Climate change could spell the end of the human race 'as we know it', says JP Morgan
could spell the end of the human race as we know it, the biggest bank in the Western world has warned. In an apocalyptic report sent to clients, economists at JP Morgan Chase said failing to cut carbon emissions could lead to catastrophic events such as extreme weather, war, food and water shortages, and devastation of nature. The American bank said huge numbers of people may have to leave their countries because of rising sea levels or farmland left barren by sweltering heat. It also issued a warning to say tens of trillions of dollars would be wiped off the global economys growth. The banks analysts said the impact of climate change is broad, affecting everything from health and political stress to biodiversity and species survival, and added: We cannot rule out catastrophic outcomes where human life as we know it is threatened. The warning contained in a research paper titled Risky business: The climate and the macroeconomy comes after green campaigners accused it of being one of the biggest contributors to climate change in the corporate world. JP Morgan provided more than 150billion to businesses linked to fossil fuels between 2016 and 2018, according to the Rainforest Action Network. Climate activists have branded the banks 63-year-old chief, Jamie Dimon who has an estimated personal fortune of 1.3billion the worlds worst banker of climate change. Extinction Rebellion activists yesterday called on the bank to put its house in order and take action, claiming it was financially fuelling the climate and ecological crisis which is destroying lives. The group said: The report is candid, it exposes the risks facing our civilisations, including natural disasters and conflict, spelling out likely scenarios which create huge challenges for the survival of the human race. They added: This is not just the biggest economic problem humanity has ever faced, but the biggest moral one. It is not the incomes of our children and grandchildren we are talking about here but their lives. The report by JP Morgans analysts contains suggestions which are likely to leave some business leaders aghast. They said a tax on CO2 emissions would be one of the most effective ways to encourage firms to move to using green energy. However they admitted this would not happen any time soon because of concerns in developed countries about the impact it could have on jobs and economic growth, while developing nations fear improvements in living conditions would be hampered. The analysts noted Britains vow to cut its carbon emissions to zero by 2050, but said: It is not clear exactly how that will be achieved. In a bleak conclusion, they said it was possible the future will not be too bad but that more likely, the situation will continue to deteriorate. No government seems willing to sacrifice the incomes of their current citizens either in favour of their children and grandchildren or in favour of citizens in other countries, they wrote. Climate change is a global problem which demands a global response. This is not really happening... That opens the earth to a greater likelihood of a catastrophic outcome. They also said any delay in action increased the likelihood that the costs of dealing with climate change will go up, and that changes in the climate will be irreversible. A spokesman for JP Morgan last night said its analysts expressed an independent view and their report did not represent the banks official position.