Understanding Physical Climate Risks: Flood or Floods?

Flood risk is often treated as a single hazard. It is not.

In this first episode of Understanding Physical Climate Risks, we clarify the difference between coastal, riverine and pluvial floods, and explain why this distinction matters for risk assessment and decision-making. Each mechanism has distinct drivers, dynamics and impacts. Understanding these differences is essential to correctly assess exposure, interpret model outputs, and design relevant adaptation strategies.

The paper also outlines how climate change can influence the intensity, frequency and spatial distribution of these flood types, and what this means for European cities when no additional adaptation is implemented. It highlights practical implications for investors and corporates, from exposure analysis and asset-level screening to adaptation choices, including the risk of maladaptation when measures address one hazard but increase vulnerability to another.

This publication is the first of a six-part series dedicated to major physical climate risks. Over the course of this year, we will release additional episodes covering other key hazards to support more structured and informed climate risk management.

If you want to build a clearer, more structured understanding of flood risk and its practical implications for assets and portfolios, download the paper below!