Conference Presentation, Panel
Disaster Preparedness and Community Resilience | Global Conference 2025
Milken InstituteRaj Kumar, Christoph Gorder, Louis A. Gritzo, Donald Howard, Vanessa Kerry, Michelle Nunn, DAN GALPIN
- Disaster events are becoming more frequent and severe, described as a "new normal" with storms and cyclones being the longest and most harsh in history, while climate change acts as an accelerant for health issues and existing problems.
- Economic productivity in the US is projected to decline by $100 billion this year due to heat, with losses expected to reach $500 billion by 2050; total spending on climate and health impacts currently stands at $800 billion, and 55% of the American workforce faced climate or health issues last year.
- Foreign aid cuts are projected to result in 25 million deaths globally over the next 15 years (or next few years in one estimate) and have already caused a 40% reduction in the global humanitarian system, leading to the loss of 200,000 US jobs and $23 billion in US purchases.
- A 50% probability of a pandemic similar to COVID exists within the next 25 years, with current funding cuts creating a lack of visibility on disease outbreaks until they appear domestically.
- LA wildfire recovery requires rebuilding 420 football fields of area over an estimated four-and-a-half-year timeline, though this is considered optimistic, and the effort is constrained by a shortage of 25,000 construction workers needed from a required pool of 250,000.
- FM Global plans to provide $1 billion in climate resilience credits to clients within three years, which is expected to generate $30 billion in total risk reduction, while also discovering cost-effective methods to reduce risk and believing such reductions are always possible.
- Airbnb.org intends to scale its disaster response model to become pervasive globally within five to ten years, with 9 million properties currently available to house those in need and funding directed to grassroots hosts for mortgage support.
- The host anticipates that the severity of current problems will force public and private entities to collaborate, with the belief that US technologies can be scaled to middle- and lower-income countries within five to ten years.
- Climate change adaptation is viewed as a necessary shift since the goal of forestalling it is perceived as unattainable, with China executing aggressive Belt and Road efforts for extraction and financial gain while the world faces sudden funding cutoffs in the humanitarian system.
- Electrician jobs are identified as a high-growth profession with potential earnings up to $150,000 annually, though labor market planning is required to address workforce barriers to scaling recovery efforts.
- Water scarcity caused by climate change is expected to leave 500,000 acres of the central valley fallowed, and facility hardening against wind and water has proven effective, as demonstrated by Arthrex maintaining orders after Hurricane Ian.