Category: Real Assets Screening

Moody’s Launches Comprehensive ESG Solutions Group; Appoints Global Head

Posted on by Natalie Ambrosio

Moody’s launches an ESG Solutions Group, offering data and analytics across ESG, climate risk and sustainable finance. Read the press release from Moody’s:

LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO) announced today the formation of an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Solutions Group to serve the growing global demand for ESG insights. The group leverages Moody’s data and expertise across ESG, climate risk, and sustainable finance, and aligns with Moody’s Investors Service (MIS) and Moody’s Analytics (MA) to deliver a comprehensive, integrated suite of ESG customer solutions.

The ESG Solutions Group develops tools and analytics that identify, quantify, and report on the impact of ESG-related risks and opportunities. Moody’s ESG capabilities expanded following its investments in Vigeo Eiris (VE), a global pioneer in ESG assessments, data and tools, and sustainable finance, and Four Twenty Seven, a leader in climate risk analysis, in 2019. ESG and climate risk considerations are already integrated into credit ratings and research offered by Moody’s Investors Service, and will be integrated into a range of Moody’s Analytics risk management solutions, research, data and analytics platforms.

“Moody’s ESG Solutions Group brings together capabilities from across the company to help market participants advance strategic resilience, responsible capitalism, and the greening of the economy by identifying risks and opportunities and providing meaningful performance measurements and insights,” said Rob Fauber, Moody’s Chief Operating Officer.

The ESG Solutions Group is led by Andrea Blackman, who has over 30 years of experience in harnessing financial and technology innovation in leadership roles with banks, asset managers, and financial technology vendors. She previously managed Moody’s CreditView, growing it into the leading global research, data, and analytics platform for credit market professionals.

Including its affiliates, Moody’s ESG-related offerings now include:

  • 5,000+ company ESG assessments
  • Controversy screening for 7,900 companies
  • 1 million climate risk scores
  • 250+ sustainable bond and loan reviews
  • 70+ ESG specialty indices
  • Credit ratings that integrate ESG risk considerations
  • Risk management solutions integrating ESG and climate risk factors

VE and Four Twenty Seven will continue to offer market-leading stand-alone ESG and climate risk solutions given strong demand for their innovative products. VE recently launched enhanced Second Party Opinions for sustainability bonds that integrate aspects of the EU Taxonomy and Green Bond standard. Four Twenty Seven recently announced the addition of wildfire risk to their on-demand Real Asset Scoring Application for a property or facility’s projected exposure to climate change effects.

For more information visit Moody’s ESG & Climate Risk hub at www.moodys.com/esg

Moody’s Sector In-Depth: REITs can manage climate risk, investments needed to address growing challenges

Posted on by 427-admin

While real estate investment trusts (REITs) can manage the current physical risks of climate change, increased asset exposure to climate hazards will pose greater challenges. In its sector in-depth, REITs Can Manage Climate Risk, Investments Needed to Address Growing Challenges, Moody’s Investors Service leverages Four Twenty Seven’s climate risk data to assess climate risk for 15 rated US REITs.

REITs are most exposed water stress in regions such as California and the Southwest while heat stress puts strains on operating costs in California, the mid-Atlantic and several Northeast locations. For the REITs assessed in the report, hurricane and sea-level rise risk pose less severe threats than they do in some coastal markets.  pose modest influence in comparison to heat and water stress for most property locations. Floods pose a modest risk to most assessed REITs.

The analysis found that factors such as the power to pass improvement costs to tenants and local government investment in resilience can mitigate these growing risks.  While insurance has traditionally been another risk mitigation technique, these growing changes demand larger capital investments. Asset-level resilience measures can help protect properties from the the impacts of hazards and reduce increased operating costs.

Moody’s subscribers can read the full report here.

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To learn more about Four Twenty Seven’s climate risk data, check out our solutions for investors, banks and corporations or read our analysis on real estate climate risk in Europe.

Webinar: Climate Change and Wildfires

Posted on by Natalie Ambrosio

How will climate change increase wildfire potential? This Four Twenty Seven webinar shares our methodology for assessing global wildfire potential and highlights key findings from our analysis.

Speakers

  • Natalie Ambrosio Preudhomme, Director, Communications, provides an introduction to the implications of wildfires for finance, business and government stakeholders.
  • Colin Gannon, Director, Research, explains Four Twenty Seven’s methodology for assessing wildfire potential.
  • Lindsay Ross, Director, Global Client Services, shares key findings from the analysis, highlighting regional hotspots and discussing actionable ways to leverage this data to inform investment in resilience.

For more information on Four Twenty Seven’s wildfire dataset read our report, Climate Change and Wildfires: Projecting Future Wildfire Potential.

Moody’s: U.S. Nuclear Operators Exposed to Physical Climate Risks

Posted on by Natalie Ambrosio

Increasing physical climate hazards affect the operations and costs of nuclear plants due to their water needs and reliance on critical equipment. In its report, Nuclear Operators Face Growing Climate Risk but Resiliency Investments Mitigate Impact, Moody’s Investors Service leverages Four Twenty Seven’s physical climate risk data to explore the exposure of nuclear power plants to climate hazards, including heat stress, water stress, flooding and hurricanes.

The analysis found that nuclear power plants are vulnerable to increasing frequency of extreme weather conditions such as flooding and storm surge, due to their need for water cooling which means many plants are adjacent to large bodies of water. Technology and equipment required for safe plant operation are susceptible to damage and nuclear plants along the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico are particularly exposed to floods from sea level rise.

Clustered in the Midwest and eastern part of the U.S., market-based plants face less risk of hurricanes or sea level rise than regulated/cost-based plants. However, they face increased heat stress and water stress which can reduce plants’ cooling capacity. The credit impact for market-based plants can be more significant than the regulated plants that are more easily able to make-up costs through rate recovery programs.

Nuclear plant operators face physical and economic risks due to extreme events driven by climate change, and operators and owners will have to consider these risks and explore increased resilience options, as they approach license expiration and renewal processes between 2030 and 2050.

Moody’s subscribers can read the full report here.

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To learn more about Four Twenty Seven’s climate risk data, check out our solutions for investors, banks and corporations or read our report on Assessing Global Wildfire Potential.

Moody’s Including Four Twenty Seven Climate Risk Data in Research and Ratings

Posted on by Natalie Ambrosio

Four Twenty Seven’s physical climate risk data now informs Moody’s ratings and research on US commercial mortgage-backed securities and commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations. Moody’s presale reports include a physical climate risk table for the property backing the loan, showing its exposure to floods, heat stress, hurricanes & typhoons, sea level rise, water stress and wildfires in the next 10 to 20 years. Read the press release from Moody’s Investors Service:

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New York, August 11, 2020 —

  • Four Twenty Seven measures the degree of risk from floods, heat stress, hurricanes and typhoons, sea level rise, water stress, and wildfires
  • Moody’s presale reports now include physical climate risk tables for the properties backing the loans in CMBS and CRE CLO transactions

Moody’s Investors Service is now including climate risk data and analytics from majority-owned affiliate Four Twenty Seven in its research on and ratings process for US commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations (CRE CLOs). While Four Twenty Seven climate risk scores inform Moody’s ratings, they are not a direct input into Moody’s rating models.

“CRE market participants are particularly exposed to physical risks associated with climate change, which could impact both properties and the surrounding communities,” said Nicholas Levidy, a managing director with Moody’s Structured Finance Group. “In the coming decades, climate hazards could disrupt access to certain locations and operations, damaging infrastructure and, where climate events become chronic, undermining an asset’s viability. The Four Twenty Seven scoring system provides a systematic way for us to monitor the impacts of gradually worsening extreme weather hazards.”

As extreme weather events and conditions become more frequent and severe, anticipation of these hazards will be increasingly reflected in insurance costs, and eventually also capital expenditures and commercial property valuations, Levidy says. Climate change could also raise utility costs due to factors such as higher demand for energy or a lack of water.

“Four Twenty Seven leverages global climate models to help investors and lenders understand what future risks related to climate change are likely to emerge,” said Emilie Mazzacurati, founder and CEO of Four Twenty Seven. “Our analytics look 10 to 20 years into the future, with this data compared to historical conditions to produce a measure of expected disruption from climate change.”

Four Twenty Seven provides aggregated climate risk scores and portfolio analytics that quantify a property’s exposure to the impacts of each of the six physical climate risks, with scores ranging from ‘no risk’ to ‘red flag,’ or extremely high risk. Four Twenty Seven scores are “gross” exposure scores, which Moody’s considers and supplements in the context of any property- or borrower-specific risk mitigants that may exist such as insurance, building systems, age of buildings, infrastructure improvements or government intervention measures.

Moody’s presale reports now include a physical climate risk table for the property backing each loan in a CMBS or CRE CLO transaction. The table provides the risk level and a site score for the given property, as well as a country benchmark score, for each of the six climate hazards.

The combination of data and analytics will enable commercial real estate professionals to better understand the exposure of their properties to the physical impacts of climate change, and to factor that insight into their investment decision-making processes.

For more information visit Moody’s Investors Service.

Newsletter: How will climate change worsen wildfire exposure?

Posted on by Jeremiah Kim

Four Twenty Seven's monthly newsletter highlights recent developments in climate risk and resilience. This month we share new data on wildfire potential, highlight the connection between racial justice and climate change and feature new reports on climate risk.
In Focus: Projecting Future Wildfire Potential

Four Twenty Seven Analysis - Days of High Wildfire Potential will Increase by Up to Three Months in Most Exposed Regions
 
Areas ranging from California and Australia to the Amazon, Spain and the Arctic have experienced unprecedented loss of life and damage from wildfires in the past several years. Climate change is already making wildfires more severe and Four Twenty Seven's latest analysis finds that it will lead to more days with high wildfire potential in areas already prone to wildfires, and create hotter and drier conditions that will expose entirely new areas. 

This analysis leverages Four Twenty Seven's new dataset, which provides the only known globally comparable assessment of future wildfire potential in a changing climate at a scale of approximately 25 kilometers by 25 kilometers. The data is built upon the two key factors of soil moisture deficit and wildfire fuel type and incorporates data from global climate models to provide a view of changing conditions by 2030-2040, capturing both absolute and relative change in frequency and severity. This new data is now available on-demand for our clients via Four Twenty Seven’s Physical Climate Risk Application for real assets.

Register for our webinar on August 20th at 8am PST / 11am ET / 16:00 BST to learn more about the methodology and findings.
Read the Report
Climate Change and Racial Justice

Exploring Environmental Justice and the Need for Equitable Adaptation

The relationship between race and climate change is too often ignored. The recent protests for racial justice and police reform call attention to the fact that racism is still deeply embedded in our institutions and public policies. In the United States, people of color are disproportionately affected by polluting industries and climate change, while at the same time often lacking the resources to prepare and being excluded from decision-making on adaptation investment.

As part of our commitment to help raise awareness of the nexus between racial justice and climate change, Four Twenty Seven published a two-part blog series on the nexus of racial justice and climate change. The first blog focuses on exposure, providing a brief overview of environmental injustice issues in the U.S., and shedding light on the disproportionate impacts of climate change on Black communities and people of color. One solution is to ensure that climate adaptation intentionally considers this disproportionate exposure, factoring racial equity into decision-making. The second blog on adaptation outlines the need to integrate equity into adaptation and highlights emerging best practices.

Read our analyses:

Webinar Recording

Last week Four Twenty Seven and Moody's hosted a webinar exploring these topics. Four Twenty Seven's Yoon Kim discussed disproportionate exposure of people of color to climate hazards, Moody's Investors Services' Ram Sri-Saravanapavaan presented on the implications of inequality on sovereign credit, Tulane's Jesse Keenan discussed climate justice in urban development and UC Irvine's Michael Méndez presented on racial equity in climate policy. Register here to watch the recording. 
Central Banks on Climate Risk

The Bank of England's Climate Risk Disclosure
Last month the Bank of England published its first TCFD-aligned climate risk disclosure, assessing the exposure of its own portfolios to physical and transition risks. The Bank underscores the importance of addressing climate change as a financial risk and states the importance of assessing and disclosing risks even as the best available resources continue to evolve. The risk assessment leverages Four Twenty Seven and Moody's Analytics analysis on physical risk exposure. Meanwhile, the Bank of England's Climate Financial Risk Forum published a guide for financial stakeholders to assess, manage and disclose climate risk.

Guide to Climate Scenario Analysis for Central Banks and Supervisors
The Network for Greening the Financial System released a four step approach for central banks and supervisors to implement scenario analysis for climate risk, accompanied by a detailed set of climate scenarios. The steps include identifying the scope of the assessment; identifying scenarios; assessing the best way to connect climate risk exposure to economic and financial impacts; and explaining the results and methodology.

Indebted to Nature - Exploring Biodiversity Risks for the Dutch Financial Sector
Last month the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency released this report outlining the ways in which biodiversity loss poses economic and financial risk and the role the financial sector plays in biodiversity loss. The report also assesses the Dutch financial sector's exposure to biodiversity risk leveraging Four Twenty Seven's database. The separate report, Methods for analyses in Indebted to nature, explains the full approach. 
Public Consultations on Climate Risk

EIOPA Discussion Paper on Methodological Principles of Insurance Stress Testing
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority's (EIOPA) recent discussion paper outlines an approach to climate risk stress testing for transition and physical risks, citing Four Twenty Seven's methodology. EIOPA has asked for feedback by October 2.

European Central Bank Consultation on Climate Risk Disclosure Guidance
The European Central Bank (ECB) published guidance asking banks to disclose their climate-related risks and integrate these risks into their risk management processes. Compliance will be expected when the guidelines are finalized at the end of the year. The ECB has solicited feedback through a public consultation open until September 25.
Four Twenty Seven Wins
WatersTechnology Asia Award

Four Twenty Seven Recognized as Best Alternative Data Provider
The WatersTechnology Asia Award 2020 for Best Alternative Data Provider recognizes Four Twenty Seven’s innovation, accuracy and high standard in curating and deploying data for financial stakeholders.
This regional award showcases vendors and end users with high quality solutions with global relevance that are also especially pertinent to Asia markets.This came as financial regulators across the Asia-Pacific region have increasingly contributed to the global call for increased measurement and disclosure of climate risks in investment portfolios, encouraging financial actors to step up. With an office in Tokyo and a partnership with Sydney based DB Funds Advisory, Four Twenty Seven is excited to bring our award-winning climate risk data to more financial stakeholders in these markets. 

Four Twenty Seven Recognized in Exeleon Magazine's Top Companies

Business and Tech Magazine Exeleon, includes Four Twenty Seven in its listing of the top 100 companies to watch in 2020. "While the past several years have seen an increase in awareness of the material risks of climate change, Four Twenty Seven was on the leading edge of analyzing many complex scientific datasets and translating them for financial and business stakeholders." Exeleon writes. "Emilie and her team publish deeply data-driven and location-specific analysis, based on the best available climate data and the specific need of financial stakeholders."
Four Twenty Seven Partners with Nova Group

Nova's Climate Resilience Assessment Leverages Four Twenty Seven's Physical Risk Data
Four Twenty Seven is pleased to announce a partnership with Nova Group, GBC, a leading environmental and engineering due diligence advisory firm. Four Twenty Seven's asset-level physical climate
risk data now informs Nova’s new Climate Resilience Assessment, providing resilience recommendations based on the risks and characteristics of the specific asset of interest.
Inside the Office at Four Twenty Seven

Associate Director, Research - Stephanie Auer
Four Twenty Seven welcomes Stephanie as Associate Director, Research. Stephanie develops and incorporates metrics of novel climate indices into Four Twenty Seven’s products and services. Stephanie’s background is in data science and conservation ecology. She has worked for NatureServe and the California Academy of Sciences in ecological forecasting, data visualization and mapping, with a focus on analysis and communication for climate change adaptation planning.

Join the team! Four Twenty Seven is Hiring

There are several opportunities to join Four Twenty Seven's dynamic team. See the open position below and visit our Careers page and Moody's Careers page for more information.
  • IAM Modeler with expertise in Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) and in translating IAM outputs for a wide range of stakeholders
Upcoming Events

Join the team online at these upcoming events and check our Events page for updates:
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Copyright © 2020 Four Twenty Seven, All rights reserved.
Four Twenty Seven sends a newsletter focused on bringing climate intelligence into economic and financial decision-making for investors, corporations and governments. Fill in the form below to join our mailing list. As data controller, we collect your email address with your consent in order to send you our newsletter. Four Twenty Seven will never share your mailing information with anyone and you may unsubscribe at any moment. Please read our Terms and Conditions.
 

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Climate Change and Wildfires: Projecting Future Wildfire Potential

Posted on by Natalie Ambrosio

August 6, 2020 – Four Twenty Seven Report. Wildfires are complex physical phenomena that come at extraordinary costs to human and natural systems. Climate change is already making wildfires more severe and this new research finds that it will lead to more days with high wildfire potential in areas already prone to wildfires, and create hotter and drier conditions that will expose entirely new areas. Understanding which areas are exposed to changing wildfire conditions will help leaders in government, finance and public health to mitigate catastrophic loss. This report explores Four Twenty Seven’s new methodology for assessing global wildfire potential, identifying regional trends and hot spots.

Read the full report.

The 2019-2020 Australian bushfires raged for seven months, killed more than 30 people, hospitalized thousands more,[1] and burned more than 10 million hectares of land.[2] While the full financial and ecological impact is still unknown, costs from those fires are likely to exceed $4.4 billion.[3] Meanwhile, ten of the largest wildfires in Arizona’s history occurred in the last eight years and nine of California’s largest wildfires occurred in just the last seven years.[4]

Beyond direct losses and disruption from damage to buildings and infrastructure, air pollution from wildfires has led to healthcare costs in excess of $100 billion in losses per year in the United States.[5] Leaders in government, finance, and public health need to understand how and where climate change will further heighten wildfire potential because of the serious threat wildfires pose to societies, economies, and natural systems.

This new report, Climate Change and Wildfires: Projecting Future Wildfire Potential, outlines Four Twenty Seven’s approach to quantifying global wildfire potential, capturing both absolute and relative changes in frequency and severity by 2030-2040.  Wildfire potential refers to meteorological conditions and vegetative fuel sources that are conducive to wildfires. Using a proprietary methodology submitted for peer review, our analytics link climate drivers such as changing temperature and precipitation patterns with the availability of vegetative fuels to assess wildfire potential in the future.

The analysis also explores key regions exposed to increasing wildfire potential and discusses the implications for financial stakeholders and communities. Our analytics affirm common understanding about locations exposed to wildfire, providing an indication of the increasing severity and frequency of wildfires in areas already prone to these events. The report also offers insight into areas that may have less obvious exposure, but are likely to have higher wildfire potential over time. Preparing for wildfires is a local, and often regional effort. The relatively high spatial granularity of our results (~25 kilometers) enables decision-makers to evaluate wildfire potential at a useful scale.

Key Findings:

  • Four Twenty Seven developed a first-of-its-kind global dataset projecting changes to wildfire potential under a changing climate, at a granularity of about 25 x 25 kilometers.
  • In areas already exposed to wildfires, by 2030-2040 climate change will prolong wildfire seasons, adding up to three months of days with high wildfire potential in Western Australia, over two months in regions of northern California and a month in European countries including Spain, Portugal and Greece.
  • New wildfire risks will emerge in historically wet and cool regions, such as Siberia, which is projected to have 20 more days of high wildfire potential in 2030-2040.
  • Globally, western portions of the Amazon and Southeast Asia will experience the largest relative increases in wildfire severity, further threatening crucial biodiversity hotspots and carbon sinks.
  • Confronting this new risk will take unprecedented resources and new approaches in regions not familiar with wildfires and worsening wildfire seasons will continue to threaten already limited resources in currently exposed areas.

Read the full report.

Download the press release.

[1] Cohen, Li, “Australian bushfire smoke killed more people than the fires did, study says,” CBS News, March 20, 2020, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/australia-fires-bushfire-smoke-killed-more-people-than-the-fires-did-study-says/.

[2] Rodway, Nick, “‘We are a ghost town’: Counting the cost of Australia’s bushfires,” Aljazeera, January 27, 2020, https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/ghost-town-counting-cost-australias-bushfires-200127035021168.html.

[3] Ben Butler, “Economic Impact of Australia’s Bushfires Set to Exceed $4.4bn Cost of Black Saturday,” The Guardian, January 7, 2020, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jan/08/economic-impact-of-australias-bushfires-set-to-exceed-44bn-cost-of-black-saturday.

[4] Cappucci, Matthew and Freedman, Andrew, “Arizona wildfires grow as flames flicker throughout Desert Southwest and California,” The Washington Post, June 22, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/06/22/arizona-wildfires-grow-flames-flicker-throughout-desert-southwest-california/

[5] Fann N., Alman B., Broome R. A., Morgan G. G., Johnston F. H., Pouliot G., & Rappold A. G., “The health impacts and economic value of wildland fire episodes in the U.S.: 2008-2012,” The Science of the Total Environment, 2018.

Four Twenty Seven Announces Partnership with Nova Group, GBC

Posted on by Natalie Ambrosio

July 9, 2020 – BERKELEY, CA – New Climate Resilience Assessment leverages Four Twenty Seven’s physical climate risk data to enable proactive risk management by commercial real estate stakeholders

Commercial real estate assets are increasingly affected by climate change, whether it be costly hurricane damage, increasing energy costs due to higher temperatures, or the impacts of sea level rise on asset value. As it becomes evident that every asset has its own risks and that these risks will continue to manifest in financial loss, real estate investors and property managers need to prepare. Granular, site-specific data on risk exposure is the critical first step for understanding these impacts, and it is essential to use these assessments to inform investment in preparedness. Nova’s new Climate Resilience Assessment fulfills this demand for data-driven insights into how to build resiliency, based on the risks and characteristics of the specific asset of interest.

“The single most frequent question we get from clients is ‘I know my risk now, but what do I do next?’ We are delighted to partner with Nova Group to answer this question, filling the urgent demand for site-specific guidance on how to build resilience,” said Emilie Mazzacurati, Four Twenty Seven’s Founder & CEO.

“Arguably there is no greater risk confronting the global commercial real estate industry than climate change. We are thrilled to partner with the industry leaders of Four Twenty Seven to amplify their forward-looking, predictable, and location-specific data to create a more resilient world,” stated Ben Bohline, Nova Group’s President & CFO.

Read Nova Group’s announcement here.

Four Twenty Seven Announces Partnership with Measurabl

Posted on by Natalie Ambrosio

June 2, 2020 – BERKELEY, CA –  Four Twenty Seven’s data on climate-related risks is now available on Measurabl’s real estate data platform.

Measurabl is the world’s most widely adopted ESG software for commercial real estate, and Four Twenty Seven’s physical risk data is now available in a new Physical Climate Risk Exposure tool on Measurabl’s investment grade ESG (environmental, social, governance) data hub. Through this integration Measurabl customers can now identify their physical climate risks to inform opportunities to build resilience across their real estate portfolios.

As the effects of climate change worsen, real estate companies are feeling tangible impacts. Properties exposed to rising sea levels rise in the United States sell at about 7% less compared with similar, unexposed properties. Severe climate events such as hurricanes are occurring more frequently and costing billions of dollars in damage to assets. Additionally, companies face growing regulatory and investor pressures to disclose climate-related financial risks in line with frameworks like the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD).

Yet today, real estate owners and lenders lack transparency into the forward-looking impacts of climate-related threats on their assets and find it difficult to collect and analyze physical climate risk data in a meaningful, comprehensive way.

For each building in a portfolio, Measurabl’s Physical Climate Risk Exposure tool provides Four Twenty Seven’s data for the five key climate hazards of floods, heat stress, hurricanes & typhoons, sea level rise and water stress, as well as earthquakes. The tool identifies the level of risk an asset faces for each hazard and allows users to sort, filter and export Four Twenty Seven’s physical risk data by property type, risk category, and risk level. Users can access this data from Measurabl’s centralized software alongside relevant ESG performance metrics and analytics. This new release improves transparency and enables lenders and investors to better assess and manage their risk.

“We’re thrilled to partner with the leading ESG data management platform to provide unprecedented levels of transparency to real estate owners and managers worldwide,” said Emilie Mazzacurati, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Four Twenty Seven. “As climate change increasingly causes financial damage to real assets, this partnership helps fill the urgent demand for data to help the real estate industry prepare for the impacts of climate change.”

Physical climate risk data analyzed in tandem with ESG performance provides real estate and capital markets new opportunities to assess their risks and build more resilient portfolios in a central hub. Through advanced understanding of these risks, the built environment and capital markets will be empowered to make data-driven decisions on risk mitigation and strategic investments.

“The evolution of Measurabl’s software to include climate risk data was a natural development as we continue to build the best-in-class ESG –and now “R” – platform for commercial real estate,” said Matt Ellis, Founder and CEO of Measurabl. “The union of physical climate risks with ESG creates unparalleled transparency for climate-related financial decisions and disclosures.”

Read Measurabl’s announcement here and learn more about the new Physical Climate Risk Exposure tool incorporating Four Twenty Seven data.

Newsletter: Will There be a Green Recovery?

Posted on by Christina Guo

Four Twenty Seven's monthly newsletter highlights recent developments in climate risk and resilience. This month we discuss the potential for a green recovery, highlight ways in which asset owners can leverage Four Twenty Seven's Physical Climate Risk Application and share recent and upcoming webinars.
In Focus: Will There be a Green Recovery?

Governments Include Climate Measures in Recovery Efforts
As many EU leaders commit to pursuing Europe's Green deal alongside recovery efforts, already approved measures in European countries also mandate that corporations consider climate goals during their use of relief funds. As part of its green recovery programs Germany invited over 400 listed companies to participate in a research project on how these firms are aligned with the EU Taxonomy, currently focused on climate mitigation and adaptation activities.

Meanwhile, Canada requires that large corporations commit to filing TCFD-aligned climate risk disclosures to receive specific bailouts. China's Politburo Standing Committee has endorsed new infrastructure spending of $1.4 trillion over five years for several low-carbon technologies such as electric vehicle charging, high-speed rail and others. However, the details and implementation are still unclear, with provincial governments having significant control, and many still in favor of traditional energy.

Low interest rates do make this a particularly good time for governments to invest in resilience and green infrastructure, with substantial return on investment over time. Though in the U.S. there is less indication that stimulus efforts will include significant measures to support a green recovery, with any current action coming scattered from some states. However, if Biden is elected in November the situation may change in the U.S. Biden's appointment of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as co-chair of his climate task force could signal an intent to favor green jobs to help the economy recover.

Moody's Webinar: COVID-19 and Climate Change

During last week's webinar Founder & CEO, Emilie Mazzacurati, joined Rahul Gosh, SVP, Credit Research & Strategy at Moody's, to discuss what organizations can learn from the pandemic to help prevent and prepare for climate change. Emilie discussed the impact on emissions, government responses and how these events can help companies understand the implications of carbon transition risk. Register for the webinar to watch the replay.
How Can Asset Owners Manage
Climate Risk?

Use Case - Climate Data for Risk Management in Real Asset Portfolios
As regulatory pressure to assess and report climate risks picks up, and physical climate hazards increasingly result in financial damage, asset owners face the daunting challenge of leveraging climate data for financial decision-making. Real estate, infrastructure, agriculture, timber and other real assets have long been an integral component of an asset owner’s portfolio due to their returns and the diversification they offer to the overall fund. However, many real assets are highly vulnerable to physical climate risks. These risks manifest in direct and indirect ways, including increased costs, reduced revenues and decreased asset value.

Evaluating an asset’s exposure to physical climate hazards is challenging, yet also an essential first step in managing climate risks. Four Twenty Seven’s Physical Climate Risk Application allows investors to assess exposure to floods, sea level rise, hurricanes & typhoons, heat stress and water stress at the asset and portfolio levels. Asset owners leverage hazard exposure scores to identify regional and sectoral trends as well as specific hotspots. Flexible viewing options and digestible data provide insight for portfolio risk assessments and due diligence processes. This new case study explores how, armed with climate risk data at decision-relevant scales, asset owners can begin to manage their risk. 
 
Read the Case Study
Regulatory Updates

Bank of England Postpones Climate Stress Tests
Earlier this month the Bank of England and the Prudential Regulatory Authority postponed its climate-related stress tests until at least mid-2021 to allow banks and insurers to focus on COVID-19 recovery efforts. The announcement emphasized the ambitious scope of the stress tests and the hope that the delay will allow firms to invest sufficient resources in the exercise when the time comes.

European Central Bank Publishes Guidance on Climate Risk Disclosure
Yesterday, the European Central Bank (ECB) published guidance asking banks to disclose their climate-related risks and integrate these risks into their risk management processes. Compliance will be expected when the guidelines are finalized at the end of the year. The ECB has solicited feedback through a public consultation open until September 25.

Update to the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive
The European Commission is soliciting feedback on its non-financial reporting directive as part of its efforts to improve oversight of non-financial reporting in alignment with its Green Deal and a global call for a new approach to regulating non-financial disclosure. Provide feedback by June 11.

European Commission Consultation on Climate Adaptation
As part of its Green Deal the European Commission has launched a climate adaptation strategy to encourage eco-friendly investments and build resilience. It is refining the initiative and soliciting feedback through a public consultation. Respond by June 30.
Four Twenty Seven Shortlisted in Waters Ranking 2020

Vote for Four Twenty Seven as Best Alternative Data Provider
Four Twenty Seven is honored to be short-listed in the Best Alternative Data Provider category in the 2020 Waters Rankings.
This readers' choice award recognizes the capital markets' leading technologies and providers. We'd be grateful for your vote! You can vote here before May 29. 
Webinars on Integrating Climate Risk into Financial Decision Making

IIF Webinar Recording: Quantifying the Impacts of Climate Change
This Institute of International Finance webinar (IIF) features Emilie Mazzacurati, Founder & CEO of Four Twenty Seven, and Jing Zhang, Managing Director, Global Head of Quantitative Research at Moody’s, as they provide an overview of Moody’s climate risk solutions on the financial impacts of climate change. Watch now.

AllianceBernstein Webinar: Incorporating Climate Change into Investment Research
Please join us for a discussion about how the investment value chain is incorporating climate change into decision-making. Sara Rosner and David Wheeler, of AllianceBernstein, will discuss their collaboration with Columbia University on climate change and highlight the climate theme in their sustainable portfolios. Martina Macpherson, of Moody’s, will provide an overview of the current market environment and Moody's ESG and climate efforts, and Emilie Mazzacurati will present a deep dive into climate risk analytics. This webinar is next Wednesday, May 27 at 2pm BST / 9am EST / 6am PST. Register here.
Inside the Office at Four Twenty Seven

UK Sales Director - Ben Boukhobza
Four Twenty Seven welcomes Ben as UK Sales Director. Ben leads Four Twenty Seven’s business development and growth strategy in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Ben leverages ten years of experience across various roles within the Commercial Group at Moody’s Investors Service (MIS). Most recently Ben led the EMEA Sales Support team, having previously held roles ranging from sales and account management to operations and technology.

Join the team! Four Twenty Seven is Hiring

There are several opportunities to join Four Twenty Seven's dynamic team. See the open positions below and visit our Careers page for more information.
  • Project Manager with excellent leadership skills and proven experience coordinating activities across teams of different disciplines within research, content and technology
  • Regional Sales Director (North America) with extensive experience selling and supporting data products and services for large commercial, financial and government institutions
Upcoming Events

Join the team online at these upcoming events and check our Events page for updates, including registration links to webinars not yet available:
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Twitter
LinkedIn
LinkedIn
YouTube
YouTube
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Facebook
Website
Website
Email
Email
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