Why climate adaption stocks might be more profitable than climate solutions

By Trey Thoelcke Published Apr 14, 11:40AM EDT

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Why climate adaption stocks might be more profitable than climate solutions — © Anastasia Deriy / iStock via Getty Images

By David Callaway, Callaway Climate Insights

(Mark Hulbert, an author and longtime investment columnist, is the founder of the Hulbert Financial Digest; his Hulbert Ratings audits investment newsletter returns.)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Callaway Climate Insights) — Is it unethical to invest in companies that help us adapt to a warmer climate?

Many think it is. And there are many others who, while not going so far as to believe it’s outright immoral, still find climate change adaptation to be somehow objectionable. Global warming is an existential threat, so our single-minded focus should be on mitigating that warming. To the extent adaptation strategies are successful, they could reduce the urgency we otherwise feel to fight that existential threat. That is hardly a good thing.

At the same time, almost everyone also agrees that, not only has the climate already warmed to an alarming extent, but significant future increases are “baked in,” so to speak. Extreme weather events are already inflicting untold suffering, and even if the climate eventually cools down, it will almost certainly get a lot hotter first. We have no choice but to adapt.

Indeed, some have suggested that a failure to adapt is the real existential threat. Jason Ur, a Harvard University archaeologist, has pointed out that “when we excavate the remains of past civilizations, we rarely find any evidence that they made any attempts to adapt in the face of a changing climate. I view this inflexibility as the real reason for collapse.”. . .

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.