Engineering Inc - July/August 2019 - 45

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hits of 1 percent or more by
2060-2080 under a 'no climate
action' scenario," according to
the report.
Furthermore, within a
decade, more than 15 percent
of municipal bonds (by value)
will be issued by MSAs facing
average annualized economic
losses due to climate change of
up to 1 percent of GDP.
Miami already suffers losses
of more than 1.0 percent of
annualized GDP today, and the
report estimates, it could be as
high as 4.5 percent of GDP by
the end of the century.
The report also looked at
commercial mortgage-backed
securities (CMBS) because the
underlying assets typically have
life spans of several decades.
Many CMBS assets are in metropolitan
areas that
face higher
than
average
climate
risks. For
example,
New York,
Houston
and
Miami make up about one-fifth
of CMBS properties by market
value.
Adding to the risk, BlackRock found that 80 percent of
the CMBS assets in Miami and
Houston are outside official
flood zones; as a result, they
may lack adequate insurance
coverage.
Climate change also poses a
big risk to electric utilities, with
many power plants vulnerable
due to aging infrastructure and
outdated design standards.
According to the report,
"Extreme weather risks already
threaten utility stocks-and
are set to rise in frequency and
intensity over time-but are not
fully priced in."
To read the full report, go
to: http://bit.do/BlackRock-

climate-related-risks-report.

Nitsch Engineering Client Seminar
Series Focuses on Resiliency

I
"One of our
core values
is a focus on
continuous
improvement,
so we seek to
be a leader in
the industry
in bringing
information
to our
clients."
LISA BROTHERS
CHAIR AND CEO
NITSCH
ENGINEERING

n April, Nitsch Engineering held the latest in its long-running series
of annual Client Seminars in Boston. More than 100 participants-
including clients, friends, people who referred clients and Nitsch
employees-attended the event, which focused on resiliency.
"One of our core values is a focus on continuous improvement, so we
seek to be a leader in the industry in bringing information to our clients,"
says Lisa Brothers, chair and CEO of Nitsch Engineering. "We try to
choose a topic that is innovative, cutting edge and provides a service to our
clients. It is definitely not a Nitsch commercial."
Nitsch began its Client Seminars 19 years ago. Past topics have included
smart cities, green infrastructure and how to get projects built in Boston.
This year's focus is climate change and resiliency.
"We wanted to broaden the conversation for our clients and help them
to look at resiliency from a regional perspective," says Brothers.
After Brian Creamer, a senior planner at Nitsch, set the stage with
an overview of climate change and the importance of resiliency, Julie
Wormser, deputy director of the Mystic River Watershed Association and
founder of the Resilient Mystic Collaborative, addressed the need for a
broad approach to climate change and resiliency.
"The Mystic River flows through 22 communities," says Brothers.
"No single city or town can solve the problems facing the river on their
own. In order to get anything done, they need to talk to each other and
collaborate."
To drive the point home, Carri Hulet, senior mediator at the Consensus
Building Institute, led an exercise in which all the participants played different roles in a meeting to improve stormwater management.
"Wearing a different hat really made people stop and think about the
other people's point of view," says Brothers.
One of the lessons from the session especially applicable to the engineering industry is related to the reams of data around stormwater and rainfall
intensities that Hulet provided.
"Sometimes you can have too much information," says Brothers. "All
the data can be distracting."
After the event, Nitsch compiled all seminar handouts and notes and
shared the information with attendees, along with a survey to obtain
attendees' feedback.

More than 100 participants attended Nitsch Engineering's
latest Client Seminar in Boston in April.
If your firm has an item to submit to In the News, please contact Gerry
Donohue at gdonohue@acec.org.

JULY / AUGUST 2019

ENGINEERING INC.

http://www.bit.do/BlackRock-climate-related-risks-report http://www.bit.do/BlackRock-climate-related-risks-report

Engineering Inc - July/August 2019

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