Wired: Banks Are Finally Realizing What Climate Change Will Do to Housing

A message from our founder and CEO, Dr Karl Mallon on the recent appointment of Marc Evans as Managing Director. This appointment allows Marc to lead our teams as we accelerate the integration of our cutting-edge physical climate risk analysis into a growing suite of highly accessible SaaS and API tools, while I double down on climate thought leadership, innovation and impact. Marc and I will be working from our London office through to the end of June, including several major launches with the UN, Arc and LSE in the run-up to London Climate Action Week.

Banks using the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) Physical Risk Assessment Platform can now analyse the physical climate risk of assets located anywhere in the world, following the addition of global portfolio capabilities from XDI’s Climate Risk Hub to the platform.

The Australian Government Productivity Commission has released a new inquiry report – “Investing in cheaper, cleaner energy and the net zero transformation”. XDI’s analysis was used to model the potential reduction in extreme-weather related damage to housing assets from greater resilience measures. Climate hazards are projected to cause up to $744 billion in property damage by 2100. However, adapting existing properties to be more resilient and implementing improved land planning measures can reduce these damages by up to $240 billion.

Insurance costs are soaring for home owners in Australia and New Zealand as climate change leads to floods, fires and storms, pushing up inflation and threatening financial stability, experts say. “As premiums rise and coverage is withdrawn from high-risk areas, we can expect to see impacts on asset prices and the prosperity of communities,” said Philip Tapsall, head of corporate and finance sector engagement at climate risk experts XDI. “Without stronger action to reduce emissions and build resilience, we could see this have implications for financial stability.”