Climate change risk could lower a city’s credit rating
Credit agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s recently put out reports laying out this scenario: federal disaster spending drying up while damages from increasing disasters continue to rise. If cities, counties or states are left more on their own to fund rebuilding after natural disasters like hurricanes, they could have a lot of trouble managing their finances. That risk needs to be calculated into municipal bond ratings, the agencies say, to better reflect the risks that disaster-prone areas face, whether it’s superstorms, floods, wildfires or drought.
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