On Friday, June 28, Senator Carol Liu will host a public forum titled “Insurance in an Era of Climate Change” with keynote speaker Dave Jones, California Insurance Commissioner.
As climate change has been fueling the frequency of wildfires and other unusual events, the Union of Concerned Scientists will present expert panelists to discuss the latest climate information, its impact on California homeowners insurance in high-risk areas, and how insurers, policymakers, and consumers can work together to identify the best methods to strengthen our resilience to the impacts of climate change.
“Wildfires cost California hundreds of millions of dollars each year in firefighting efforts and property damage,” said Adrienne Alvord, UCS California and Western States director. “With climate change fueling the frequency of wildfires, Californians who live in high-risk areas are facing an additional threat to the availability and affordability of their homeowners insurance.”
This forum will examine how current climate change information is affecting the insurance industry, and provide a clearer picture as to what Southern California residents can expect in years ahead.
Forum speakers will include:
- Susanne Moser, Ph.D., Director and Principal Researcher of Susanne Moser Research & Consulting in Santa Cruz, California. She is also a Social Science Research Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University and a Research Associate at the University of California at Santa Cruz, Institute for Marine Sciences.
- Anthony L. Westerling, associate professor in the School of Engineering at the University of California, Merced.
- Stephen Bushnell, product director at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company.
- Andrew Logan, director of Ceres’ Oil & Gas and Insurance Programs.
Attendees are encouraged to bring questions for a Q&A session. Refreshments will be provided. Please join us on Friday, June 28 from 10:30 am – 12:30 pm, at the Donald R. Wright Auditorium, Pasadena Central Library, 285 E. Walnut St. Pasadena, CA 91101
For more information and to register, please visit: www.ucsusa.org/insuranceca
myrthdragon said…
I always find it interesting when people state “With climate change fueling the frequency of wildfires…” Last I checked most fires are started by someone, either by accident or on purpose. Also, this is naturally a dry climate, most of the plant life would not be here if it was not for the importing of water from outside sources.
Saturday, June 22, 2013 at 03:20 PM
steveg said…
The real problem with wildfires is the arsonists who set the fires every time the conditions are right and their symbiotic relationship with the media. As well as the USFS which doesn’t seem to be able to act in an expeditious manner.
Global warming has in fact been non-existent for around 17 years. Russian scientists believe we are headed into another mini-ice age such as that which existed from the 1500s through the 1700s.
See:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/peterferrara/2013/05/26/to-the-horror-of-global-warming-alarmists-global-cooling-is-here/
Money quote:
“Here in Britain, where we had our fifth freezing winter in a row, the Central England Temperature record – according to an expert analysis on the US science blog Watts Up With That – shows that in this century, average winter temperatures have dropped by 1.45C, more than twice as much as their rise between 1850 and 1999, and twice as much as the entire net rise in global temperatures recorded in the 20th century.”
Monday, June 24, 2013 at 08:49 PM