Do you have fire insurance? Car insurance? Life insurance? Why?

You have them, if you do, because though the event may be unlikely, it’s catastrophic if it happens and you aren’t prepared.

We just know two things: one, the CO2 we put into the atmosphere stays there for many years, so it is “irreversible” in real-time (barring some feat of geo-engineering); and two, that CO2 buildup has the potential to unleash “catastrophic” warming.

When I see a problem that has even a 1 percent probability of occurring and is “irreversible” and potentially “catastrophic,” I buy insurance. That is what taking climate change seriously is all about.

Thomas L. Friedman