Fostering Climate Resilience: Financing Mechanisms that Engage the Public

Topic
Devastating violent weather events in recent years, such as Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Katrina, constitute a portent of a globe gripped by climate change. In many areas threatened by climatic impacts of this nature, the private sector, which owns a majority of buildings, as well as federal, state, and local governments, are grappling with how to protect against loss of life, property value and essential public services.
Yet, even as we attempt to incorporate resiliency and sustainability improvements into our buildings and infrastructure systems, those who maintain these critical systems struggle without direction as to which policies and measures to take. Property owners and stakeholders lack the informational, connective and financial resources to develop strategy and start projects as well as finance their completion over a long time frame.
This presentation focuses on the efforts of The Natural Resilience Fund, a private non-profit organization to develop financial, connective and information resources to enable property owners and providers/custodians of infrastructure and natural systems to protect, enhance and preserve their properties and systems (PEP Measures). The presentation will include discussion of key PEP measures, sources of capitalization, and the respective roles of the private and governmental sectors.

Speaker
President & CEO, Eric Kaufman, of the Natural Resilience Fund
Eric Kaufman serves as the President and CEO of the Natural Resilience Fund, Inc. He has been actively involved in New York real estate since 1982 as a developer, sponsor, owner, financier, broker, contractor and property manager. In his career he has bought, sold or financed over $1 billion of commercial real estate including many of the downtown New York office building to apartment conversions that were completed in the 1990’s. These projects included 19 Rector Street and the Downtown Athletic Club. In the 1990’s, Kaufman was the Senior Managing Director at The Carlton Group, an international real estate investment banking firm that routinely finances large scale real estate backed projects. He was also a Senior Managing Director at the New York Colliers International affiliate and completed in excess of $300 million of New York sales and financings from 2001-2003.
Mr. Kaufman holds a B.A. from Vassar College and an MBA from the Wharton School.