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hatrack

(64,479 posts)
Thu Feb 5, 2026, 07:14 AM 22 hrs ago

You Don't Say!! Flawed Economic Models Mean Climate Collapse Could Also Collapse Global Economy

EDIT

As the world speeds towards 2C of global heating, the risks of extreme weather disasters and climate tipping points are increasing fast. But current economic models used by governments and financial institutions entirely miss such shocks, the researchers said, instead forecasting that steady economic growth will be slowed only by gradually rising average temperatures. This is because the models assume the future will behave like the past, despite the burning of fossil fuels pushing the climate system into uncharted territory.

Tipping points, such as the collapse of critical Atlantic currents or the Greenland ice sheet, would have global consequences for society. Some are thought to be at, or very close to, their tipping points but the timing is difficult to predict. Combined extreme weather disasters could wipe out national economies, the researchers, from the University of Exeter and financial thinktank Carbon Tracker Initiative, said.

Their report concludes governments, regulators and financial managers must pay far more attention to these high impact but lower likelihood risks, because avoiding irreversible outcomes by cutting carbon emissions is far cheaper than trying to cope with them.

“We’re not dealing with manageable economic adjustments,” said Dr Jesse Abrams, at the University of Exeter. “The climate scientists we surveyed were unambiguous: current economic models can’t capture what matters most – the cascading failures and compounding shocks that define climate risk in a warmer world – and could undermine the very foundations of economic growth. For financial institutions and policymakers, it’s a fundamental misreading of the risks we face,” he said. “We are thinking about something like a 2008 [crash], but one we can’t recover from as well. Once we have ecosystem breakdown or climate breakdown, we can’t bail out the Earth like we did the banks.”

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/05/flawed-economic-models-mean-climate-crisis-could-crash-global-economy-experts-warn

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You Don't Say!! Flawed Economic Models Mean Climate Collapse Could Also Collapse Global Economy (Original Post) hatrack 22 hrs ago OP
Whatever "woke" is................ Lovie777 22 hrs ago #1
"we can't bail out the earth like we can with banks." cachukis 20 hrs ago #2
What we call "economic productivity" isn't productivity at all. hunter 13 hrs ago #3

hunter

(40,462 posts)
3. What we call "economic productivity" isn't productivity at all.
Thu Feb 5, 2026, 03:53 PM
13 hrs ago

Sadly, it has a direct correlation to the damage we are doing to the natural environment and our own human spirit.


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