On July 6th, 2023, in Tsinghua University’s New Civil Engineering Building, Professor Zheng Siqi, STL Distinguished Professor and Director of the MIT Real Estate Center at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, participated in the Frontiers of Urbanism Lecture Series. She delivered a lecture titled "Sustainable Development of Real Estate: Analysis and Investment," discussing strategies for carbon reduction in real estate and investment strategies to bolster climate adaptation.
Professor Zheng Siqi cited data highlighting the construction industry's significant contribution to global warming through carbon emissions. She emphasized the imperative to balance construction industry development across social, economic, and environmental dimensions for sustainable growth. Further, Professor Zheng explored the impact of climate issues on the real estate industry and market, focusing on the financial value of carbon reduction in buildings, quantifying climate risks, and real estate finance.
Professor Siqi Zheng
Professor Zheng discussed the financial implications of carbon reduction in buildings, highlighting the influence of government policies and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors on the demand and supply of green buildings. She illustrated the impact of green building subsidy policies in the U.S. and Europe and introduced a financial decarbonization model for buildings, demonstrating its application through a Manhattan case study.
She also addressed the quantification of climate risks on real estate and the development of adaptation strategies. Professor Zheng differentiated between chronic and acute climate risks and explained the use of quantitative methods to assess their severity. She further shared a collaborative research project on climate risk issues between the MIT Real Estate Center and Moody's Analytics.
In the realm of real estate finance and climate risk mitigation, Professor Zheng discussed the U.S. National Flood Insurance Program and its tole in climate risk mitigation. She also explored the impact of climate risks on the U.S. mortgage market.
Lastly, Professor Zheng presented the current research agenda on climate change and Real Estate and the MIT Real Estate Center, highlighting collaborative projects with industry and government agencies such as Fannie Mae, Ernst & Young Global Limited, Veris Real Estate Investment Trust, Moody's Analytics, Colliers, Finvest, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, Taurus, Climate Alpha.
During the interactive session, alumni and students engaged in discussions with Professor Zheng on topics including as carbon trading, neighborhood renovation, and U.S. insurance companies. Professor Zheng responded to these inquiries, and Professor Liu Hongyu concluded the session by sharing his views on the lecture’s and expressing gratitude to Professor Zheng for her insights.
Professor Liu Hongyu delivered a concluding speech
Group Photo After the Meeting.
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