This month, the International Panel on Climate Change,1 a body of more than 14,000 scientists from across the globe, sent a wake-up call to the world with its new report calling on the international community to immediately reduce carbon emissions in order to slow the planet from warming and sea levels from rising.

“It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred… Human influence has warmed the climate at a rate that is unprecedented in at least the last 2,000 years.”

– International Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment report 20212

Climate change is not patient. It will not wait for human attitudes and politics to catch up. And if our sole strategy to address climate change is to reduce global emissions, it will be too late to save millions of lives.

While we’re waiting for the public sentiment to catch up to the climate reality, we have to ensure the most exposed infrastructure — vulnerable homes and community assets — are safeguarded from climate risks. Accomplishing that will require financial investment, good governance and behavioral change.

The report’s findings should compel governments across the globe to immediately develop and deploy the “carrots and sticks” that will ensure communities and investors protect homes and livelihoods.

Carrots come in the form of financial incentives, such as tax rebates, as well as free technical assistance from governments and nonprofits to help communities adjust to the changing climate.

Sticks come in the form of enforcement actions, such as an order to stop an activity, penalties and regulatory compliance to ensure that communities take the necessary steps to alter the course of climate change. The framework that can harness this dual approach is the rising prominence of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in the marketplace.

ESG criteria are a set of standards for a company, corporation or organization that socially-conscious investors use to screen, and in turn drive, potential investments. They come on the heels of two decades of groundwork around corporate social responsibility as well as the creation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).3

Environmental criteria consider how a company performs as a steward of nature. Social criteria examine how that company manages equitable relationships with staff, vendors, clients and customers in the communities within which it operates. Governance deals with a company’s proactive leadership, parity of pay, internal controls and shareholder rights.

ESG is a powerful tool to motivate the global private and public sectors to reverse our path and protect us presently and in the future. ESG encourages companies, governments and communities to put forward strong executive commitments that will incorporate the values of ESG into all lines of business.

ESG, in its current and evolving form, will enable projects and programs that change behaviors and make the financial investment necessary to protect communities from the immediate impacts of climate change.

Perhaps out of an instinct for survival, the increased interest from investors and governments in ESG is encouraging and a sign that there is a course to follow if we want to reverse the trajectory we are on, as spelled out by the IPCC. But even more, ESG demonstrates that the global community can reduce the risks to front line communities suffering most from climate change’s impacts.

Using ESG as a Framework for Change

Using ESG as a framework for change, potential government and investment strategies could look like this:

1. Climate disclosure policies

To understand how recipients of public and private funding are managing climate risk, climate disclosure policies should be implemented by governments and investors in order to prove that they are both reducing emissions and contributing to the net-carbon neutral policies that support the regeneration of the environment.4

As climate disclosure becomes an activity regulated by financial agencies and investors, entities will need to embed ESG compliance within their larger regulatory compliance systems.

2. Enforceable carbon pricing

Governments and the marketplace should create instruments that will penalize high carbon emitters and reward actors who show meaningfully reduced carbon emissions and comply with ESG benchmarks. Proposed carbon pricing mechanisms can generate revenue for governments to re-invest in initiatives such as land stewardship and support for the natural environment, resilient housing, renewable energy, energy efficient infrastructure and more research.5

In California, the reinvestment of funds from the state’s Cap and Trade program has successfully reduced pollution and emissions while creating affordable housing opportunities for low income households.6

3. Enforcement of fair share policies

Governments should propose fair share policies that prevent public and private sector organizations from forgoing their contributions to offset carbon emissions, thus placing a burden on lower-income communities and communities of color.

4. Participatory budgeting

Participatory budgeting should be implemented for deployment of investments to ensure that the investments made in communities to adapt to changing conditions and mitigate risk are approved and vetted by the very same community residents. This ensures social, cultural and environmental viability and also the possibility of community stewardship of an intervention.

Given the need for flexible and adaptive strategies, there will need to be a combination of virtual oversight through technology, and most importantly, oversight through human eyes.

5. International Climate Moonshot Communication Campaign

A campaign led by a consortium of non-traditional influencers from range of backgrounds — government, entertainment, financial sector, faith networks — should be created to solicit ideas for strategic interventions at the community level, in order to communicate a global “moonshot” of how great the need is to turn back carbon emissions and how significantly we need to invest in adaptive infrastructure and housing.

The objective would be to motivate communities, governments and households to contribute to the campaign goals, and the campaign outcomes would be tied to financial and programmatic incentives that can encourage the participation in, and the execution of, solutions.

6. Creating location-specific strategies

Location specific plans should be implemented to support ESG alignment and emissions reduction, such as specifically tailored environmental adaptation strategies. An example of one of these adaptation strategies is artificially creating wetlands along a coast to help reduce flooding.

Adaptation strategies can be paired with mitigation strategies, an example of which is the construction of a flood wall on the perimeter of a community to protect from flooding. These strategies would be informed by local contractors and teams and specifically built in harmony with local geography and climate.

The global community must heed the warning of the IPCC and redouble our efforts to reduce global emissions, while identifying the solutions that best protect communities that are most at risk.

ESG guidance should be incorporated into every aspect of development and capital projects, from deal sourcing and vision through design, construction and asset management. The ESG framework will not only attract investors and help them make key decisions, but it will also aid underwriters and agencies by ensuring developments are resilient, financially sustainable and regenerative for staff, residents and communities.

As we continue our fight against climate change, ESG provides a blueprint for mitigating risks to our most vulnerable sections of society.

Endnotes

1. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ IPCC, 2021: Summary for Policymakers.
2. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf
3. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/database/
4. https://climatecrisis.house.gov/sites/climatecrisis.house.gov/files/Climate%20Crisis%20Action%20Plan.pdf#page=296”
5. https://climatecrisis.house.gov/sites/climatecrisis.house.gov/files/Climate%20Crisis%20Action%20Plan.pdf#page=296
6. Enterprise Community Partners https://www.enterprisecommunity.org/where-we-work/ahsc
7. Mitigation | UNEP — UN Environment Programme

As hurricane season gets underway in the Atlantic and extreme heat waves batter the West, an obvious truth is worth repeating: The fundamental purpose of housing is to provide shelter from the natural world. But the reality is that as we confront a changing and volatile climate, millions of single-family and multifamily homes are unprepared for extreme natural hazards. One report found that 32 million homes in the United States are at risk from hurricanes alone.

But humans are adaptable. Think of COVID-19: Wen this invisible storm threatened homes and communities, we made changes once thought impossible. Jobs became remote, new technologies changed how we live and work, devoted commuters bought cars, and we as a society adapted to unexpected and extreme conditions. This is a lesson in resilience.

Single-family and multifamily housing used to be designed and built to consider natural weather conditions: Tall, operable windows brought in more natural light and air, color varieties improved residents’ mental health, and local building materials were chosen for their durability and adaptive qualities. Since World War II, however, housing has largely been an artificial construct, reliant on an abundant supply of mechanized systems that regulate internal temperature, humidity, and ventilation.

The United States has nine distinct climate zones determined by regional variations in climate conditions. So, why do we find the same cookie-cutter housing stock across the country?

The short answer is that as the plastics industry expanded, so did the availability of cheap house finishings and coatings. Vinyl sheathing replaced brick, and plastic replaced wood. Millions of homes made from these materials were placed dangerously in flood plains, deserts, and other at-risk areas. Now, those deserts are getting drier and those flood plains wetter, and the housing stock cannot keep up.

If we are to meet the realities of our climate future head-on, this must change. Whether designing new single-family or multifamily housing, or retrofitting existing housing, here are eight things to consider when designing a climate-resilient home:

1. The home site. Knowing the distance between the site and a flood plain, a historical fire zone, or a seismic area is critical in order to understand exposure to storm surges, extreme drainage, flood path, or fire. Whenever possible, homes should not be constructed in areas that are extremely prone to climate events. Enterprise has created a free tool, Portfolio Protect, which can help developers and homeowners assess the risk to their properties from flooding, fires, earthquakes, and other climate hazards.
2. Ability to reflect heat. Darker colors absorb heat and raise the temperature of the building, house, and site; lighter colors reflect and reduce heat. New-home construction should utilize lighter colors across the site, from roof to pavement to paint, so that the heat footprint is reduced as much as possible.
3. Energizing the home. Overground and exposed electrical lines can severely limit power reliability during extreme weather events, as can off-site power generation. Buildings should install underground electrical lines and, when possible, should have the ability to produce power on site, through solar cells or other means.
4. Conserving and promoting water health. Most water systems in the United States are delivered via central treatment service in water districts through distribution lines. When these lines fail or get damaged, or if water is in short supply, as it is in the West, households can be left without potable water. Fortifying the building’s septic system to prevent water supply contamination and collecting rainwater to reduce dependence on the wider water system can make a home more resilient in the face of climate crises.
5. Sealing the envelope. In rain- and flood-heavy areas, the building envelope must be sealed securely and completely, as any leaks can allow water into the wall cavities, which can cause mold and structural damage, greatly impairing the safety of the home. Developers must take steps to seal the foundation as well to prevent efflorescence, which can cause long-term structural issues.
6. Ventilating the home. Passive ventilation, such as manual-operation windows and vents, are essential to creating a climate-resistant home. Without these installed, buildings are forced to rely on mechanical cooling and heating products, which are not only more expensive but are also susceptible to failure in the event of power grid instability.
7. A strong structure. It may sound obvious, but a strong building structure is an important step toward achieving climate resiliency. The continuous load path, a construction method that ties together the various parts of the house using timber, metal connectors and fasteners, and shear walls, must be free of defects and in good order. Enterprise’s Keep Safe Guide offers strategies that can be used to strengthen housing against natural hazards like hurricanes and earthquakes that have the potential to cause catastrophic structural failure.
8. Efficient systems. During a weather emergency, power and water could be rationed. Constructing an energy- and water-efficient home reduces the amount of utilities consumed and increases resilience under extreme circumstances.

Too often, these critical factors are rushed or overlooked altogether in the rush to build or sell a home or apartment building. But the reality is that there is nowhere left to move that is safe from climate and weather events. Resilience in building design is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity. Lives, homes, and economies are depending on it.

There is another type of migration that is projected to increase over the next century-households fleeing climate impacts and extremely climate vulnerable areas of the country. A battery of cascading impacts — including a warming planet and rising seas — threatens the current and future habitability of many coastal settlements across the globe, particularly communities with degraded infrastructure, insufficient housing stock and lack of financial reserves to quickly rebuild. Climate realities are creating more “tipping point” scenarios — the critical point in a situation or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place — than ever before. The tipping point moment shows up for many communities as a sudden and drastic event — -a tsunami, a flood, a forest fire, or an earthquake. Lives are lost both in the initial shock and subsequent flight, particularly if there is nowhere safe for refugees to go. journeys1. With no adequate systems in place and limited receiver communities available, refugee camps have become permanent settlements, creating more trauma, more displacement, and more distress for settlers.

Creative Commons: Home destroyed by Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, Louisiana 2005

In 2019, weather-related disasters internally displaced more than 23 million people around the world2 estimated by Refugees International. The Urban institute states that in the US more than 1.2 million of those displaced were Americans. Adverse effects of global climate change induce more extreme weather, growing food insecurity, and rising sea levels — that number is expected to rise. Tragically, the communities most impacted by climate impacts and risks are communities that have less financial reserve, are less able to rebuild in their community and become literally “stranded” and forced to search for higher ground. Forced to adapt, households often move to big cities in search of stability. However, poor, and untenured housing conditions, the absence of social protection like medical insurance and inadequate resources or any financial bridge support often mean they are no safer from nature’s fury in the city3 than they were before leaving home. Leaving home and uprooting one’s life is risky. Change on such a large scale is never easy, for immigrants or for the communities into which they settle, which are commonly called “receiving communities.”

The numbers of internally displaced households will escalate alongside the rise in fire, flood, and other natural perils. US cities and communities must prepare better to receive communities that have been displaced by natural and human hazards alike. For my grandparents, the ability to migrate to a community that was accepting, supportive and adaptive was critical to their survival, and in turn they contributed economically, socially, and culturally to their new home. Every household displaced by a live threatening shock or stress should have the opportunity that was afforded to my grandparents.

Preparing Receiving Communities

It’s time to learn from communities that have experienced internal migration around the world to prepare our communities for a future migration of households away from the front lines of vulnerable flood plains, seismic zones and fire communities into “higher ground” areas. We must ensure cities have sufficient supplies of backup energy, potable water, affordable and healthy housing, and adequate healthcare and educational services. Supporting receiving communities is as fundamental as supporting vulnerable communities. Many households, like my grandparents, will move to larger anchor cities, that already have core communities to help bridge them into the community.

Households Fleeing Houston following Hurricane Harvey 2017

Figure 3 Source: El Centro For Puerto Rican Studies HUNTER 2017 City University of New York’s Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College estimates nearly 136,000 Puerto Ricans have relocated to the U.S. after Hurricane Maria. Florida saw the largest influx of people with 56,477, followed by Massachusetts with 15,208, Connecticut with 13,292 and New York with 11,217

People who have been victimized by climate change should be met with compassionate, coordinated support. Here are just a few tenets public sector leadership should keep in mind:

1. Create a sufficient supply of housing and services. The world has witnessed the development of temporary refugee shelter camps that have arisen to meet the immediate shelter needs of individuals and families fleeing war, floods, and other shocks. Housing, food, and medical care essential ingredients for a household to survive yet, thousands of existing US communities lack sufficient affordable housing. Close to 7 million units of affordable housing are needed to provide for extremely low-income households4 and millions more households are overburdened by unaffordable cost of rent. Meeting the basic needs of existing community members let alone newcomers, is a challenge that needs to be addressed and planned for, particularly cities that are front-line receiver communities. Without a plan to address the shelter needs of incoming households, communities are at significant risk. The Alliance for National and Community Resilience created a standard for communities on the provision of sufficient and safe housing and is a good standard to reference: Housing Benchmark — ANCR.

2. Fortify networks of existing ethnic communities. One of the most prominent features of successful integration of immigrant communities across the nation is the presence of a multigenerational “hub” to welcome and establish incoming families and households. Support ethnic and cultural associations — from sport associations to faith-based organizations — that can in turn support newcomers.

3. Invest in the third sector to provide services to communities on the ground. NGOs, first responders, and community-based organizations have always stepped forward to address crises, fill gaps in services and support the most vulnerable in times of strife. However, a considerable challenge is that often these services are delivered for free, with little more than grit and incredible human generosity. This needs to change. Funding needs to be dedicated to supporting the front-line NGO’s and service providers as well as tactical support such as equipment and access to resources and materials to support service provision.

4. Create small business development opportunities. Immigrants drive the engine of production and the building blocks of our economy through creativity, ingenuity, and grit. For example 48% of NYC’s small businesses are run by immigrants, and roughly 26% of New Yorkers work at a small business5. When small businesses vanish, so do jobs, community spaces, and affordable goods and services.

5. Normalize the transition for incoming and existing community members. Newcomer transition into ‘mainstream’ services — such as those provided by employment agencies, municipal social services, or community-based welfare institutions — is an important step in successful resettlement. Language and cultural barriers may contribute to an environment in which both immigrants and longer-term residents feel some level of discomfort with each other. Methods for promoting meaningful contact among community members are critical to build the foundation for a more welcoming community.

6. Learn from precedent and experience of other nations. Encouraging development of peer groups to share learned lessons about integration of newcomers can help expedite solutions to inform policies and programs for newcomers for integration, services, and housing needs. For example, in 2015 a Transatlantic Exchange (WCTE) program was created to connect German cities with US cities to share practices in refugee and immigrant integration and in engaging receiving communities, which were often apprehensive of newcomers. The WCTE brought together cohorts from nine US and German communities to explore innovative approaches to local integration initiatives and covered topics including affordable housing, job training and placement, school integration, language learning, interfaith dialogue, and broader social and cultural integration. The connections formed during this exchange have been used to inform public sector programs and policy in the US and in Germany6.

7. Receiving Communities needs to be supported at Regional and National level. States and Cities need adequate national support to provide integration services and cannot bear the burden alone. The COVID-19 pandemic has erased years of economic gain and revenue from cities and communities across the United States, leaving local governments extremely strapped for funds to cover critical needs of communities. The federal government must partner with localities to ensure there is appropriate resources for communities called to receive incoming residents displaced by a volatile and changing climate.

Over the course of history, humans have adapted to the most unbelievable of circumstances and conditions and become one of the most resilient species on earth. Being forced to leave one’s community is a hardship that even the most robust of us find hard to endure — but collectively, we can ease that transition. As climate risks increase, more people and communities will relocate to find opportunity and safe ground. Our work is to ensure they are received in a strategic and supportive way. In the words of Senator Paul Wellstone “We all do better, when we all do better.”

1. Refugee Crisis in Europe: Aid, Statistics and News | USA for UNHCR (unrefugees.org)

2. At a Climate Change Crossroads: How a Biden-Harris Administration Can Support and Protect Communities Displaced by Climate Change — Refugees International

3. Taking India’s Climate Migrants Seriously — The Diplomat

4. NLIHC Released Today “The Gap: A Shortage of Affordable Homes” | National Low-Income Housing Coalition

5. United for Small Business NYC | Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (anhd.org)

Climate Change is expensive — the U.S. has experienced over $400 billion in weather and climate disaster costs since 2014[1] and climate experts warn the costs to the national and local economies and to households are only rising[2]. The challenges inflicted on communities by storms, fires and extreme precipitation and flooding, will aggravate infrastructure that is ill-prepared to handle, or adapt to the coming changes and will lead to increased asset damage, loss and displacement unless actions are taken now to address the risks and find solutions to mitigate and adapt to changing conditions[3]”.

Not surprisingly, investor demand for, and disclosure of information about climate change risks, and impacts to assets and business is growing dramatically. To keep pace with increasing investor interest and buoyed by the newly elected federal administration and heightened public sentiment and sensibility about the risks of extreme climate impacts, leading regulatory and financial agencies are opening a forum for public input with an eye toward facilitating the disclosure of consistent, comparable, and reliable information on climate change. Submitting your comments to one or all of these agencies will ensure the participation of a wide range of stakeholders in these important forums so that we can both bolster the agencies’ ability to increase awareness of climate risk, as well as identify opportunities to reduce risk.

Notable requests currently include:

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): The mission of the SEC is to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. In 2010, the SEC voted to provide public companies with interpretive guidance on existing SEC disclosure requirements as they apply to business or legal developments relating to the issue of climate change. The relevant disclosure rules cover a company’s risk factors, business description, legal proceedings, and management discussion and analysis. The SEC’s interpretative guidance highlights the following areas as examples of where climate change may trigger disclosure requirements:

• Materiality impact of legislation and regulation: When assessing potential disclosure obligations, a company should consider whether the impact of certain existing laws and regulations regarding climate change is material.
• Impact of international accords: A company should consider, and disclose when material, the risks, or effects on its business of international accords and treaties relating to climate change.
• Indirect consequences of regulation or business trends: Legal, technological, political and scientific developments regarding climate change may create new opportunities or risks for companies. As such, a company should consider, for disclosure purposes, the actual or potential indirect consequences it may face due to climate change related regulatory or business trends.
• Physical Impacts of Climate Change: Companies should also evaluate for disclosure purposes the actual and potential material impacts of environmental matters on their business.

Today the SEC is seeking Public input on the Commission’s disclosure rules and guidance as they apply to climate change disclosures, and whether and how they should be modified, potential new disclosure requirements as well as new disclosure frameworks that the Commission might adopt or incorporate in its disclosure rules. In addition to the questions set forth below, comments generally as to how the Commission can best regulate climate change disclosures are welcomed.[6]

SEC Submission Rolling: SEC.gov | Public Input Welcomed on Climate Change Disclosures

Moody’s: Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) is a global risk assessment firm that empowers organizations to make better decisions. Its data, analytical solutions and insights help decision-makers identify opportunities and manage the risks of doing business with others. Moody’s recognizes how increasingly extreme weather events and growing awareness of the severity of climate change is driving investors, banks, insurers, and companies to identify, quantify and manage their climate-related risks. Moody’s is driving systemic climate and sustainability action by bringing clarity on ESG risk to capital markets through credit ratings, ESG assessments, climate risk scores, sustainable bond, loan reviews, ESG specialty indices, and other risk management solutions.

In this request for comment, Moody’s is seeking to update the General Principles for Assessing Environmental, Social and Governance Risks cross-sector rating methodology with the addition of guidance to provide more detailed information on the principal considerations for assigning Environmental, Social and Governance issuer profile scores (IPSs) and credit impact scores (CISs) for regional and local governments (RLGs) globally.

Moody’s Submission by March 22: Request for Comment

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA): FHFA is seeking information on the current and future climate and natural disaster risk to the housing finance system and to the regulated entities. The agency has recognized a growing body of research that climate change and natural disasters pose to the stability of the economy, the financial system, the national housing finance markets, and FHFA’s regulated entities including: the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), and the Federal Home Loan Banks (Banks). Some of this research has examined whether and to what extent government policies might exacerbate climate and natural disaster risks through moral hazard or by otherwise incentivizing risk-taking. Other areas of study include the current and future efficacy and availability of traditional climate risk mitigants, such as the National Flood Insurance Program and hazard insurance policies. The growing research recognizes that natural disasters could result in increased loan delinquency rates, default rates, credit losses, credit related expenses, and loan loss frequency and severity.

Through the RFI, FHFA’s goal is to ensure that the regulated entities 1) operate in a safe and sound manner, 2) fulfill their statutory missions, and 3) foster the liquidity, efficiency, competitiveness, and resiliency of the national housing finance markets. FHFA also seeks input on opportunities to strengthen its supervision and regulation of the regulated entities’ management of and reporting on the physical and transition risks that may arise from natural disasters and changes in climate patterns.

FHFA Submission of Input by April 19: Climate and Natural Disaster Risk RFI (fhfa.gov)

[1] 2018’s Billion Dollar Disasters in Context | NOAA Climate.gov

[2] What is the economic cost of climate change? | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

[3] Hearing: The Costs of Climate Change — Risks to the U.S. Economy and the Federal Budget | House Budget Committee Democrats

2020 is on track to be the hottest and most volatile decade in modern times. 3m acres+ of land is burning out of control in California, Oregon, Washington and Colorado; Iowa and Utah have suffered calamitous wind storms damaging homes and agriculture; and at present Hurricane Sally bounds towards New Orleans with 5 more storms in tow. This is occurring when every single household across the nation, that has a home, is sheltering in place from the COVID-19 virus. The need for safe and resilient affordable housing across the nation has never been more profound. Yet, according to the world’s leading climatologists-we are only getting started and sadly our nation is sorely prepared for a one-inch rain event, let alone an extreme flood.

When President Roosevelt launched the Works Progress Administration in 1935, with the nation’s first female Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, it was intended to kickstart the depressed economy and address the critical infrastructure and institutional needs of the nation. Under his administration he launched several grand federal employment which collectively employed 15–19 million direct jobs and tens of millions more supporting positions, and constructed some of the great public works this country still depends on today — the Hoover Dam, LaGuardia Airport, the Lincoln Tunnel and constructing 2,500 hospitals, 5,900 schools, 1,000 airport fields and 29,000 units of affordable housing. His administration demonstrated visionary leadership that got the nation on its feet again.

We need to stand the WPA back up to fortify the nation’s climate vulnerable housing and communities from the ravages of floods, fires and earthquakes and re-employ millions of workers that have been laid off from the economic downturn.

Top Priorities should include:

Safe and Affordable Housing Construction. The demand for safe, resilient and affordable housing is more critical than ever. Nearly 38 million households nationwide are paying more than 30% of their incomes on housing, close to 600K Americans sleep on the sleeps every night and impacts from floods and fires threaten millions of units and the displacement of millions of households. There are a wide variety of strategies and trades that can be deployed to preserve existing housing stock and Keep Housing and Communities safe.

Fortification of Nation’s Energy Grid: Dependency on centralized water and energy grid distribution has grown cumbersome to manage and maintain in areas of extreme fire and flood risk. It will be critical to invest in decentralizing electrical grids where feasible to handle the changing conditions and habits of households, businesses and institutions in rural, tribal and island communities.

Land Management: West Coast fires have burned over 3million acres of land as of this date-land that is now charred and will not be able to manage large quantities of stormwater and will lead to flooding below. Workforce will be needed to reshape land sites to allow for stormwater and flooding management, drought resistance and fire wise land use. Planting and landscaping can be accelerated, through the utilization of innovative agricultural methods like hydroponics.

This initiative will require leveraging investment of federal, state and local governments, in conjunction with tax incentives and private sector investment to afford a problem of this scale. The return on investment will be a safer more resilient infrastructure and communities, critical housing support, and reduce the climate displacement of millions of Americans. With partnership from all sectors — private, public, healthcare, profit and civic this program will prepare this nation for a century of risk that is coming forward. We need a moonshot to get the country back on solid footing — because the changing climate-is only getting started.