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"US Wildfire Response Could Force Poorest Out Of Paradise"

"Fire in Paradise: Low-income US home owners face soaring insurance premiums in 'managed retreat' from climate change".

"Wildfires fuelled by climate change rip regularly through the wooded hills around Paradise, flattening its modest Californian housing and forcing a tough, new choice on residents.               

Should they stay or should they go?

With the cost of rebuild on the rise, insurance premiums soaring and no certainty about the future value of any property in a risk zone, the choice is not easy.

And that same dilemma is playing out nationwide, as mounting climate risks - from flood to fire to coastal erosion - force a managed retreat on many low-income Americans in high-risk areas.

“Low-income and communities of colour are more climate-vulnerable following decades of disinvestment,” said Monica Palmeira, a climate finance strategist with the Greenlining Institute nonprofit."

Carey L. Biron reports for Thomson Reuters Foundation January 31, 2024.

Source: Thomson Reuters Fdn., 02/02/2024