Farmers Insurance Group filed class action suits against hundreds of Chicago-area governments in May, claiming that they knew of risks caused by climate change yet did not prepare well enough for 2013 flooding that resulted in customer damages and claims. On June 4, 2014, the company withdrew the suit, saying it had made its point. Farmers Insurance is a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group, which has been warning about climate change risks for years.
climate change
The next 100 years: New York State’s push to develop climate resilient transit
New York Governor Cuomo recently called on the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority to look strategically at developing a climate-change ready and resilient transit system that will benefit the New York metro region. Amtrak’s tunnels under the Hudson River are another key piece of the metro region’s transit system. These tunnels, which flooded during Superstorm Sandy and sustained significant damage, are susceptible to future storm damage, but plans for maintenance and capacity expansion are uncertain.
Preparing for climate change in Massachusetts
On January 14, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts announced $52 million in funding for a statewide plan to address the present and future impacts of climate change. Citing weather events such as Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, the governor pointed out that climate change is creating more disruptive weather and challenging public health, safety, and economic vitality.
Unique storm surge bonds for MTA prove popular
For the first time, Standard & Poor’s has rated a catastrophe bond, also known as a cat bond, based on the level of a storm surge. First Mutual Transportation Assurance Co., a subsidiary of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is working with a reinsurer in Bermuda that specializes in catastrophe bonds. The bonds have proved so popular that the amount being issued jumped from $125 million to $200 million. MTA stated that they probably could have raised more money, but closed the sale.
As the cost of extreme weather events continues to climb, resilience is key
According to the recently released draft report, climate change is now increasing the frequency and intensity of severe storms, flooding, droughts, and heat waves, as well as increasing sea level. Some communities prepared decades ago for hurricanes and other disasters, while others are still debating infrastructure changes that could protect their towns and cut down on future disaster recovery costs.
Climate Change and Transportation: Summary of Key Information (TRB, 2012)
This report is a summary of key findings covers a variety of studies on climate change and its ramifications for the transportation sector. It provides a concise summary of transportation’s contributions to climate change and mitigation policy …
Climate impacts on transportation a hot topic during a hot summer
Amid this summer’s wildfires, drought and heat wave, many news articles and scholarly reports have focused on the changing climate’s effects on transportation. Reports include New York City’s subway leaking, buckling roads in Wisconsin, permafrost melting in Alaska, and predicted sea level rises along the East Coast. According to a new report from TRB, DOTs may have to adapt to new climate patterns.
“Mr. Obama has the historic opportunity to begin solving three of the nation’s most vexing problems: global warming, the thirst for oil and high gas pump costs.”
How? Obama should adopt tough car mileage rules, according to a New York Times editorial by Daniel Becker and James Gerstenzang: “Under standards that Mr. Obama set last year, cars and S.U.V.’s and other light …
TRB webinar on climate change adaptation features California and Michigan DOTs
“State departments of transportation are modifying their planning efforts and practices to adapt to the effects of climate change on facilities and operations. Transportation providers are seeking to learn what other states and regions are …
CO2 emissions from transportation continue to rise
Even where gas prices are higher than in the U.S., CO2 emissions will not decline by market forces alone, according to a recent report [PDF] commissioned by the European Union: The report argues that “meeting climate change mitigation …