Climate Center

Academic research award: problem solvers for the planet

Bank of America building in front of a cloudy sky with an American flag beside it.

(Outlet: Financial Times) The winners of the Responsible Business Education Awards have helped to address vital and sometimes overlooked societal and environmental issues in a practical way. Wharton Professor Daniel Garrett wins “best academic research with societal impact: publications and outreach that have influenced policy or practice” for his paper “Gas, Guns, and Governments” (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago). …Read More

Teaching award: innovating business schools push towards a brighter future

A smokestack with smoke billowing into the sky with a green wall in front of it.

(Outlet: Financial Times) By combining hands-on experience with tools such as VR headsets and AI, schools are improving their teaching on sustainability and the climate crisis. Wharton professors Arthur van Benthem and Mirko Heinle’s course “Climate and Financial Markets” has been Highly Commended by the Financial Times Responsible Business Education Awards for Best Innovative Recent Teaching Materials on Sustainability or Climate Change Adaptation with a Special Focus on Finance.…Read More

Senate committee investigating Florida’s state-backed home insurance company as private insurers flee

An aerial picture taken on September 30, 2022 shows the only access to the Matlacha neighborhood destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida.

(Outlet: CNN Business) The US Senate Budget Committee is launching an investigation into whether Florida’s state-backed home and property insurance company has enough money in the bank to withstand future disasters, as scientists warn warming oceans and sea level rise are making storms more destructive. Fears about a possible federal bailout are not unfounded, Benjamin Keys, a real estate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, told CNN. “They absolutely have a reason to be concerned; the exposure is enormous,” Keys said. “1.3 million of the riskiest policies in the riskiest state, full stop. It’s correlated exposure – if a hurricane hits your house, it hits my house.”…Read More

Gulf Coast residents grapple with home insurers as climate disasters worsen

Debris sits outside of damaged homes after Hurricane Delta made landfall in Holly Beach, La., Oct. 11, 2020.

(Outlet: ABC News) As climate disasters grow more costly, insurers aren’t paying policies. “The insurer’s goal is to collect more in premiums than they pay out in claims,” said Ben Keys, University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business professor of real estate and finance. “We’re seeing higher costs of materials, higher costs of labor, and those are growing faster than inflation.”…Read More

Fire prone California homeowners left behind as insurance companies drop coverage

A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 8, 2018.

(Outlet: ABC News) As climate change continues to cause disasters across the country, some people in the most high-risk areas that have already seen massive destruction say they are being left behind. Experts say the situation has been compounded for a number of reasons, including insurers arguing that the risk of doing business there is just too high due to the elevated risk of wildfires and California laws that restrict how the insurance companies can price out their policies.…Read More