NEW YORK–Many of the nation’s largest banks and Wall Street institutions are quietly preparing for a “severe future of global warming that blows past the temperature limits agreed to by more than 190 nations a decade ago,” according to a new report.
The analysis, by E&E News, which is published by Politico, is based on a review of documents from the largest institutions that found an acknowledgment that the world is likely to fail at preventing warming of more than two degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.
The publication said it found the forcasts in “obscure reports” for clients, investors and trade association members, most of which were published after the reelection of President Donald Trump, who is seeking to repeal federal policies that support clean energy while favoring increased production of oil, gas and coal, considered to be the main sources of global warming.
Damages May ‘Soar’
During the Biden Administration, the NCUA board also urged credit unions to prepare for affects from climate change, especially on loan portfolios and collateral.
“The recent reports — from Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase and the Institute of International Finance — show that Wall Street has determined the temperature goal is effectively dead and describe how top financial institutions plan to continue operating profitably as temperatures and damages soar,” E&E News reported.
‘Stunning Conclusion’
As an example, E&E News cited statements from Morgan Stanley analysts who said, “We now expect a 3°C world,” after citing “recent setbacks to global decarbonization efforts.”
“The stunning conclusion indicates that the bank believes the planet is hurtling toward a future in which severe droughts and harvest failures become widespread, sea-level rise is measured in feet rather than inches and tropical regions experience episodes of extreme heat and humidity for weeks at a time that would bring deadly risks to people who work outdoors,” E&E News said in its analysis.
It noted the global Paris Agreement, from which the U.S. is withdrawing under Trump, aims to limit average temperature increases to well below two degrees Celsius.
Hot Times for Cooling Biz
Separately, E&E News said Morgan Stanley’s climate forecast was tucked into a mundane research report on the future of air conditioning stocks, which it provided to clients on March 17. A three degree warming scenario, the analysts determined, could more than double the growth rate of the $235 billion cooling market every year, from 3% to 7% until 2030, the report stated, according to E&E News.
