BLOG — Apr 14, 2025
For the world’s largest companies, climate physical risks have a $1.2 trillion annual price tag by the 2050s
By Matt Macfarland, Rick Lord, and Tyyra Linko
Companies’ exposure to extreme weather events and chronic climate hazards such as extreme heat, water stress and drought has created significant financial costs across all sectors. These costs are projected to continue climbing, even under a climate change scenario that assumes strong greenhouse gas emissions reduction (SSP2-4.5), absent adaptation.
The total cost of climate physical risk for the world’s largest companies that make up the S&P Global 1200 is projected to reach $1.2 trillion annually by 2050 under this scenario, according to S&P Global Sustainable1 data; this figure assumes no adaptation measures and is not adjusted for future inflation. The highest costs come from extreme heat and water stress.
Utility companies are projected to experience the largest costs from climate physical risk: The average electric utility in the S&P Global 1200 is projected to face $4.6 billion in costs annually in the 2050s, absent adaptation. Importantly, utilities are more advanced than many sectors in terms of adaptation planning.
While climate physical risk assessments have become common across utilities and energy industries, fewer companies are identifying the potential financial impact from physical risk.
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