Investors & Climate Change
Investors see Earth’s changing climate as both a large economic risk and opportunity. Physical climate risks can disrupt businesses and cities by disabling manufacturing facilities, restricting the transportation of goods, and requiring costly infrastructure investments to “climate-proof” their operations.
Firms slower to respond are also more susceptible to public policies and corporate pressures to reduce emissions. Companies working to identify and reduce environmental risks perform better than those that do not, in part because it indicates how forward-looking a company is.
Muni market share at risk of climate-related GDP losses
The chart shows the estimated market value share of the muni market exposed to GDP losses of various magnitude through 2100 under a “no climate action” scenario.
Source: BlackRock
Fast Facts
USD estimated market size for low-carbon goods
of the world's largest companies track and disclose climate risk
%
of S&P 500 companies hold assets at high risk of physical climate risk
Heard Around the Country
BlackRock C.E.O. Larry Fink: Climate Crisis Will Reshape Finance
Laurence D. Fink, the founder and chief executive of BlackRock, announced Tuesday that his firm would make investment decisions with environmental sustainability as a core goal. BlackRock is the world’s largest asset manager with nearly $7 trillion in investments, and...
Moody’s Analytics says climate change could cost $69 trillion by 2100
The consulting firm Moody’s Analytics says climate change could inflict $69 trillion in damage on the global economy by the year 2100, assuming that warming hits the two-degree Celsius threshold widely seen as the limit to stem its most dire effects. Moody’s, citing a...
Bill Gates Launches $1 Billion Breakthrough Energy Investment Fund
Billionaire philanthropist and investor Bill Gates is launching a $1 billion fund, called Breakthrough Energy Ventures, to invest in new forms of clean energy. Gates has gathered a group of about 20 like-minded investors, including Silicon Valley venture capitalists...
How are climate & weather different?
Where is there scientific agreement?
How much warming has happened?
Visualizing Climate Change
Sources and Citations
Sources
- Climate Disclosure Project. Companies. www.cdp.net/en/companies
- BlackRock. Adapting Portfolios to Climate Change. www.blackrock.com/institutions/en-axj/insights/climate-change_en_AXJ
- Moody’s. Climate change is forecast to heighten US exposure to economic loss placing short- and long-term credit pressure on US states and local governments. www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-Climate-change-is-forecast-to-heighten-US-exposure-to–PR_376056
Media
- Top image: Central Intelligence Agency. Ben Hider/NYSE Euronext.
- Bottom image: U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Josh Denmark.
- Video: Newsy. Goldman Sachs ending Arctic drilling funding.