Climate Risk & Municipal Credit Ratings

May 6, 2020 — As climate-related events have increased in frequency and magnitude, they have moved to the forefront of ESG investors’ minds. How well companies and municipalities prepare for the risks of climate change is not simply an “E” issue, but “S” and “G” issues as well. Extreme heat has implications for food production, clean air and drinking water, transportation, and overall human health. In this report, we analyzed the relationship between climate risk and readiness and the credit rating of U.S. municipalities to determine if a correlation between climate risk and credit rating exists.