Leading Insurers, Public Officials, Builders, Environmental Groups to Outline 'Resilient...

Leading Insurers, Public Officials, Builders, Environmental Groups to Outline
'Resilient Coasts Blueprint' to Cut Climate-Related Insurance Costs, Losses by
as Much as Half

Report Focuses on Gulf Coast, East Coast Regions Where Few Steps Have Been
Taken So Far to Address Rising Sea and Storm Threats

BOSTON and WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Responding to
steadily escalating Katrina-like property and insurance damages linked to
global climate change, The Heinz Center and Ceres will release at 11 a.m. EDT
on April 23, 2009 a "Resilient Coasts Blueprint" defining policy changes and
common sense actions that could cut future losses by as much as half along
U.S. coastlines.

The blueprint, which outlines specific steps for reducing coastal exposure to
storms and rising sea levels, is being endorsed by a diverse group, including
The Travelers Companies and other major insurers, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the mayor of Charleston, S.C., and The
Nature Conservancy. A full list of endorsers will be released at the news
event.

News event speakers will be:

* Mayor Joseph Riley of Charleston, S.C.;
* Joan Woodward, executive vice president, Public Policy, The Travelers
Companies, Inc.;
* Deb Callahan, president, The Heinz Center; and
* Mindy Lubber, president, Ceres.

A recent assessment by the Wharton School shows a dramatic surge in economic
losses from natural catastrophes worldwide, up from just over $50 billion in
the 1950s to almost $800 billion in the 1990s. Losses from 2000-2008 total
$620.6 billion (including $200 billion in 2008 alone, according to Munich Re).
Lloyd's of London and Risk Management Solutions (RMS) predict that flood
losses along tropical Atlantic coastlines would increase by 80 percent by 2030
with 30 centimeters (or about one foot) of sea level rise--in line with the
conservative estimates of the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change.

TO PARTICIPATE: You can join this live, phone-based news conference (with
full, two-way Q&A) at 11 a.m. EDT on Thursday, April 23, 2009, by dialing 1
(800) 860-2442. Ask for the "Heinz/Ceres Resilient Coasts Blueprint" news
event.

CAN'T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of this news event will be
available online at http://www.heinzctr.org and http://www.ceres.org as of 6
p.m. EDT on April 23, 2009.

About the Heinz Center
Established in December 1995 in honor of Senator H. John Heinz III, the H.
John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment
(http://www.heinzctr.org/) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan institution dedicated
to improving the scientific and economic foundation for environmental policy
through multisectoral collaboration. Focusing on issues that are likely to
confront policymakers, the Center creates and fosters collaboration among
industry, environmental organizations, academia, and government in each of its
program areas and projects. In this, the Center is carrying out the legacy of
Senator Heinz.

About Ceres
Ceres (http://www.ceres.org) is a leading coalition of investors,
environmental groups and other public interest organizations working with
companies to address sustainability challenges such as global climate change.

SOURCE The Heinz Center, Washington, D.C.; Ceres, Boston, MA

Peyton Fleming of Ceres, +1-617-733-6660, fleming@ceres.org; or Anne Hummer of
Heinz Center, +1-202-737-6307, hummer@heinzctr.org; or Leslie Anderson,
+1-703-276-3256, landerson@hastingsgroup.com, for Ceres and Heinz Center