Financial impact of extreme weather costs 'billions': Houston Mayor

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss how his city is fighting climate change.

Video transcript

JOE BIDEN: We're at an inflection point. And there's a real consensus, a real consensus that while the climate crisis poses an existential threat, there is a silver lining. The climate crisis also presents real and incredible economic opportunities to create jobs and lift up the standard of living for people around the world.

AKIKO FUJITA: That was President Biden last week, speaking about the climate-related disasters we have seen play out on the East Coast this year. Our next guest is no stranger to some of the extreme weather events we've seen with hurricanes as well as a deep freeze earlier this year crippling his city. And he's now taking steps to ensure that his city is resilient while also working with other cities as a chair of the Nationwide Coalition of Climate Mayors.

Let's bring in the mayor of Houston. We've got Sylvester Turner joining us today. Mayor, it's good to talk to you. In many ways, your tenure as mayor has really been defined by some of these natural disasters. You had Hurricane Harvey. You had the deep freeze that happened earlier this year. You had tropical storm Imelda.

When you look at the totality of these events, how have they shaped your priorities as mayor?

SYLVESTER TURNER: Well, as you said, we've faced six 500-year floods in the last five years, which means that the focus has to be on resilience and sustainability. And these storms are coming with greater frequency, greater intensity, and they are costing more. And so as a result of that, in February of last year, we put forth our Resilient Houston Plan, 18 goals with 62 strategies. On Earth Day last year, the energy capital of the world, we put forth our Climate Action Plan on Earth Today.

We are now-- all of our city facilities a 100% powered by renewables. We utilize more renewables than any other city in the country. And the EPA has noted the fact that we are utilizing more renewables, 100% of our buildings 100% powered by renewables.

We are focused now on climate tech, clean tech. I am pleased to say that Greentown Labs has expanded from the Boston area down to the City of Houston. And the goal is to put in place 50 2.0 clean energy companies by 2025. And we are well on that mark. And we're utilizing more green stormwater infrastructure.

AKIKO FUJITA: No question, these investments are necessary. But some would argue that that's more of a mid-term, long-term goal. When you've got, as you said, once in a century type storms already coming through the city, how do you build out resilience looking at the short term when you've got these storms coming through while also keeping your eye on the ball long-term?

SYLVESTER TURNER: Well, there is a short-term, medium, and long-term plan. In the short-term, of course, we are building, we're building higher. We're not wanting to build in the 100-year flood plain, for example. And so we're moving people out of those areas. And then we're reluctant to do any sort of building in the 100-year flood plain. So we are building higher.

We are putting in place more detention. So we recognize that these storms are going to come. And we are the Bayou City. So we are expanding the capacity within our bayous. We're providing more detention in our areas. Those things we're doing.

We've already instituted our green stormwater infrastructure. And we are providing more incentives. Parks and green space, we're utilizing to serve as areas that can serve a dual purpose. All of these things are intended to help out in the short term. But in the long term, we've got to change the way we have been doing things in the past. And that's what we are partnering with the energy sector.

We're not trying to move away, but we are trying to work to move the energy sector forward. You just heard last week, 11 companies principally located in the city of Houston have been talking about carbon capture, utilization, and storage. So there are a number of things that we are doing with a number of partners in order to move this city forward and get us prepared for the future.

AKIKO FUJITA: What's been the financial impact? And how does it compare to years past when you think about the direct financial risk that these extreme events now pose to the city of Houston?

SYLVESTER TURNER: It's been big. For example, when I came into office, four months into office, we faced the Tax Day Flood in April. That was a 500-year storm. It cost quite a bit.

The next year was Hurricane Harvey, billions of dollars. More rain fell on the city than any other city on the North American continent. You mentioned tropical storm Imelda in 2019. But the big one, of course, was the winter storm Uri that took place in February of this year. That cost billions, and about 200 people lost their lives in the state of Texas.

So there is no question that these storms are coming with greater frequency, greater intensity, costing a lot more. That's not just in Houston or in Texas. That's happening all over the globe.

AKIKO FUJITA: And Mayor, you mentioned the oil and gas industry. Obviously, big players in Houston, historically have really driven the growth in your city. How do you think about the economic picture down the line here? On the one hand, you've got an industry that some would argue is going to be scaled down significantly. How big of a hit would that be to Houston? And how do you offset that with some of these other innovations, these other companies that you're talking about that you think are going to drive this push to a low-carbon future?

SYLVESTER TURNER: Excellent question. In 1901, when oil and gas was discovered, we talked about fossil fuels, oil and gas. And now we've evolved where we talk about the energy industry.

A part of the Climate Action Plan that we put forth on Earth Day last year is to focus not just on the energy capital of the world but for the city of Houston, for example, to lead in energy transition. And we're working in partnership, in tandem with the energy sector.

So you have a lot of conversation that's being talked about around carbon capture, utilization, and storage, about using clean hydrogen, about the use of more renewables. Quite frankly, the city of Houston, with all of our facilities now being powered by renewables, we're working in collaboration with NRG on that.

We're taking one of our landfills, 240 acres-- been around for 50 years, standing still. We're looking at utilizing that and turning that into the largest urban solar farm in the country, enough to power 5,000 homes, take 120 million pounds of carbon out of the air. And we'll transform that low-income community even for the better.

So it's about working in tandem, working in partnership, but recognizing that if we are going to achieve the goals, the Paris Agreement goals, we need the energy industry to be at the table.

AKIKO FUJITA: And finally, Mayor, I wonder if you can speak to the impact to the community. We had President Biden earlier this year issuing an executive order, calling for a study on the impact of climate migration breakdown. And I know that your city took in a lot of people who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. But you've also lost some residents who've moved out of Houston. When you think about the impact of these extreme weather events, how has that changed the makeup of your city?

SYLVESTER TURNER: Well, let me tell you, climate migration is real. As chair of the US Climate Mayors, as board chair of the Global Resilient Cities Network, we talk about climate migration, which has taken place, again, all over the world. And of course, we're experiencing it right here in the city of Houston.

And it is about equity. When you're talking about these storms that are coming with greater frequency and greater intensity, when you're even talking about the pandemic, many of the same people in these marginalized communities are the ones who are being impacted adversely over and over and over again.

You can either build for failure-- and what I mean by that-- let's say there are multiple multifamily developments in the floodway. Those people are being affected over and over again. You can't just rebuild those facilities in that same space. You have to move them out of danger and place them somewhere else. Otherwise, you're providing funding for failure.

We've got to get away from that sort of philosophy and that sort of funding. And now we have to place people in safer spaces. And then we have to focus on infrastructure resilience, climate tech, all of those things that will help us to not repeat the same mistakes because these storms are not waiting for us to move. We are going to have to move ourselves in policy and the way we finance our infrastructure.

AKIKO FUJITA: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, I know you've got a lot on your plate today, but really appreciate you making the time for us. Good to talk to you today.