Ripple Effect: Exploring the Impact of Water Risk on Credit
The credit impact of water management risks will increase, as growing demand for water strains supplies and climate change exacerbates scarcity in regions with high water stress, as Moody’s discussed in a recent research report. Eight sectors with nearly $2 trillion in debt face high inherent exposure to these risks, which encompass non-climate-related issues associated with water, such as access, availability, efficiency, pollution, and pricing.
As the financial and social costs of inadequate water management practices become more evident, understanding the effect of these risks on companies, governments and other debt-issuing entities has never been more important.
Join a panel of Moody’s analysts, climate experts to explore the following topics:
- How is climate change exacerbating water supply-demand imbalances?
- How do water management issues translate into credit risks for issuers?
- What measures can governments and companies take to build resilience?
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SpeakersRam Sri Vice President – Senior Analyst, ESG Moody’s Investors Service
Kirsten James Senior Program Director - Water Ceres
Betsy Otto Expert-Global water issues, water policy, and urban water and climate resilience; Fellow Alliance for Global Water Adaptation
Firas Saleh Director, Product Management, Insurance Solutions Moody's
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Ram Sri is a Vice President – Senior Analyst, within Moody’s ESG team. He is the lead author of Moody’s latest water report “Credit effect of water management risks to rise amid higher demand, climate change”. He leads the global effort on the integration of water risk and water management considerations into analysis, ratings, and research. Ram has authored Moody’s global environmental and social risks heat maps, and associated framework reports.
Ram holds an MA in Management and Strategy from Warwick Business School, and an MSc in Environmental and Analytical Chemistry form Warwick University.
Kirsten James directs Ceres’ strategy for mobilizing leading investors and companies to address the sustainability risks facing our freshwater and agriculture systems. Her work includes leading the Valuing Water Finance Initiative, an investor-led effort which seeks to drive corporate action on water-related financial risks. Previously, Kirsten served for five years as the director of California policy and partnerships at Ceres.
Prior to Ceres, Kirsten worked for nine years at a regional water resource-focused NGO, as their Science and Policy Director. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University and a master's degree in environmental science and management from the Bren School at University of California Santa Barbara.
Betsy Otto is an expert on global water issues, water policy and urban water and climate resilience. She is currently at Fellow at Alliance for Global Water Adaptation (AGWA). Prior to AGWA she was the Director of World Resource Institute’s (WRI) Global Water Program. Over the years at WRI, she has led the development of Aqueduct™, a global water risk assessment and mapping tool to inform private and public sector investment and water management decisions. Betsy worked with the Water Program team to develop and apply tools and information, and to engage business, NGOs and governments for positive change in managing water resources worldwide. Betsy also worked with staff across WRI to incorporate water considerations and sustainable solutions for cities, energy, governance, finance, and climate adaptation purposes.
Betsy has over 20 years of experience working on water resource management, ecosystem protection, and urban water systems. Over the past two decades, she has worked to promote sound land and water planning and urban water infrastructure systems that incorporate upstream ecosystem services, green infrastructure designs in cities, and integrate drinking water, stormwater and wastewater management. Prior to joining WRI, Betsy developed successful clean water and water supply programs for American Rivers in Washington, DC, where she worked closely with mayors, utilities, federal agencies and Congress to promote smart water policies and drive public and private investment toward more sustainable water infrastructure solutions.
Betsy earned a Masters in Water Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin’s Nelson Institute, a MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School, and a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois. From 2006-2007, she was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, where she studied international water management, urban infrastructure, and water and sanitation issues.
Dr. Saleh oversees the Moody’s RMS U.S. Flood solutions in North America and other regions globally, he collaborates closely with clients and RMS functional teams to define and execute the vision and strategy for flood products.
He holds a Ph.D. in Geosciences and Natural Resources from the University of Paris VI (Sorbonne Université), France. He has strong professional track record in the U.S. Federal Government, industry, and academia, demonstrating his expertise in climate and flood risk.
Throughout his career and academic tenure at different institutes around the world, including the Paris School of Mines, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Stevens Institute of Technology, he focused on implementing forward-looking analytics to assess climate and weather-related physical risk, particularly in understanding flood impacts on critical infrastructure resilience. He co-authored more than 30 publications on flood and climate risk.
He also served as a Senior Commercial Specialist at the U.S. Embassy Baghdad and Amman. He is the recipient of U.S. the Department of Commerce Gold Medal Award for distinguished federal service.