Published on SEJ (https://www.sej.org)

Home > Economy & Business

Insurance Meltdown a Foreseeable Climate Disaster [1]

Whether fires in California or flooding in North Carolina, climate disasters are revealing a major fault line in U.S. emergency response — a serious insurance shortfall that may lead to financial catastrophe. The new Issue Backgrounder explores the risks of underinsured disasters, the limits to the national flood insurance programs and FEMA aid, and the predictable scapegoating that has created solution gridlock.

SEJ Publication Types: 
Backgrounders [2]
Topics on the Beat: 
Climate Change [3]
Consumer [4]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Government [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
People & Population [9]
Planning & Growth [10]
Policy [11]
Water & Oceans [12]
Visibility: 
Public [13]

"Undocumented Workers Prepare to Clean Up L.A.’s Fires Amid ICE Raids" [14]

"In the aftermath of the devastating wildfires that tore through Los Angeles last month, undocumented day laborers will likely make up a significant portion of the workforce tasked with clearing debris and rebuilding homes. As they navigate the environmental hazards of this work, they’re also facing the Trump administration’s escalating crackdown on immigrants."

Chemicals [15]
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Health [16]
Environmental Justice [17]
Environmental Politics [18]
Laws & Regulations [8]
People & Population [9]
Pollution [19]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [20]
California [21]
Source: Capital & Main [22], 02/14/2025

"Coca-Cola Says It May Use More Plastic Due To Trump Tariffs" [23]

"Coca-Cola may have to sell more drinks in plastic bottles in the US if President Donald Trump's tariffs end up making aluminium cans more expensive, the company's chief executive, James Quincey, said in a call with investors."

Chemicals [15]
Consumer [4]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Politics [18]
Natural Resources [25]
Pollution [19]
Waste [26]
Water & Oceans [12]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: BBC News [27], 02/14/2025

"Colorado And Connecticut Lowered Utility Bills By Reining In Lobbying" [28]

"Electric and gas utilities routinely charge ratepayers for costs related to political advocacy, ads to burnish their brand, and even luxury perks for executives and employees, according to a recent report by the utility watchdog group Energy and Policy Institute, or EPI. Such expenses add up to millions of dollars paid by customers toward utilities’ efforts to raise prices and stall climate progress."

Climate Change [3]
Consumer [4]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Politics [18]
Journalism & Media [29]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Pollution [19]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: Grist [30], 02/14/2025

"EPA Chief Seeks To Claw Back $20 Billion In Climate Funding" [31]

"The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is seeking to end contracts agreed by the previous administration to distribute $20 billion in grants to fund clean energy and transportation projects in disadvantaged communities, he said on Thursday."

Climate Change [3]
Consumer [4]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Health [16]
Environmental Justice [17]
Environmental Politics [18]
Laws & Regulations [8]
People & Population [9]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: Reuters [32], 02/14/2025

"Will Trump Cut The Oil Industry’s Favorite Climate Subsidies?" [33]

"President Donald Trump’s promises to bolster the fossil fuel industry while dismantling federal climate programs are on a collision course when it comes to carbon removal subsidies."

Climate Change [3]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Politics [18]
Infrastructure [34]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Pollution [19]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: E&E News [35], 02/13/2025

Bayer Backs Broader Effort To Shield Popular Weedkiller From Cancer Claims [36]

"A renewed and expanded effort from chemical giant Bayer to shield itself from lawsuits that claim its popular weedkiller Roundup causes cancer brought dozens of protesters to the Iowa Capitol building Monday begging lawmakers to reject it."

Agriculture [37]
Chemicals [15]
Economy & Business [6]
Environmental Health [16]
Environmental Justice [17]
Environmental Politics [18]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Pollution [19]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [20]
Great Plains (IA KS ND NE MO SD) [38]
Source: AP [39], 02/13/2025

"DOGE Lands At EPA" [40]

"Aides with tech mogul Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency have been granted access to EPA’s vast contracting system that details millions of dollars in agency spending."

Activism [41]
Chemicals [15]
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Health [16]
Environmental Politics [18]
Government [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: E&E News [42], 02/13/2025

Trump Names Oil And Gas Advocate To Lead Agency That Manages Federal Lands [43]

"President Donald Trump has nominated a longtime oil and gas industry representative to oversee an agency that manages a quarter-billion acres of public land concentrated in western states."

Climate Change [3]
Economy & Business [6]
Energy & Fuel [24]
Environmental Health [16]
Environmental Politics [18]
Government [7]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Pollution [19]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: AP [44], 02/13/2025

"How, And Where Climate Change Will Lower U.S. Home Values" [45]

"Climate change is quickly upending the home insurance market in the United States as well as globally and is projected to bring sweeping change in U.S. real estate values over the next 30 years, new research shows."

Climate Change [3]
Consumer [4]
Disasters [5]
Economy & Business [6]
Infrastructure [34]
Laws & Regulations [8]
Public [13]
National (U.S.) [20]
Source: Thomson Reuters Fdn. [46], 02/12/2025

Pages

The Society of Environmental Journalists
1629 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone: (202) 558-2055
Email: sej@sej.org
© 2026 The Society of Environmental Journalists. All Rights Reserved.
All graphics © SEJ, unless otherwise stated.
Source URL:https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=69

Links
[1] https://www.sej.org/publications/backgrounders/insurance-meltdown-foreseeable-climate-disaster [2] https://www.sej.org/category/sej-publication-types/backgrounders [3] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change [4] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer [5] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster [6] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business [7] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/government [8] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws [9] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population [10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/cities-towns [11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/policy [12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water [13] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81 [14] https://www.sej.org/headlines/undocumented-workers-prepare-clean-la-s-fires-amid-ice-raids [15] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics [16] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-health [17] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-justice [18] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmental-politics [19] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution [20] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national [21] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/california [22] https://capitalandmain.com/undocumented-workers-prepare-to-clean-up-l-a-s-fires-amid-ice-raids [23] https://www.sej.org/headlines/coca-cola-says-it-may-use-more-plastic-due-trump-tariffs [24] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy [25] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land [26] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/waste [27] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3vp4dp90qqo [28] https://www.sej.org/headlines/colorado-and-connecticut-lowered-utility-bills-reining-lobbying [29] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/journalism/media [30] https://grist.org/accountability/colorado-and-connecticut-saved-residents-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars-on-their-utility-bills/ [31] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-chief-seeks-claw-back-20-billion-climate-funding [32] https://www.aol.com/epa-chief-seeks-claw-back-163943032.html [33] https://www.sej.org/headlines/will-trump-cut-oil-industry-s-favorite-climate-subsidies [34] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/infrastructure [35] https://www.eenews.net/articles/will-trump-cut-the-oil-industrys-favorite-climate-subsidies/ [36] https://www.sej.org/headlines/bayer-backs-broader-effort-shield-popular-weedkiller-cancer-claims [37] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture [38] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-plains [39] https://apnews.com/article/bayer-roundup-glyphosate-pesticide-liability-cancer-7d7885e55e228fae8ed8ec7b207a65b8 [40] https://www.sej.org/headlines/doge-lands-epa [41] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/activism [42] https://www.eenews.net/articles/doge-lands-at-epa/ [43] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trumpnames-oil-and-gas-advocate-lead-agency-manages-federal-lands [44] https://apnews.com/article/trump-public-lands-sgamma-oil-b0daa3af6d5fca82979f71e0c6f0b255 [45] https://www.sej.org/headlines/how-and-where-climate-change-will-lower-us-home-values [46] https://www.context.news/climate-risks/how-and-where-climate-change-will-upend-us-home-values [47] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=68 [48] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=65 [49] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=66 [50] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=67 [51] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=70 [52] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=71 [53] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=72 [54] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=73 [55] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/business?page=420