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New data suggests banks are shifting climate-related mortgage risk onto taxpayers. Here are a few reasons why that matters. (1/x) nytimes.com/2019/09/27/cli…
First, it indicates that banks are aware of the risk that natural disasters pose. So this is the latest example of the market acting while governments argue about the science. (2/x)
Second, this offers a glimpse into *how* climate risks are likely to ripple through the market: The most sophisticated, best-informed actors will move first, before regulators realize what's happening or have time to respond.
Third, this data shows how well-intentioned policies can get in the way of adaptation -- in this case, by making mortgages cheaper in vulnerable areas, reducing the incentive for community-scale mitigation or just moving. (4/x)
And that's the hardest question: How do you insulate people from the full (and in some cases unbearable) cost of what's coming, without blinding them to that risk? Climate adaptation is fundamentally a debate about what's fair, and we've barely begun to grapple with it. (5/5)
