The global financial system could be left reeling as $20 trillion of assets are wiped out by climate change, if institutions and companies fail to prepare now, the Bank of England has warned. The shock could be so severe that it could trigger a “climate Minsky moment”, where asset prices suddenly become worthless, derailing global growth, according to Sarah Breeden, head of international banks supervision at Threadneedle Street. Sudden and severe losses would be incurred by anyone holding so-called “stranded assets”. These assets could come in the form of “unburnable carbon” in a climate crisis, Ms Breeden said.
Telegraph 15th April 2019 read more »
The world is facing a “climate catastrophe” unless the world moves faster to cut carbon emissions, the UK’s largest money manager Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) warned today. In its latest ‘Active Ownership’ report which highlights the money manager’s voting record across a range of issues, LGIM spotlighted climate change as one of the biggest threats facing the global economy.
Business Green 16th April 2019 read more »
The world’s largest asset manager has warned that investors “cannot afford to ignore” the risk climate change poses to the global economy. BlackRock, which oversees more than $6 trillion (£4.6 trillion) of assets, has sounded fresh alarm over mounting threats from environmental damage to companies and markets. The fund’s in-depth study of the US’s exposure to climate risks showed that the average annual cost to the country would be 0.5-1pc of GDP by 2060, without drastic and costly intervention. Rising sea levels, expected to rocket by three feet by 2080, could put as much as $73bn worth of New York City property at risk. Spending on extra energy costs in order to cool buildings in extreme heat in parts of Arizona could represent as much as 1pc of local GDP per annum by the end of the century.
Telegraph 16th April 2019 read more »
The global financial system faces an existential threat from climate change and must take urgent steps to reform, the governors of the Bank of England and France’s central bank have warned, writing in the Guardian. In an article published in the Guardian on Wednesday aimed at the international financial community, Mark Carney, the Bank’s governor, and Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of the Banque de France, said financial regulators, banks and insurers around the world had to “raise the bar” to avoid catastrophe. They said: “As financial policymakers and prudential supervisors we cannot ignore the obvious physical risks before our eyes. Climate change is a global problem, which requires global solutions, in which the whole financial sector has a central role to play.” The warning comes as concern over the impact of climate change and the lack of urgent action is increasing, reflected in the Extinction Rebellion protests and schoolchildren’s strikes across the world.
Guardian 17th April 2019 read more »
Business Green 17th April 2019 read more »
