The extremely large investment risks due to global climate change are in the minds of sensible investors. One risk people often fail to consider is the damage that can be done to our electronics and our electrical system (large scale distribution) by solar storms.
That’s not a lurid sci-fi fantasy. It’s a sober new assessment by Lloyd’s of London, the world’s oldest insurance market. The report notes that even a much smaller solar-induced geomagnetic storm in 1989 left 6 million people in Quebec without power for nine hours.
“We’re much more dependent on electricity now than we were in 1859,” explains Neil Smith, an emerging-risks researcher at Lloyd’s and co-author of the report. “The same event today could have a huge financial impact” — which the insurer pegs at up to $2.6 trillion for an especially severe storm. (To put that in context, Hurricane Sandy caused about $68 billion in damage.)
…
A truly severe geomagnetic storm could create currents powerful enough to overload electric grids and damage a significant number of high-voltage transformers, which can take a long time to repair or replace. That could leave millions without power for months or years.
…
there are technologies that could harden the grid, such as capacitors that can help block the flow of ground currents induced by a geomagnetic event. In Quebec, the Canadian government has spent about $1.2 billion on these technologies since the 1989 blackout.
Likely in the event of extremely large solar storms that knock out a significant number of large transformers would provide business to companies that manufacture replacements and companies that offer protection (once insurers raise insurance rates for unprotected equipment the economics will quickly justify the expenses).
I am still looking for investment ideas that stand to benefit from global climate change. We seem pretty determined not to take actions to reduce the risks so reducing the impacts seems unlikely. Mostly this will cause great damage to our standards of living (and even endangering many lives). But even so I image there will be some investments that should benefit.
Even if say global climate changes reduce global economic well being by 10% I don’t think it will be 10% evenly distributed. Some places/businesses.. will go down 20%, some 12% some 3% and I would think there is also the chance some will actually increase. But I have not been successful in thinking of investments that will benefit due to global climate change (and our refusal to take sensible steps to reduce the damage). If you have ideas add a comment.
I wish we would take significant action to reduce the damage global climate change will cause. But since we are not, and the damage will be huge, reducing what I can expect from average investment returns, seeking investments to help balance those losses is a wise step to take.
Related: Investment Risk Matters Most as Part of a Portfolio, Rather than in Isolation – Disability Insurance is Very Important – Unless We Take Decisive Action, Climate Change Will Ravage Our Planet – Solar Cycle Prediction – Don’t Expect to Spend Over 4% of Your Retirement Investment Assets Annually