Americans’ homes sit at the core of our families and communities, our personal wealth, and our wider economy—the physical embodiment of the American Dream. But climate change is destroying American homes and making them more expensive at precisely the time we need more, and more affordable, housing. As fires, floods, and storms worsen, homeowners, renters, and the real estate, insurance, and banking sectors face material and even existential risks. These powerful groups share an interest in preventing further climate change and building resilience to growing impacts. But they also have incentives to ignore risk, delay action, and—when the damage is done—seek expensive bailouts. Perhaps the most important question in American climate politics is how to flip this ‘silent majority’ of the American economy into a proactive coalition for anticipatory action. 

Safehouse is a state-level plan to build this new climate coalition by protecting our homes and making them affordable. Through the plan, homeowners get support to upgrade their homes to a robust standard, and they receive compensation if their homes are damaged or—worst case—they need to move. Linked incentives allow insurance- and mortgage-providers to make homeownership cheaper for decades to come, letting a new generation buy into the dream of owning a home. Fossil fuel companies contribute funds to the program through taxes, assessments, or potentially in exchange for limits on their liability for climate impacts, giving the industry greater certainty over its own future and an important and honorable role in safeguarding the future of all Americans. By bringing together homeowners, real estate, insurance, and banking, Safehouse builds a new, enduring coalition for climate policy that works in red and blue states alike. While Safehouse would begin as a series of state-level plans, it could be rolled out nationwide in the future.