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Financial risk of climate change debated

A dozen US state treasurers and comptrollers, and hundreds of other heavyweight investors, joined in a daylong "summit" on Tuesday to debate ways to pressure more US companies into openly acknowledging the financial risk of climate change, and exploring ways to reduce it.

"Global warming is likely to result in billions and billions of losses for public companies," said William Thompson, who as New York City comptroller handles US$82 billion in pension-fund and other assets invested in publicly traded companies.

The more than 300 participants -- from insurance companies, financial houses, union pension funds and other institutions -- heard from former US Vice President Al Gore, former treasury secretary Paul O'Neill and panels of leading investors and business executives about the link between the global climate and business climate.

Everything from agricultural productivity to the health of the global insurance industry would be adversely affected.

"If, in fact, someone invests US$2 billion in a coal-fired power plant, and the laws change -- and they will change at some point -- with those changes come perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars of stranded costs," said Mindy Lubber, who heads an environmentally minded investors group, CERES.

Unlike most of the rest of the world, the US has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, which mandates emissions cuts. But many view such US controls as inevitable as evidence of warming mounts.
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