Excesses of debt created the financial crisis; excess of CO₂ created the climate crisis. These are coupled with flawed government policies and incentives and pervasive, outsize risktaking. The difference is that last-minute government action averted economic Armageddon during the financial crisis. We don’t have that option with climate change.

If we don’t act, the risks will compound, and we’ll lose the opportunity to avoid the worst outcomes. Businesses need to factor the threats from climate change into their investment decisions and to urge local and national policy actions. When climate-related disasters strike, we all pay. We urgently need policies such as carbon pricing to incentivize behavior change and promote clean technologies.

We can still avoid the worst effects if we act now.