Podcast

A New Housing Bubble? How Climate Change Could Destabilize the Global Economy

by Sophia Besch and Susan Crawford
Published on February 13, 2025

Rising sea levels and climate-driven flooding are reshaping the global economy, with major implications for the U.S. housing market and the global economy. As millions of homes face increased risk, mortgage defaults could surge, home values may plummet, and financial instability could spread worldwide. Governments will soon need large-scale strategies to relocate coastal populations and manage mounting disaster relief costs.

In this episode, we explore how climate change threatens financial stability and whether the U.S. is facing another housing market bubble. Sophia Besch discusses these questions with Susan Crawford, a senior fellow for Carnegie's Climate, Sustainability, and Geopolitics Program.

Notes:

  1. Susan Crawford, Charleston: Race, Water, and the Coming Storm, (Pegasus Books, 2023).
  2. Amitov Ghosh, The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis, (University of Chicago Press, 2021).
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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