Practical Applications of Be Prepared: Exploring Future Climate-Related Risk for Residential and Commercial Real Estate Portfolios

Abstract

Practical Applications In Be Prepared: Exploring Future Climate-Related Risk for Residential and Commercial Real Estate Portfolios, from the Summer 2020 issue of The Journal of Alternative Investments, Mark Westcott of Vivid Economics, John Ward of Pengwern Associates, Swenja Surminsky of Vivid Economics, Paul Sayers of Sayers and Partners, David Bresch of ETH Zurich, and Bronwyn Claire of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership demonstrate the beneficial uses of two climate change models. A primary benefit of using these models is to effect a social change whereby builders and property owners adopt climate adaptation measures at a faster pace. The models expose the physical risks of real estate properties and estimate the risk reduction due to climate adaptation measures. The authors discuss several adaptation methods to mitigate the exposed risks, and their results illustrate the importance of doing so. The results provide a stark comparison between the estimated costs of mitigated and unmitigated damage occurring across a wide range of future temperature scenarios.