by Daniel Brouse
Part of a series of articles on Climate Change And Flood Insurance
Homeowners living in flood plain have learned the hard way that climate change has effected their ability to get a mortgage. As the sea level rises and extreme weather events intensify, homeowners have found their insurance rates increasing or their total inability to obtain insurance coverage. Without insurance it is very, very hard to get a mortgage.
Moody’s credit ratings are now going to have a similar impact on municipalities. “What we want people to realize is: If you’re exposed, we know that. We’re going to ask questions about what you’re doing to mitigate that exposure,” Lenny Jones, a managing director at Moody’s, said in an interview. “That’s taken into your credit ratings.”
Bloomberg news agency reports:
In its report, Moody’s lists six indicators it uses “to assess the exposure and overall susceptibility of U.S. states to the physical effects of climate change.” They include the share of economic activity that comes from coastal areas, hurricane and extreme-weather damage as a share of the economy, and the share of homes in a flood plain.
Based on those overall risks, Texas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi are among the states most at risk from climate change. Moody’s didn’t identify which cities or municipalities were most exposed.
“If I was a city official, I’d be asking a whole lot of questions about what vulnerabilities their community has, and how each new proposed development adds to that vulnerability,” said Rob Moore, a senior policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Because at some point, your creditors certainly will.”
Real Estate and the Rising Sea Level
Top 5 Risks
How Do We Handle Flood Risk?
Senegal Forecasts Climate Change Changes
Biloxi-Chitimacha-Choctaw Indians Climate Change Refugees
Atlantic City Going Under
Biggert Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012
Flood Insurance Reform 2011
About Flood Insurance
Who Pays For Flood Losses?
Floodplain Maps Force Towns Into Tricky Waters
Head of the Federal Flood Insurance Program Resigns
Sacramento And FEMA Fight On Flood Insurance
Global Warming