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The title is misleading as the article doesn't really describe hedging. It gives examples of various individuals and groups who are placing increasing value on
by 1e-9 8y ago
The title is misleading as the article doesn't really describe hedging. It gives examples of various individuals and groups who are placing increasing value on technologies and resources related to global warming. Their investments naturally reflect their assessments, which is actually a good thing. If global warming is happening, then price adjustments are needed to encourage conservation, the search for alternatives, and the advancement of needed technologies. This is a beneficial market mechanism where people are incentivized to drive prices up or down based on their best prediction of the future. The government's role should be to provide regulation, penalties, and incentives to prevent conflicts between profit and the public's welfare. As the article points out, the current government role in this area is haphazard and largely unproductive. This situation will surely persist until there is better political agreement on what is happening with our climate.
- gridlockd 8y agoGlobal warming itself is an externality, it's not priced by the market. If you buy into solar for example, you profit from the energy it produces (which is disjoint from global warming) and/or from the price put on global warming by a government. The developments are absolutely dependent on the ongoing doomsday hype (the world ends in 12 years you guys!), not global warming itself. The only thing that I can see the market re-pricing in regards to global warming is land, i.e. you could buy some land in Siberia now because it will be livable in the future. However, that future is so far away it doesn't make sense to buy in this lifetime. Furthermore you could be shorting any business that depends on a stable climate.
- 1e-9 8y agoThere is an enormous number of portfolios that can be constructed to be highly profitable if global warming becomes more widely accepted. There is no need for an actual apocalypse to occur. There just needs to be an increasing awareness that continuing on our current emissions path will lead to disaster if allowed to continue. Those who accept this hypothesis, and invest accordingly, will be helping to avoid an apocalypse. They are the ones who will help drive down the value of things that contribute to global warming, while driving up the value of things needed to combat it. If we are lucky, this process will play out quickly enough that we can avoid irreversible destruction of our environment. Governments could dramatically accelerate the needed changes through appropriate incentives/penalties to make long-term improvements/harms more profitable/unprofitable in the near-term.
- bernardv 8y agoDepending where you live, be sure that your homeowners insurance will cost you more. The repricing will happen quicker than you might think.