What the White House Economic Report States on Climate Risk

“From home buyers deciding where to move to local governments planning new stormwater drainage to businesses looking to disclose their climate risk exposure, actors across the economy will require high-quality, trusted, and accessible climate impact information.”

The White House Council of Economic Advisers published the Economic Report of the President this past Tuesday. Given the systemic risks to American homeowners, infrastructure, and the financial system, the CEA touted upgraded climate data-and-modeling as one of “four potential pillars” of a national climate adaptation plan.

“Thanks to strong Federal support, the United States is a global leader in climate science,” the report said. “But the modeling tools used to understand the global climate system are not yet designed to deliver the decision-specific information needed by most stakeholders to manage climate risk.”

In response, the CEA argued, the federal government should invest in catastrophic risk modeling, develop transparent standards for climate data and modeling, create clear criteria for public adaptation funding, and use federal funds to incentivize local efforts.

We couldn’t agree more, which is why Climate Alpha has published technical white papers and FAQs explaining our models; have partnered with Mastercard and Statebook to help guide state- and local elected officials on where to best invest their adaptation budgets; and will shortly launch HOMES — our free tool for homeowners and buyers calculating how much they stand to gain or lose from climate change.

Reach out to our team to learn more about CA for Cities, enroll in the HOMES open beta, and download our technical papers.