Focus area leads: Clinton Andrews, Rutgers University
Carolyn Kousky, Environmental Defense Fund

Climate change will impact local government revenues and expenditures. Research in this focus area provides information on climate-related financial risk to inform future municipal budget allocation decisions. For example:

• • Analyzing historical data to understand the fiscal impact of climate disasters on local governments and developing online decision-support tools.

• • Understanding that reliance on property taxes can encourage development in flood-prone areas, necessitating incentives for sustainable planning.

• • Exploring how buying out properties in high-risk areas can be cost-effective, and loss of property-tax revenue may be offset by reducing emergency and infrastructure expenses.

• Creating data-driven analytical tools, reshaping financial incentives, and encouraging a more efficient intergovernmental response to strengthen communities against economic and environmental challenges related to climate change