Climate Finance Working Group
The Climate Finance Working Group was convened in 2022 to bring together subject matter experts from the financial and insurance industries, academia, and water sector utility managers to investigate the impacts of climate change on water utility bond ratings and credit worthiness.
The Working Group’s goals are to share information to foster a cross-disciplinary understanding of the effects of climate-related vulnerabilities, how water utilities manage associated risks, and how financial and insurance industries utilize this information when assessing water sector utility credit worthiness. The Working Group recognized that water sector utilities that effectively identify, manage, and disclose climate change risk and resiliency efforts in a responsible manner are more highly rated, broaden the investor base, improve insurance access and pricing, and gain more support from ratepayers. The March 2024 Report below details the Working Group’s discussion and findings.
In 2024, the Working Group is investigating and discussing three main topics: 1) data to identify climate change threats at water sector utilities; 2) methods and practices to identify and assess climate change risks; and 3) effective outreach and disclosure practices to manage these risks.
Climate Finance Working Group Resources
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Climate Change in the Drinking Water and Wastewater Sectors and the Impact on Financial Resilience, Insurability, and Credit and Investment Quality (pdf) Workgroup report on initial discussion and findings.