Report warns of financial melt-down from abrupt climate change

A financial services firm has published a report forecasting far-reaching and "dire" impacts from the prospect of rapid climate change.

Toronto-based Sprott Asset Management recently released a report called "Investment Implications of Abrupt Climate Change," which said that there is potential for disruptions to the global economy if there is a rapid change in climate from global warming.

Increasingly, businesses are adapting to climate change. Insurance firms, for example, are reevaluating their risk from natural disasters. Investors, meanwhile, are pouring money into renewable energy, like solar, and other clean technologies.

The Sprott study compiles scientific data on global warming and plays out possible scenarios, including a rapid change in climate, and reports on several indications of climate change already.

Regardless of how quickly climate change occurs, the report concludes that "global warming will need to be factored into investment decisions going forward."

"If we truly are at the dawn of abrupt climate change, the prognosis is dire for almost all traditional asset classes. But there are also investment opportunities and the potential to add significant returns," the Sprott report said.

Meanwhile, BusinessWeek earlier this month ran an article entitled "Business On a Warmer Planet" citing several companies now adapting to climate change.