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By: Andrew Foster, CAHEC Board of Directors & Duke Law Professor
There is an overwhelming consensus in the scientific community that urgent action is needed in order to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the production of greenhouse gases. Without such action, humanity will almost certainly face catastrophic impacts resulting from changes in the climate due to increases in global temperatures. These impacts will likely include an increase in the severity and frequency of severe weather events, the loss of land mass as sea levels rise, water and food shortages, and the large scale displacement of people around the world leading to forced migration.
If the worst-case scenarios come to pass, it is inevitable that the effects of climate change will touch everyone. Low-income and other vulnerable populations, however, are likely to be impacted most severely. This is because these populations tend to live more frequently in the kinds of places that are most likely to be impacted by climate change; for example, in low lying areas that are particularly susceptible to flooding. Moreover, low-income and other vulnerable populations are less likely than others to be able to quickly recover from disasters.
In the face of this gloomy reality, several recent reports, including ones by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ("IPCC") and the Center for American Progress, offer the hope that tackling our country's affordable housing crisis - if done right - can also help to address the climate crisis. To make the most of this opportunity, however, it is critical that developers, owners, investors, and governments at all levels understand this will require new approaches because business as usual will likely make things worse.
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CAHEC Receives REME Award
