Co-Hosted Workshop on Urban Economic Competitiveness

On May 20th and 27th, 2020, SCAN and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) hosted a two-part meeting on Exploring Economic Competitiveness in a Changing Climate: Emerging Considerations for Cities.” Participants from local government and industry shared perspectives and experiences on how climate change can impact cities’ economic competitiveness.

A industry panel that included Nora Wittstruck and Paul Munday from S&P Global Ratings, Katharine Burgess, from the Urban Land Institute, and Greg Lowe, from Aon was followed up by breakout sessions on real estate, tax bases, and bond ratings. And on the second day of the workshop, city representatives discussed how their communities have taken a proactive role in managing climate risk to increase competitiveness. A panel discussion included Andria McClellan from the City of Norfolk, Daniel Hamilton from the, City of Oakland, and Chris Castro, City of Orlando.

Many issues were raised during the workshop, including data needs to inform ratings agencies, the concerns of lending institutions of physical exposure to underinsured assets, and the benefits and difficulties of properly pricing climate risk in real estate. A full summary of the workshop will be forthcoming and we’ll link to it here next month.

C2ES is conducting research on this topic that will incorporate input from this workshop. When the outcomes of the research are published in a few months, we will share it here as well. SCAN is planning to co-host follow-up discussions to explore priority topics around competitiveness, adaptation financing, and climate assessment needs. Let us know if you’d like to hear more about how to get involved: info@climateassessment.org