Creditors Start Asking Coastal Cities For Their Climate Plans

https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/creditors-start-asking-coastal-cities-for-their-climate-plans

July 17, 2019, 4:46 PM

Financial credit rating institutions want answers from coastal cities about how they’re preparing for climate-change impacts like sea level rise and whether they can pay for their adaptation plans, the mayor of Honolulu said July 17.

Mayor Kirk Caldwell (D), who has been leading Hawaii’s capital city since 2013, said he was asked for the first time by credit raters like Moody’s Corp. and Fitch Ratings Inc. during recent presentations in San Francisco on municipal bonds about how the city is addressing climate change impacts.

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For example, Moody’s Analytics in a June report found climate change impacts such as rising temperatures, intensifying extreme weather events, and sea level rise would disrupt communities, threaten infrastructure, and hurt economic productivity.

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