Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, joins Monica Trauzzi in this episode of “Off the Menu.” At Stellina Pizzeria in D.C.’s Union Market neighborhood, Kathy and Monica discuss how getting real about the risks of climate change will allow us to become more resilient.

We’re focusing on the challenges of climate change, migration and security … When you think about Syria and the Syrian civil war, it’s foundations are in a drought, which was exacerbated by climate change.”

Kathy Baughman McLeod, Leading Risk and Resilience Expert

How are governments, businesses and individuals equipped to handle large stressors like climate change, which—according to the United Nations—threatens to wreak havoc by 2030? Kathy and Monica talk about what makes people and institutions better able to recover from crises, opportunities for businesses to invest in resilience, and the need for a carbon-free electric grid to protect the climate.

Catch energy thought leaders around D.C.’s food scene with “Off the Menu,”  and get an inside view of the energy issues of the moment given the risks of climate change. 

Transcript

Kathy McLeod
Hi.

Monica Trauzzi
Kathy, how are you?

Kathy McLeod
Great.

Monica Trauzzi
It’s so nice to see you.

Kathy McLeod
So nice to meet you. Thank you for having me.

Monica Trauzzi
Thank you for joining me.

Kathy McLeod
I’m so looking forward to it.

Monica Trauzzi
Let’s go have lunch.

Kathy McLeod
Let’s do. Okay.

Monica Trauzzi
You’re an expert in risk and resilience. How do you define resilience?

Kathy McLeod
Well, for us, and this has been one of the challenges of running a resilience center and talking about resilience, is that people define it differently. But in our words and our thinking, it is helping people and institutions and governments better prepare for, withstand, and recover from shocks and stresses. So there are the things that shock us, like a tornado and a big hurricane and wildfire, and then there are those slow onset events like sea level rise and urban heat that create equal damage and potential for harm but take more time. And so either of those. And sometimes they’re compounding, you have both.

Monica Trauzzi
Yeah. So you head up the center at the Atlantic Council that’s focused on resilience. You’ve received a $30 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

Kathy McLeod
That’s right.

Monica Trauzzi
What are your plans?

Kathy McLeod
We’re focusing on the challenges of climate change, migration and security. And when you think about those challenges they’re finite, but yet in their own right so much work in each of those categories, and they converge. When you think about Syria and the Syrian civil war, its foundations are in a drought, which was exacerbated by climate change.

Monica Trauzzi
We’re obviously big believers that nuclear is a critical part to a carbon free future and also resilient infrastructure. I’m curious if you can talk a little bit about how energy systems need to be structured in order to create these resilient environments.

Kathy McLeod
Yeah, yeah. Well, one of the biggest vulnerabilities is the grid and infrastructure, particularly in big cities that are just getting bigger, and so thinking about of course the linkage between climate mitigation and climate adaptation and resilience, we need an energy policy that acknowledges or that is as low to no carbon as we can get. So that’s a basic.

Monica Trauzzi
Resilience is kind of a PR thing too. I mean, you can tell a really nice story, I think, if you are making these investments.

Kathy McLeod
Yes, and of course what we want it to be is both. You can tell a great story of a real impact that they have. And part of the things that … And can I just interject and say this is so good.

Monica Trauzzi
It’s really good, right? I know.

Kathy McLeod
Oh my gosh, I’m overcome by it. It’s so delicious.

Monica Trauzzi
I’m going to have to come back for dinner with some wine.

Kathy McLeod
Yes. Yes, I think that would only enhance the flavors.

Monica Trauzzi
I know, yeah.

Kathy McLeod
Maybe next time.

Monica Trauzzi
Yes, next time.

Kathy McLeod
So, one of the things that we are underway is working with a big insurance company and thinking about where in big cities the supply chain of companies that they ensure are … Resilient people equal resilient supply chain. It just does. And so thinking about investments from a corporate perspective in those protections that make the supply chain and the people that produce the good and move it up the chain to the end product, it’s just smart business. And it’s a beautiful story because it’s a story about a family. It’s a story about a community.

Kathy McLeod
So one of the things I think will play into the way that companies and communities react to and prepare for climate change and all the other things that come with it, is the increasing pressure on companies to disclose their financial risk because of climate change. And I think that that is an opportunity, because when companies look at their physical risk and really see what the impact is and use these predictive models to measure it, it means more investment in resilience.

Monica Trauzzi
All the work you’re doing, it’s really incredible.

Kathy McLeod
Thank you. It’s an exciting time.

Monica Trauzzi
Thank you for joining me for lunch, and I’m excited that I get to drink Abranchiata, which I used to drink in Italy as a child, so I’m so excited.

Kathy McLeod
Cin-Cin.

Monica Trauzzi
Cin-Cin. Exactly.

Kathy McLeod
Grazie.

Monica Trauzzi
Grazie.

This article was originally published on nei.org on 24th July 2019.