant … mainly in revenue for the countries,” says Sangaalofa Clark, CEO of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement Office.
The organization was created by an agreement among small Pacific islands to collaboratively manage the region’s tuna fishery.
Fishing vessel owners from around the world pay access fees to fish in these nations’ waters. And in several of the countries, that money provides more than 40% of government revenue each year.
But as oceans warm, tuna populations are ... Read more ...
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Wisconsin program aims to boost diversity in clean energy economy - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Nov 23, 2022) |
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Nov 23, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
The clean energy and green building industries are growing rapidly.
And Baltazar De Anda Santana of the Latino Academy of Workforce Development in Madison, Wisconsin, wants to make sure people of color share in the benefits.
“I want to see Latinos, I want to see African Americans, doing solar installation,” he says. “I want to see them out there, making the money that is going to help them not just support their families, but for them to be able to have options, to have opportunities.”
So to equip people with the knowledge they need to break into the industry, his group helped lead a pilot program for minority contractors.
The ... Read more ...
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Five countries have cost the world $6 trillion in global warming losses - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Nov 16, 2022) |
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Nov 16, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Climate change is a global problem. So when one country produces carbon pollution, it causes warming in other countries, too. That can cause economic losses - for example, by making it harder to grow crops.
Christopher Callahan is a Ph.D. student in the climate modeling and impacts group at Dartmouth College. His team analyzed how much individual countries have contributed to global warming and the effects of that warming on other countries and their economies.
“We found that individual major emitters have caused substantial economic changes across the globe,” he says.
According to the study, warming caused by just five countries - ... Read more ...
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Detroit nonprofit inspires young people to pursue environmental careers - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Oct 07, 2022) |
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Oct 07, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Learning to care for the environment can help inspire young people and give them a new sense of purpose.
That principle helps guide youth programming at the Green Door Initiative, a Detroit-based nonprofit.
The group runs a paid summer program in which young people from underserved neighborhoods learn about pollution, flooding, and other environmental issues.
They also learn about careers in fields such as green building and natural resource management, and get experience with hands-on skills like water monitoring, invasive species removal, and carpentry.
Green Door founder Donele Wilkins says the program can empower and ... Read more ...
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Thinking of buying an EV? Hurry up … and wait … or? - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Sep 28, 2022) |
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Sep 28, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
The rush to buy for many is on when it comes to thinking about electric vehicles, EVs.
Hurry and buy now? Maybe.
Wait and buy later? Maybe.
It’s complicated.
And that’s not just because of the new Inflation Reduction Act. Many states also have incentive programs designed to get residents to buy electric vehicles. And there are all kinds of state and federal one-off endeavors designed to lay groundwork so you can actually use the EV when you buy it.
Yup – it can get very, very complicated and would-be EV buyers are going to have to spend time and effort figuring it all out.
“I don’t know how it’s going to look moving ... Read more ...
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Stuck with the bill: Local governments deluged with rising climate damage costs - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Sep 21, 2022) |
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Sep 21, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Much of Columbus, Ohio, was without power for days this past June as the local electric utility struggled to manage simultaneous impacts of powerful storms and a heat wave. Many buildings lost air conditioning, and the city faced a potential public health crisis. Officials directed residents to several cooling centers, including a museum that was paid $60,000 per day to open its doors to the public.
According to Columbus City Council member Rob Dorans, this fee is just one of the many expenses added to the municipal books as rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns have strained the infrastructure in the Ohio capital. Since 2019, ... Read more ...
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70% of recent home buyers considered disaster risk in deciding where to live - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Sep 16, 2022) |
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Sep 16, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Prospective home buyers usually consider how many bedrooms and bathrooms a house has and its price per square foot. But that’s not all.
“Seven out of 10 recent home buyers considered natural disaster risk when deciding where to live,” says Sara Brinton of Realtor.com.
She says many buyers are growing particularly concerned about wildfires.
So the real estate website now provides information on wildfire risk with a third-party tool called Fire Factor.
It ranks properties on a scale from one to 10 based on their risk of being damaged by wildfire over the next 30 years.
The ranking is based on projected regional fire risk as ... Read more ...
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Colorado program helps homeowners reduce wildfire risk - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Sep 14, 2022) |
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Sep 14, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Of the five largest wildfires in Colorado history, four have happened since 2018.
“With a drier climate, with higher temperatures … the chance for these catastrophic wildfires is going to increase over time. … People are scared and they need somewhere to turn for assistance,” says Jim Webster with Wildfire Partners, a Boulder County program.
When a homeowner signs up, a specialist inspects their property for free - looking at everything from the spacing of the trees to what’s under their deck and in their gutters.
Then the specialist gives the homeowner a personalized list of action items.
Once the homeowner completes everything ... Read more ...
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As green jobs boom, the Green Workers Alliance wants to make sure workers are paid fairly - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Sep 05, 2022) |
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Sep 05, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
As the U.S. works to reduce its carbon pollution, green jobs are booming. More than 3 million workers across the country are now employed in the clean energy industry.
As lead organizer for the Green Workers Alliance, Nico Ries (they/them) wants to make sure opportunities in clean energy continue to grow and that companies provide workers with fair wages and safe conditions.
“So often we see folks talking about, 'Oh, we need better jobs,’ but it’s at the expense of climate, and then climate ignoring issues in labor,” Ries says. “So we’re really trying to be this kind of conduit between the two and saying, 'No, we need to aggressively fight ... Read more ...
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Coal communities are changing, so a project is capturing residents’ stories - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Jul 29, 2022) |
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Jul 29, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
For generations, many Ohio residents have worked in the coal industry.
“I personally am a coal miner’s daughter. My grandfather and my great grandfather were both miners,” says Gwynn Stewart of the Ohio State University Extension in Noble County.
She says the coal industry shaped people’s lives and identities. But as the country transitions to cleaner forms of energy, many coal mines and power plants are shutting down.
So Stewart is part of an effort to explore what coal communities are going through and share their stories through exhibitions and performances.
The team, led by Jeffrey Jacquet of Ohio State, has collected photos ... Read more ...
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Apprenticeship program trains people for clean energy jobs - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Jul 08, 2022) |
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Jul 08, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
The clean energy industry is booming. And companies need more licensed electricians who can install solar panels, electric vehicle chargers, battery storage, and more.
Vaughan Woodruff is director of workforce development at New England-based ReVision Energy. He says the workforce needs to grow quickly in size and diversity.
“We need more women involved. We need more representatives from communities of color involved. We need folks with disabilities, and veterans, and across the board,” Woodruff says.
But many people cannot afford to stop working to take outside training programs, or they have family commitments that conflict with ... Read more ...
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As electric cars gain popularity, states will need to make up lost gas-tax revenue - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Jun 15, 2022) |
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Jun 15, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
States use revenue from gas taxes to help pay for road and bridge maintenance, but electric vehicles do not use gas. So as hybrid cars and electric vehicles become more popular, states may find themselves short on funds.
“When we get to a certain level, no doubt it’s going to be impacting our revenue and start constraining our ability to maintain our roads and bridges,” says Michelle Godfrey of the Oregon Department of Transportation.
Her state is one of many that is exploring solutions.
“Every state in the nation is experiencing the same problem,” Godfrey says. “It’s universal.”
Since 2015, Oregon has offered drivers the option ... Read more ...
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Massachusetts group works for diversity in the offshore wind industry - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Jun 07, 2022) |
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Jun 07, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Massachusetts is going all-in on offshore wind power. The state’s already working to obtain enough for a quarter of its annual electricity. And that figure is expected to grow.
As the offshore wind industry takes off, it’s expected to create tens of thousands of jobs.
“And I think they’re a mix of different jobs. So we have to make sure that we’re training people up and tooling them up to be ready,” says Kerry Bowie, executive director of Browning the Green Space, a group that promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion in the clean energy industry.
His organization is working with Xodus, a consulting firm, to reach out to women, people ... Read more ...
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Wisconsin bond program helps nonprofits afford solar - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Jun 06, 2022) |
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Jun 06, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Many nonprofit organizations would like to install solar panels. But the upfront costs can be prohibitive for groups on tight budgets.
So an organization in Wisconsin has created a financing model to help community groups go solar.
Elise Couillard is with Legacy Solar Co-op. Through the group’s Slice of Sun solar bonds program, co-op members can invest in 12-year bonds that help cover the cost of solar arrays at nonprofits and community groups.
Bond holders earn interest while supporting a cause they believe in.
“Our members are some of the fiercest supporters of solar,” Couillard says.
In 2021, the program helped finance ... Read more ...
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Driving with electricity is much cheaper than with gasoline - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Jun 02, 2022) |
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Jun 02, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
The rising cost of gasoline and diesel is both a frequent headline and an ongoing financial drain for many, let alone a major issue in the upcoming November midterm elections. But unlike previous gas crunches, some consumers now have options about the energy source that powers their driving.
Not long ago, electric vehicles were the domain of early-adopters and wealthy consumers, but times are changing fast. Moderately priced EVs range from $27,400 to $34,000, and as gasoline prices climb, EVs can offer respite from rising fuel costs.
As of June 1, 2022, the U.S. average price of regular gasoline was $4.67, according to AAA, and gas prices ... Read more ...
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Now hiring: The U.S. needs more clean energy workers - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (May 31, 2022) |
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May 31, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
President Biden has called for the U.S. to use 100% clean electricity by 2035. But a labor shortage could slow that plan. Not enough workers are trained to install and maintain solar and wind technology.
“I think for a very long time, we as a society have made an assumption that if we create the demand, there will be people there to build and implement the solutions that we set as a priority. That’s not the reality that we’re living in right now,” says Vaughan Woodruff, who leads workforce development at ReVision Energy, a New England-based solar installer.
He says a key to growing the workforce is debunking the false narrative that trade ... Read more ...
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Climate change has created a new workforce - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (May 16, 2022) |
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May 16, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
After wildfire flames die out, hurricane winds subside, or floodwaters recede, the hard work of disaster recovery begins.
“Climate change has created an entirely new workforce … that comes in after storms, floods, and fires to rebuild homes and hospitals and entire cities,” Saket Soni says.
Soni is executive director of Resilience Force, an initiative that supports the people doing this work.
He says they’re often migrant workers who travel from one disaster zone to another.
They’re hired by contractors to do dirty and sometimes dangerous work - fixing roofs, clearing debris off roads, and cleaning out damaged homes.
“You ... Read more ...
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Readings on climate-change impacts and insurance - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (May 13, 2022) |
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May 13, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Most of us know by now that climate change has all sorts of financial repercussions. Among them is the cost of insurance against damage caused by increasingly damaging wildfires, floods, and other extreme weather. Here are some stories to bring you up to speed on this topic and some of its tangents.
Start here for a story focused on last summer’s catastrophic floods in Germany that lays out the core philosophical dilemma of opposing kinds of unfairness: making individual homeowners pay for a global problem versus making all taxpayers pay for damage to homes built in especially risky places. “How do you insure yourself against climate change?” ... Read more ...
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Apartment building retrofits can help the climate and save tenants money - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (May 10, 2022) |
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May 10, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Meeting the country’s climate goals will require major upgrades to homes and buildings - including multi-family housing.
Installing better windows and weatherproofing can reduce energy use. And converting buildings to run on electricity can eliminate the use of oil and gas.
But Mari Ojeda of Fresh Energy, a clean energy advocacy organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, says there are barriers to retrofitting apartments.
For one thing, it can be expensive.
“And obviously the bigger the building, the more the project is going to cost and the longer it’s going to take,” Ojeda says. “And that’s going to disturb lots of residents ... Read more ...
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Detroit nonprofit offers paid training for energy efficiency jobs - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Apr 28, 2022) |
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Apr 28, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Detroit, Michigan, needs more people who know how to make buildings more energy efficient. Sitara Govender of the non-profit Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency says there are more energy efficiency jobs available than workers with the skills to fill them.
“And, in part, I think that’s because of the lack of paid job training opportunities,” she says.
Govender says the lack of paid job training makes it hard for low-income people to learn the skills they need.
So in February, her organization launched a pilot program designed to change that. Participants choose one of five different career paths, such as home assessment ... Read more ...
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Ulster County, New York, aims for 100% clean electricity by 2040 - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Apr 14, 2022) |
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Apr 14, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
A growing number of people in Ulster County, New York, are switching to solar. Local leaders plan for the entire county to use only clean electricity by 2040.
“Local governments, local communities have to step up and really drive climate action from the ground level,” says county executive Patrick Ryan.
He says to encourage residents to do their part, the county has launched a new program called Solarize Ulster.
It allows people to switch to clean electricity while lowering their utility bills. Participants subscribe to a community solar program.
“And not only do you get the sort of moral victory of knowing you’re helping to ... Read more ...
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How Michigan could plug into an electric vehicle boom - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Apr 13, 2022) |
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Apr 13, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Jane McCurry grew up in Detroit, the “Motor City.”
“My parents worked for the auto industry. They both worked for Ford,” she says. “The auto industry is the lifeblood of a lot of the people there.”
But the industry is changing.
“Electrification is happening. The industry is moving really quickly toward cleaner vehicles,” she says
McCurry is executive director of Clean Fuels Michigan. The nonprofit is advocating that the state invest in the transition to electric vehicles so Michigan and its workforce are not left behind.
She says that financial incentives can help entice companies to locate electric vehicle and battery ... Read more ...
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Online bank funds climate solutions, not fossil fuels - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Apr 08, 2022) |
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Apr 08, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Reducing climate change will require big investments. Banks can help accelerate the transition from fossil fuels by financing clean energy and efficiency solutions.
Jason MacDuff is president of Greenpenny, a virtual bank that was launched by Iowa-based Decorah Bank.
Greenpenny prides itself on being carbon-neutral, and only investing in climate solutions - ranging from home efficiency projects to large renewable energy installations.
“We are all about financing a sustainable tomorrow. That’s our mission,” MacDuff says. “And so if that means solar, great. If it means geothermal, we will look at it. If it means wind, we will look at ... Read more ...
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Climate science and financial risk: Forging a path to more climate-resilient businesses - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Apr 04, 2022) |
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Apr 04, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Weather and climate disasters have cost the United States more than $600 billion over the past five years, with impacts to individuals, businesses, and public sector coffers. As just one example, the climate-fueled, record-breaking rainfall of Hurricane Maria in 2017 significantly disrupted pharmaceutical manufacturing in Puerto Rico, which accounted for 25% of total U.S. pharmaceutical exports and 72% of Puerto Rico’s 2016 exports, harming investors and people who needed critical medical supplies like I.V. bags.
In response to the increasingly extreme weather patterns, global policymakers and investors are keen to predict and better prepare for ... Read more ...
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Software helps businesses reduce carbon pollution - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Mar 02, 2022) |
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Mar 02, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Businesses routinely make choices about the energy they use, the suppliers they rely on, and how products are shipped. These decisions have a huge impact on how much carbon pollution goes into the atmosphere.
“And it’s our job to do the math so that those decisionmakers at businesses on the front lines know the difference between option A and option B,” says Taylor Francis, co-founder of Watershed.
The group developed software that companies can use to measure their emissions, make a plan to reduce them, and report on their progress.
Francis says it helps companies examine purchasing decisions, which are often their largest source of ... Read more ...
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Study: Climate-changed rainfall dampens economic growth - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Feb 18, 2022) |
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Feb 18, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
When estimating costs that climate change will impose on societies, climate economists face a difficult barrier: They can only incorporate into models well-understood and quantified climate damages. Authors of a recent study published in Nature have identified previously unknown economic impacts associated with changes in rainfall.
While an increase in worldwide rainfall is a known consequence of global warming and of a hotter atmosphere’s holding more water vapor, most prior climate-economics modeling had concluded that this change will have an insignificant impact on economic growth. But by examining daily regional rainfall data, the ... Read more ...
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Risky moves: More Americans are relocating to climate-vulnerable areas - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Jan 24, 2022) |
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Jan 24, 2022 · Yale Climate Connections
Dangerous wildfires. Heavy downpours. Damaging floods. As the climate warms, many parts of the U.S. are in growing danger from extreme events.
It would make sense for people to start moving out of the most vulnerable areas, but a report from the real estate company Redfin shows that the opposite is happening. From 2016 through 2020, more people moved to high-risk areas than low-risk areas.
“People were actually leaving some of the places with a lower climate risk,” says Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist. “These tend to be places in the Midwest, the Rust Belt, that have had less economic prosperity. And they’re tending to move to ... Read more ...
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Contributions to sustainable investment funds rose to $50 billion in 2020 - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Dec 14, 2021) |
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Dec 14, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
These days, many people want to use their money to do good in the world. And they’re seeking out investment opportunities that are in line with their social and environmental values.
“That can be, you know, health and wellness, it could be around climate and environment altogether. It could be around sustainable infrastructure,” says Lazaro Tiant of Schroder’s Investment Management, North America.
He says that the sustainable investment market has skyrocketed over the past few years.
In 2020, contributions to sustainable funds totaled more than $50 billion. That’s more than 10 times the total just five years earlier.
And while ... Read more ...
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In one Florida county, studying and planning for flood risk led to reduced insurance premiums - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Dec 14, 2021) |
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Dec 14, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
In many low-lying coastal communities, residents already pay high prices for flood insurance. And as seas rise, the risk of flooding is growing.
“There can be this perception that … if we acknowledge those risks or if we quantify those risks, then that’s going to cause the flood insurance rates to go up,” Jason Evans says.
But he says sometimes the reverse is true. Evans is the director of the Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience at Stetson University in Florida.
He says the National Flood Insurance Program will discount premiums in communities that assess and address their vulnerability to flooding.
“The worst thing ... Read more ...
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Extreme weather and pandemic help drive global food prices to 46-year high - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Dec 05, 2021) |
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Dec 05, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
Global food prices in November rose 1.2% compared to October, and were at their highest level since June 2011 (unadjusted for inflation), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its monthly report on December 2. After adjusting for inflation, 2021 food prices averaged for the 11 months of 2021 are the highest in 46 years.
The high prices come despite expectations that total global production of grains in 2021 will set an all-time record: 0.7% higher than the previous record set in 2020. But because of higher demand (in part, from an increased amount of wheat and corn used to feed animals), the 2021 harvest is not ... Read more ...
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'Raise Green’ platform connects climate-friendly projects with investors - Yale Climate Connections - Economic (Dec 02, 2021) |
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Dec 02, 2021 · Yale Climate Connections
Many climate solutions cost a lot up front. It can be expensive to build a community solar farm or to conduct energy efficiency retrofits on an apartment building. But these projects can also make – or save – even more money in the long run, so they can be valuable investments.
Franz Hochstrasser is CEO and co-founder of an online platform called Raise Green. It connects community-driven, climate-focused projects with people who want to invest in them.
“With Raise Green … we provide the tools to community leaders and individuals to create climate projects, the platform to get them funded, and the due diligence that investors expect. And we, ... Read more ...
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