Get Ready for Financial Shocks From Climate Change, Biden Tells Officials

WASHINGTON has ordered government agencies to prepare for climate-related shocks across the , as escalating disasters threaten home prices, the value of retirement funds and even the stability of the global financial system. The is the latest indication of how climate change, once dismissed as a distant threat, is already complicating life for Americans. It follows a from the Environmental Protection Agency, which showed that global warming is now being felt in the United States in the form of more heat waves, wildfires, floods and other disasters. Mr. Bidens new push addresses the risks that disasters could pose to consumers, businesses, investors and the government itself. Experts warn of two broad types of financial risk posed by a hotter planet: The growing cost to businesses and investors as climate-related disasters damage or destroy buildings, crops or supply chains; and the potential for a sudden drop in the value of companies that depend on fossil fuels, as governments or consumers embrace wind, solar and other sources of energy that do not produce the carbon emissions driving global warming. Either could destabilize major sectors of the economy, with the Great Recession of 2007-9. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and your Times account, or for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? . Want all of The Times? .