Environmental uncertainty poses serious financial risks to society, with droughts, floods, extreme temperatures and violent storms imposing global costs that approach $500 billion per year. How we manage these risks is a question of increasing concern, particularly as they are expected to grow in coming years. While structural forms of mitigation (i.e. levees, reservoirs) will certainly continue to play a role in limiting the financial impacts of environmental events, these are costly assets whose value is rarely realized.
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