Guest Idea: Climate Risk Has Become A Defining Economic Issue

"Climate risk has become a defining economic issue. Events like the recent Los Angeles wildfires don't just damage ecosystems-they destabilize real estate markets, strain public budgets, and erode household wealth. Insurance sits at the center of this system. Because mortgages depend on insurability, the retreat of insurers from high-risk regions-California, Florida, and increasingly the Midwest-signals deeper stress across housing, credit, and local economies. Climate risk is now a systemic financial risk."

"Next-generation geothermal is one of the clearest examples of this shift. Once marginal, it is now emerging as a 24/7 clean power source capable of reshaping the grid. Technology improvements and rising demand for firm clean energy have unlocked new geographies and new investor confidence. The sector raised US$1.7 billion in Q1 2025, and Fervo Energy's US$462 million Series E underscores geothermal's move into the mainstream of the energy transition."

"Waste and carbon removal are undergoing a similar rethinking. Organic materials make up more than half of North American landfill volume and are a major source of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas. But if intercepted and converted into stable carbon-such as biochar-this waste stream can shift from a climate liability to a climate asset. Durable carbon removal is becoming a necessary complement to clean electricity."

Climate risk has become a defining economic issue. Events like recent Los Angeles wildfires destabilize real estate markets, strain public budgets, and erode household wealth. Insurance is central because mortgages depend on insurability, and insurers' retreat from high-risk regions signals deeper stress across housing, credit, and local economies. Investment in Climate Tech is accelerating, with US$2.1 trillion in clean energy investment in 2024 concentrated in renewables, nuclear, grid upgrades, storage, and electrification. Next-generation geothermal is emerging as 24/7 clean power, raising significant capital and moving into the mainstream. Organic waste conversion to durable carbon removal and novel uses for nuclear waste are reframing liabilities as clean-energy assets.

Read at Earth911