December 17, 2025
Mr. Whitehouse (for himself, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Markey, Mr. Van Hollen, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Welch, and Ms. Blunt Rochester) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
Recognizing that climate change portends a cascade of financial market collapses that would destabilize the national and global economies.
Whereas climate change drives and exacerbates extreme weather and disaster events;
Whereas United States losses from extreme weather events totaled $165,000,000,000 in 2022 alone;
Whereas more frequent extreme weather events and wildfires are making insurance increasingly unaffordable and unavailable;
Whereas unavailable or unaffordable insurance will destabilize mortgage and property markets, potentially resulting in a $25,000,000,000,000 decline in global residential property values;
Whereas modelers project that unchecked climate change could cost the global economy $178,000,000,000,000 in net present value from 2021 to 2070;
Whereas global financial experts warn that if climate change is not addressed, worldwide per capita gross domestic product could decline by 10 to 20 percent within 3 decades;
Whereas national banks and the international Financial Stability Board predict that climate change is causing and will continue to cause structural risk to the global financial system; and
Whereas financial experts and banks agree that adjusting to the climate reality by organizing an early and orderly transition to a low carbon economy will avoid costly shocks to the system caused by a sudden and disorderly transition: Now, therefore, be it
That the Senate recognizes that unchecked climate change poses severe risks to national and global economies.