A senior Allianz figure has cautioned that climate change is poised to undermine capitalism, as escalating extreme weather costs render financial systems inoperable.
Günther Thallinger warns that approaching temperature increases of 1.5-3°C will make numerous climate risks uninsurable, with required premiums becoming unaffordable. This process has already begun in wildfire-prone regions.
Without insurance, other financial services—mortgages, development, investments—become unviable, triggering systemic failure. The economic value of coastal, arid and fire-susceptible areas will vanish from financial ledgers, causing brutal market repricing.
Government capacity to cover multiplying disasters is unrealistic, as Australia's sevenfold increase in recovery spending demonstrates. Adaptation proves impossible against temperatures exceeding human tolerance.
At 3°C, climate damage becomes uninsurable, ungovernable, and unadaptable—effectively dismantling capitalism as we know it.
The solution lies in rapidly scaling existing zero-emission technologies, with capitalism prioritising sustainability alongside financial aims.
What are some of the implications for work's future? Employment patterns may transform radically as entire industries and regions become financially non-viable. Workers will face displacement from climate-vulnerable areas, requiring massive reskilling programmes and new economic models that integrate sustainability as a core principle - rather than an afterthought.