r/Futurology • u/RunAmbitious2593 • 3d ago

Economics Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/03/climate-crisis-on-track-to-destroy-capitalism-warns-allianz-insurer

The world is fast approaching temperature levels where insurers will no longer be able to offer cover for many climate risks, said Günther Thallinger, on the board of Allianz SE, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies. He said that without insurance, which is already being pulled in some places, many other financial services become unviable, from mortgages to investments.

Global carbon emissions are still rising and current policies will result in a rise in global temperature between 2.2C and 3.4C above pre-industrial levels. The damage at 3C will be so great that governments will be unable to provide financial bailouts and it will be impossible to adapt to many climate impacts, said Thallinger, who is also the chair of the German company’s investment board and was previously CEO of Allianz Investment Management...

...Thallinger said it was a systemic risk “threatening the very foundation of the financial sector”, because a lack of insurance means other financial services become unavailable: “This is a climate-induced credit crunch.”

“This applies not only to housing, but to infrastructure, transportation, agriculture, and industry,” he said. “The economic value of entire regions – coastal, arid, wildfire-prone – will begin to vanish from financial ledgers. Markets will reprice, rapidly and brutally. This is what a climate-driven market failure looks like.”

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98

u/Ellusive1 3d ago

I’m so sick of capitalism and the exploitation of the masses to benefit a few psychopaths.
I wish we could end capitalism with out destroying the planet and the 99%

-14

u/darth_biomech 3d ago

The only problem is that other forms of economies have been showcased to be far worse.

angry objections from armchair commies in 4... 3... 2...

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u/alclarkey 3d ago

Capitalism benefits everyone, not just a few pyschopaths.

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u/Ellusive1 3d ago

We could end poverty, hunger, homelessness today if it wasn’t for the greed of the 1%.
Who benefits? Close to 400,000 Americans go bankrupt yearly because for profit healthcare system.

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u/dragonmp93 3d ago

Well, because humanity tends to think that the criteria for psychopathy are the qualities of a good leader.

At this rate, the US is going to end up in the same as the Soviet Union when Stalin was alive.

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u/MetalstepTNG 3d ago

That's not capitalism. Capitalism is a free market with just enough checks and balances to keep the strong from gaming the system.

Whatever this is now, is more like an oligarchy rigging the economy.

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u/ClittoryHinton 3d ago

As long as economic power and political power are married, you can forget about checks and balances. That’s why capitalism is fundamentally flawed.

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u/alclarkey 3d ago

It isn't the for profit health system that makes Americans go bankrupt, it's the corruption. And if you think getting rid of capitalism will make it better, you've got another thing coming. Also, capitalism feeds far more people than any other system of government. And you seem to have this fucked idea that there's only the 1% and the rest of us. There is not. There's a whole spectrum of income levels. Some people make 10k, some 30k some 50k, some 100k. Some people make 150k. Some people make 500k. Some people make 1 million, 1.5 million, 5 million, and a whole host of different incomes in between. It's not as black and white as you like to make it out.

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u/Ellusive1 3d ago

Defending USA healthcare is wild. Fuck every pharma bro jacking up life saving drugs to exploit people who went to live. Fuck healthcare companies who employ people to “protect customers from undue medical procedures”.

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u/alclarkey 3d ago

I'm not defending USA healthcare. There are loads of problems with it, I agree. But I do not believe the answer is single payer. The answer is to root out the corruption.

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u/Ellusive1 3d ago

There’s enough money and resources on the planet for everyone. Capitalism is a cancer

0

u/alclarkey 3d ago

You don't know what you're talking about. Calculate the total wealth owned by all the world's 1%, then divide it out through the rest of humanity. It isn't near as much as you think, you'd be able to give everybody, about an extra half tax return.

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u/Ellusive1 3d ago

Now you do that and calculate lifting every one who’s currently in poverty up.

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u/alclarkey 3d ago

You can't get blood from a stone. If you confiscate the wealth held by the 1%, you could give everybody about $1,600.

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u/VoiceofRapture 9h ago

Correct, the answer isn't single payer but rather a fully nationalized system of medicine from development to diagnosis to treatment.

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u/juntareich 3d ago

"It isn’t the for profit health system that makes Americans go bankrupt, it’s the corruption."

What?? If you remove the "corruption" how are John and Jane Doe able to then magically avoid bankruptcy? People go bankrupt because life saving care is commoditized instead of socialized.

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u/alclarkey 3d ago

What do you think corruption is? It's people sticking their fingers in the pot and taking money they haven't earned. When you get stop those people and believe me there are lot of them, health care becomes affordable again.

1

u/another_design 2d ago

Or you know, change it to single payer that economists and people smarter than you and I tend to believe is best.

Regardless of what you think is happening, smarter people figured it out already, and many of us tried to vote for the politicians that also will listen

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u/alclarkey 2d ago

And the other economists who are smarter than who have a major problem with it, they don't mean anything?

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u/another_design 2d ago

you’re right, we should value the hypothesis of every accredited economist. I believe most fall one way only

1

u/alclarkey 2d ago

There's a meme photo going around on FB, it talks about how 100 scientists put out a book a book debunking his ideas. He responded by saying "If my ideas we're wrong it would have only taken one person to debunk them".

And most of their predictions have been wrong. Why should I assign their opinions any value?

-17

u/tnetennba9 3d ago

Almost everyone? Average quality of life is higher than ever, probably largely because it's profitable to build things that people want.

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u/juntareich 3d ago

Average quality of life is higher in large part because we're burning long sequestered energy for short term gains at the expense of our planet.

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u/Ellusive1 3d ago

I see where you stopped reading.

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u/FridgeParade 3d ago

Holyshit how can you still believe this? 😂 the billions of people slaving away in uncertainty and pain (and the millions of literal slaves) to make your comfortable capitalist lifestyle possible would like a word.

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u/alclarkey 3d ago

I believe it because the numbers don't lie. The majority of people in America live above our very generous poverty line. And no, you're right about the literal slavery, personally I think any goods made with slave labor should be outlawed. Will that make things more expensive? Sure. And as far as the world is concerned? While yes, there are a lot of poor people it gets better every year, and it's going to take time, but your demanding ass wants it all fixed right now.

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u/SchwiftyGameOnPoint 3d ago

I think there's a few important rules we should all live by. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing" and "moderation is the key".

Capitalism might have its place and its benefits, especially when driving innovation and such.

However, when you're putting profits before people to the point of ending lives and destroying the planet, we have long since gone too far.

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u/alclarkey 3d ago

Trump is actually trying to do something about that within the capitalist framework. https://www.aamc.org/advocacy-policy/washington-highlights/trump-issues-executive-order-price-transparency-hospitals-and-insurers And there are other doctors who are doing so outside the box kind of business that is significantly cheaper. The problem is solvable within capitalism, socialism is not the way. Health and poverty outcomes are far worse under socialism.

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u/SchwiftyGameOnPoint 3d ago

The thing I take issue with is all of the -ism's that we are so married to.

I despise the fact that we are dealing with everything is such absolutes and extremes. That our leadership insist on living with a terrible mix of Us vs Them mentality and puts us into this position that is incapable of simply creating a system that works by pulling the best parts of each system to benefit all.

If you so much as consider utilizing a bit of logic from one system that is already categorized in its own "-ism" it will be demonized, discounted, and disregarded by many, even if it can be beneficial.

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u/alclarkey 3d ago

You gotta remember that the vast majority of us aren't pro-capitalism, we're pro-freedom. The freedom to do business or not at your own discretion. I do agree that there need to be some rules in place, but they are a necessary evil, the less the better.

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u/joakimbo 3d ago

Ehm.. Scandinavia. Just saying. Free awesome health care. Low poverty. Among the happiest people in the world.

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u/alclarkey 2d ago

Scandinavia is not socialist. And there's no such thing as "free" health care. Someone is paying, the taxpayer. And per capita "free" health care is far more expensive.

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u/zerosumsandwich 3d ago

the numbers don't lie

Maybe not but the way they are derived and interpreted is obviously influenced by ideology

0

u/FridgeParade 3d ago

50 million Americans living with food insecurity would disagree with this statement Im sure.

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u/alclarkey 2d ago

Food insecurity > than the actual starvation you get with socialism.

0

u/FridgeParade 2d ago

My man, there’s more options than just these two extremes of the spectrum.

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u/alclarkey 2d ago

I'm aware of that. But the people I'm arguing with seem not to be. They're never happy. I'm willing to go to an actual effective progressive tax rate of 35%. Meaning the only people who pay that much are at the top of the earnings list. Most people I believe would find that reasonable. For the record, the top 1% of income earners already pay an actual rate, meaning they actually paid 26% of their income, and that's the most anyone pays, yet people are out here screaming for more. Screaming "Make the rich pay taxes", as if they somehow believe they pay nothing. It's a slippery slope, and they'll never be happy. They'll happily gobble up the propaganda of politicians who claim to "make the rich pay their fair share" when they already are, and then just pile on more taxes. Which coincidentally ends up harming the middle class far more. That is until we've reach full socialism.

TL:DR, 35% is the top effective tax rate I will except.

1

u/FridgeParade 2d ago

I get where you’re coming from. Yet from my viewpoint I see 3300 billionaires who have so much power and influence that they disrupt the whole system. No individual should own enough money that they can destabilize governments and influence elections.

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u/juntareich 3d ago

Capitalism encourages short term thinking over long term sustainably. Capitalism allows certain people, by definition, to exploit other people’s labor while requiring none of theirs. Doing things at the absolute cheapest cost, with no care about any externalities (see prior year unregulated markets- smog, acid rain, polluted rivers, etc). Capitalism elevates money above all else- even the health of our planet. Unchecked capitalism doesn’t help the weakest amongst us- it exlpoits or ignores them. Unchecked capitalism funnels power to the top and ends in monopolistic behavior without intervention. Capitalism thrives on- hell basically demands- perpetual consumption whether things are needed or not. Sell, sell, sell. Capitalism demands perpetual growth, on a finite world. Capitalism is literally going to overheat the planet as the solutions conflict with unending economic growth.

2

u/EuropeanCoder 3d ago

Capitalism demands perpetual growth, on a finite world.

It does not. Growth is preferred because people want more services - products for the cost. The USSR had growth.

It has nothing to do with economics systems.

1

u/juntareich 1d ago

Capitalism needs constant growth to function—companies chase profits, investors want/demand returns, and debt relies on future income growth. Without growth, the whole system gets shaky. Other systems (like socialism or steady-state models) can focus more on stability or sustainability instead.

1

u/EuropeanCoder 1d ago

It doesn't. Japan didn't grow really but still maintained the capitalist system.

-8

u/alclarkey 3d ago

Ah yes, this is called the Nirvana fallacy. Very few people claim capitalism is perfect. Yes, it has it's flaws. A lot of them, but it is far better than the alternative.

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u/xplat 3d ago

Every capitalist thinks there are no better alternatives. Every business owner loves capitalism because it favors sucking in wealth from others. And the more money you have the easier it gets to keep making it even through just lending it with interest.

1

u/EuropeanCoder 3d ago

How is wealth sucked? Explain it in economic terms.

1

u/xplat 2d ago

You ever wonder how the person sitting on top of a company is the one making the most money, but doing the least work?

You can pay a tech $30 an hour and charge the customer $200 an hour in shop labor for every job and all you're really doing is providing the technician a place to do all of the work for you.

1

u/EuropeanCoder 2d ago

I'm asking how it's sucked. Companies create wealth.

You're talking about company owners. They get disproportionate amount of wealth, but they don't suck it.

1

u/xplat 2d ago edited 2d ago

Funnel, suck, how do you think the wealth distribution is so insanely disproportionate. People can't purchase homes because companies can buy them and rent them or resell them to us.

1

u/alclarkey 2d ago

They take a TINY percentage of what the workers produce. The reason they are rich, is because THEY HAVE A LOT OF WORKERS THAT PRODUCE A LOT. It has nothing to do with exploitation.

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u/TFT_mom 3d ago

Ha Ha Ha. That is all I am going to say.

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u/TemporaryHysteria 3d ago

Meaning everyone is a psychopath

1

u/alclarkey 3d ago

Congratulations. You've stumbled upon something mind blowing. Human beings are assholes, myself included. Capitalism, well capitalizes on this for the benefit of all.