use regulations impact the availability of low - cost housing? how would novel approaches to housing development increase supply and longevity of affordable units? should practitioners consider more comprehensive programs that include workforce development and financial literacy to help renters and their families achieve economic stability? access to stable, affordable housing is critical for economic well - being, and it provides an important foundation for an individual to fully participate in the economy. i hope that today's discussion is valuable for all our panelists and participants. i am excited that we are able to facilitate an ongoing dialogue among this distinguished group of researchers and practitioners to share information and discuss policy challenges related to affordable rental housing. 2 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches i hope that these conversations can lead to identifying evidence - based solutions to meet the demand for affordable housing that is so crucial in maintaining vibrant communities. thank you for joining us. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches

rising sea levels, growing weather variability, or changes in precipitation are all leading to physical risks. natural disasters are occurring nearly five times as often today as they were in the 1970s10. the cost of these events has been stark. globally, between 1970 and 2012, over 1. 9 million lives have been lost and economic damages of 2. 4 trillion usd suffered11. storms and floods accounted for nearly 80 per cent of the total number of disasters, caused over 50 per cent of deaths, and 84 per cent of economic losses12. the most direct link from physical risks to the financial system is through the insurance sector. insurance companies cover losses when these physical risks materialise. for example, 2017 recorded the highest insured losses ever for natural disasters, at 138 billion usd13. this risk of distress in the insurance sector will be bigger if insurance companies are unable to appropriately price and manage climate - related risks. this is complicated by the extent that models rely on historical data to assess the risk of 2 / 8 bis central bankers'speeches catastrophe. with climate change, the past is unlikely to be a good guide to the future. the dynamics of climate change also present a major challenge to modelling future impacts14. distress of insurers could in turn affect the financial system as a whole. this could occur through the interconnections with other parts of the financial system – like banks for example. or it could occur through the impact of behaviour on asset prices. but there is another manifestation of climate - related physical risks – a collective withdrawal of insurers from covering risks that they consider uninsurable. the international association of insurance supervisors ( iais ) shows that the insurance ‘ protection gap ’ for weather related losses is already significant, with roughly 70 per cent of losses uninsured in 201715. this raises risks of its own. if households and businesses cannot insure themselves against some of the physical risks, they will bear all the costs of climaterelated shocks. this reduces resilience. households and businesses may not be able to access finance in the first place, if investors judge that the risks stemming from climate - related events are too high. and it means that – when climate related shocks hit – the economic impact will be larger, due to underinsurance. take the simple example of property. households and businesses often use property as security for borrowing. if climate - related events hit – and households and businesses are underinsured – this will directly affect their net worth. this