A Review of the Financial Sector Impacts of Risks Associated with Climate Change

Abstract

This article reviews the literature on the financial sector impacts of natural disasters and physical climate change risks, covering banking, insurance, stock markets, bond markets, and international financial flows. Most studies have applied statistical approaches to historical data from developed countries to identify these impacts, while some have also used theoretical and computational modeling to assess future risks under climate change scenarios. The findings show that natural disasters and climate change risks generally lower insurer profitability and risk-sharing capacity, bank stability and credit supply, returns and stability of stock and bond markets, foreign direct investment inflows, and international lending. Factors such as income levels, rigorous financial regulations, capital abundance, market diversification, and adaptation strategies mitigate the negative effects. Natural disasters increase remittance inflows and financial assistance to low- and middle-income countries. We recommend future research on forward-looking computational modeling to assess the future financial sector impacts of climate change, while accounting for adaptation actions and their drivers. Future research should also consider hazard correlations and the interactions between financial industries and regions to more comprehensively assess the economic effects of natural disasters in general and for vulnerable countries in particular.