Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer

[u/RunAmbitious2593]

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.”

[u/switchsinc]

Good, capitalism is a cancer that is killing the human race.

[u/RunAmbitious2593 → u/switchsinc]

There's many cancers that could take its place.

[u/switchsinc → u/RunAmbitious2593]

It is better to take our chances with the unknown than continue down the path we are headed.

[u/MetalstepTNG → u/switchsinc]

I don't disagree that the kind of capitalism we have is a problem but come on now, that's ridiculous.

You don't even know what's in the "unknown". None of us do. What's in the "unknown", as you put it, could easily kill us all.

Sorry, but this reads way too much like the kind of social commentary that an awkward teenager posts in his group chat to try and be edgy and impress his friends.

If we're going to change the system as a country successfully, we need to get together and coordinate between communities to find better ways to regulate the economy. Not just say "f*** it, let's just get rid of our constitution and see what happens."

[u/DestroyerTerraria → u/switchsinc]

The 'collapse of capitalism' in this scenario won't be socialism, but barbarism. The specific manner of its collapse here won't be from any constructive form of change, just mass death of the participants in the system until said system cannot function any longer.

[u/senorpuma → u/DestroyerTerraria]

No, people will adapt. We have resilient systems. But we need compassionate leaders.

[u/DestroyerTerraria → u/senorpuma]

They aren't close to resilient enough, and 'compassion' won't do shit, we need swift implementation of the policies scientists have long said are necessary. We need to make rapid cuts to carbon emissions no matter what the short term costs are. This is the issue our entire economic output as a civilization has to be oriented around, because we are making up for so, so, so much lost time that we'll be lucky if playing catch-up still works. We had a chance for incremental change to steer away from the iceberg but that has passed now.