Date of Graduation

Spring 5-19-2023

Document Access

Project/Capstone - Global access

Degree Name

Master of Science in Environmental Management (MSEM)

College/School

College of Arts and Sciences

Department/Program

Engineering Management

First Advisor

Jalel Sager

Abstract

The correlation of anthropogenic carbon emissions and changes in the global climate system is unequivocal. Governments are enacting policy from the local, state, federal, and international levels that present major transition risks for businesses. In parallel, legacy emissions are already causing discernible changes in the climate system via increased frequencies of drought, wildfire, flooding, and extreme heat; these changes present material physical risks to existing business infrastructure. Taken together, these risks form the foundation of proposed regulations for climate risk disclosure by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Existing literature has not provided an at-scale screening methodology for climate risk exposure; this project presents the foundations of such a methodology. Greenhouse gas emissions and changes in extreme heat, wildfire index, drought index, and flooding intensity are analyzed for industrial assets in the state of California by leveraging publicly available datasets to generate a composite index of climate risk exposure. This screening methodology is then used to identify three facilities for further corporate disclosure of climate risk planning. Recommendations for actions by federal, state, and private actors are offered to improve climate risk disclosure methodologies.

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