Making the case for climate resilience
Investing wisely: helping Florida assess adaptation and resilience options
Demonstrating clear returns on coastal protection investment in Florida
Before investing in adaptation and resilience, the Southeast Florida community wanted to understand both the economic implications of sea level rise and coastal flooding, and the return on investment of strategies to address these risks. Our team worked with local governments and the business community to identify vulnerabilities and then conducted an economic analysis, which was complemented by a variety of stakeholder engagement activities across Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties.
Highlighting outcomes vs. consequences
Accounting for the large and varied geography of Southeast Florida, we evaluated the high-level economic consequences that could occur if no action were taken to mitigate coastal hazard risks, and the costs and benefits that could result from investment in adaptation and resilience strategies.
Considerations included the coastal conditions, the cost of doing nothing, the return on investment of community-wide and building-level adaptation, the co-benefits of adaptation, and strategies for communities in Southeast Florida to advance economic resilience.
Showing climate resilience makes economic sense
The regional business case for resilience in Southeast Florida is clear. Our team found that community-wide adaptation strategies would bring a 2:1 return on investment, with a 4:1 return on building level adaptation strategies.
Investing in economic resilience will require local and regional action by both the public and private sector. Our work clearly shows the shared benefits of partnering together to confront the economic risks posed by current and future coastal conditions.