Risky Business. org

Do you know this group? This is the leading edge, in our opinion, on a global basis of insight into our prism--the business side of green. It is very gratifying to us to see world leaders put their time and money into helping us migrate to a clean-energy economy and bringing money and expertise into balancing the economy with our beautiful, enchanting environment.

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Risky Business Report Finds That U.S. Regions and Business Sectors Face Significant Economic Risks From Climate Change

Ex-Treasury Secretaries Shultz, Rubin and Paulson Join Bloomberg, Steyer and other Leaders Urging Industry to Better Understand Risks to Economy

First-of-its-kind Risk Analysis Quantifies Potential for Economic Disruptions; Independent, Non-partisan Study Breaks New Ground in Climate Risk Assessment

New York, June 24 – The American economy could face significant and widespread disruptions from climate change unless U.S. businesses and policymakers take immediate action to reduce climate risk, according to a new report released today. The report, “Risky Business: The Economic Risks of Climate Change in the United States,” summarizes findings of an independent assessment of the impact of climate change at the county, state, and regional level, and shows that communities, industries, and properties across the U.S. face profound risks from climate change. The findings also show that the most severe risks can still be avoided through early investments in resilience, and through immediate action to reduce the pollution that causes global warming.

The Risky Business report shows that two of the primary impacts of climate change—extreme heat and sea level rise—will disproportionately affect certain regions of the U.S., and pose highly variable risks across the nation. In the U.S. Gulf Coast, Northeast, and Southeast, for example, sea level rise and increased damage from storm surge are likely to lead to an additional $2 to $3.5 billion in property losses each year by 2030, with escalating costs in future decades. In interior states in the Midwest and Southwest, extreme heat will threaten human health, reduce labor productivity and strain electricity grids.

Conversely, in northern latitudes such as North Dakota and Montana, winter temperatures will likely rise, reducing frost events and cold-related deaths, and lengthening the growing season for some crops.

The report is a product of The Risky Business Project, a joint, non-partisan initiative of former Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr., Mayor of New York City from 2002-2013 Michael R. Bloomberg, and Thomas P. Steyer, former Senior Managing Member of Farallon Capital Management. They were joined by members of a high-level “Risk Committee” who helped scope the research and reviewed the research findings.

Risk Committee members include:

• Henry Cisneros - Founder & Chairman, CityView Capital; former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); former Mayor of San Antonio, TX
• Gregory Page - Executive Chairman, Cargill, Inc. and former Cargill Chief Executive Officer
• Robert Rubin - Co-chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury
• Donna Shalala - President, University of Miami; former US Secretary of Health and Human Services; former Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
• George Shultz - Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution; former US Secretary of State; former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury; former U.S. Secretary of Labor; former Director, Office of Management & Budget; former President, Bechtel Group
• Olympia Snowe - Former U.S. Senator representing Maine
• Dr. Al Sommer - Dean Emeritus, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University