Big Business, Meet Global Warming

Quick! What business sector has the most to lose from global warming? It's a big one: the global insurance industry. In June, the Association of British Insurers published Financial Risks of Climate Change (pdf):

Current scientific evidence suggests that global warming could increase the severity of tropical storms, with limited evidence that the number of major storms could change in some regions.

The report goes on to talk about costs (a subject near and dear to the hearts of stockholders) and damage-minimization (ditto). Here's an overview of some of their research and concerns. If insurance industry analyses are correct, then the US should rethink its position on greenhouse gases and the Kyoto Protocol. Tip to Oxford University Press.

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Global Warming, Kyoto Protocol, Politics