The Rhodes Center for International Economics, the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and the Office of the President are pleased to announce a one day conference on the economic and political consequences of climate change. The conference focuses on three key areas. First, the economics of rising sea levels for real coastal estate markets, which comprise a large portion of US housing market growth and hence personal wealth. Second, the economics of ‘stranded carbon assets.’ That is, the raw materials and financial assets tied up in fossil fuels and other greenhouse gas emitting activities that are worth a lot today, but whose values could collapse in the future as climate change demands the curtailment of such activities. The third is the organized politics of climate denial: who are the agents and institutions behind scientific disinformation and how can such a politics best be countered? A lunchtime keynote speech will be given by Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. Lunch will be provided for participants.

Webcast and information under https://watson.brown.edu/events/2019/americas-climate-change-future-housing-markets-stranded-assets-and-entrenched-interests

The one-day mini-conference is co-sponsored by the Office of the President, the Rhodes Center, and the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown University, and the Office of U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

9:00am: Welcome by Mark Blyth, Timmons Roberts, President Christina Paxson and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse

Session 1: 9:30-10:45: Coastal properties and climate change

Presider/discussant: Curt Spalding (Brown)

Lint Barrage (Brown) “Flood risks and coastal property values: going under water?”

Matthew Gibson (Williams) "Climate change and flood risk: Evidence from New York real estate"

Stephie Fried (Arizona State) "Stranded assets in fossil fuel industries and the capitalization of climate risks"

10:45-11:00: Coffee

Session 2: 11:00-12:15: Carbon bubbles and climate futures

Presider/discussant: Debbie Gordon (Brown)

Joe Aldy (Harvard) “Focal Carbon Prices”

Marcelo Ochoa (Federal Reserve Board) "Price of Long-Run Temperature Shifts in Capital Markets"

Armon Rezai (Institute for Ecological Economics, Vienna) “Stranded assets in fossil fuel industries and the capitalization of climate risks”

12:30-1:30: Lunch: Keynote address by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse “All this risk: Why are we unable to act?”

Session 3: 1:45-3:15: Institutional dynamics of climate action and inaction

Presider: Timmons Roberts (Brown)

Robert Brulle (Brown): “Promoting Fossil Fuels”

Loredana Loy (Cornell): “Channeling the Brand: the Tea Party Movement and Climate Change Policy”

Justin Farrell (Yale): “Climate Change Countermovement Organizations and Media Attention in the U.S.”

Kerry Ard (Ohio State): “Public opinion on climate and Congressional voting”

Discussant: Won Ha (Energy Foundation)

3:15-3:30: Coffee

Session 4: 3:30-4:45: Pushing against climate denial and defending science

Moderator: Mark Blyth (Brown)

Initial paper/presentation for discussion: “Evidence-based Solutions to Combat Scientific Misinformation,” by Justin Farrell, Robert Brulle and Kathryn McConnell (Yale and Brown) Panelists:

Kert Davies (Climate Investigation Center)

Timmons Roberts (Brown) Kerry Ard (Ohio State)