Risky business: How disinformation fanned the flames of the LA wildfires...and why insurance could help mitigate future climate impacts

Risk is an integral part of the human experience…but risk also needs to be managed if we are to live safe, healthy and happy lives. The recent wildfires in Los Angeles were a tragic reminder of the risks that the climate crisis poses to health, homes, habitats, and the lives of human beings. But the risks posed by extreme weather events are also multi-faceted: disinformation in the wake of hurricanes and wildfires can lead to chaos, with online hate transforming into real-life violence. The insurance industry is based on mitigating risk - but for cities with high probabilities of climate impacts such as wildfires, the risk is becoming too great and financially unviable. There is hope, though: insurance can be used as a climate adaptation tool, reducing risk, to better protect people, cities and the planet. 

Image credit: This image was AI-generated and does not depict real events.

Featured guests:
Jodie Molyneux, Subject Matter Expert (mis- and disinformation) at Resolver
Kate Stein, Director of the Climate-Resilient Insurance Strategy Project (CRISP) 

Links:

Estimated cost of fire damage balloons to more than $250 billion - LA Times

MAGA Blames Homeless in Deranged California Fires Theory - The Daily Beast

The LA Fires Could Change the Insurance Industry - Harvard Business Review

Man arrested over alleged violent threat against Fema staff in North Carolina - The Guardian

California wildfires deliberately set for ‘Agenda 2030’ and smart cities? Fact-checking the bizarre claims - Hindustan Times

LA's wildfires prompted a rash of fake images. Here's why - NPR

Vigilance and protection service against foreign digital interference (VIGINUM)

The 2024 Miami-Dade Property Insurance Strategy Forum

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/