The Escalating Economic Costs of Climate Change
The polycrisis will be financially devastating.
As the climate crisis intensifies, central banks warn that global economic growth is on a downward spiral, predicted to drop by one-third. This revelation from the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) is based on extensive climate-risk modeling, which finds that the persistent damages from climate disasters will increasingly erode productivity and stunt economic growth worldwide. Our current economy was built on the illusion of boundless growth, yet it exists within a finite world that is hitting hard limits — climate breakdown, environmental collapse, and the utter exhaustion of Earth’s resources.
The core assumption of perpetual economic growth is, frankly, asinine. Our capitalist systems have been structured around growth metrics, feeding off the planet’s resources without regard for limits. Like many Western economies, the United States exemplifies this dependence on expansion, with companies, government policies, and financial systems all designed to support endless growth. But what happens when nature itself forces growth to stop?
The Economic Fragility of Unlimited Growth
The very foundation of economic systems in the United States is structured around infinite…
