London floods again highlight economic cost of allowing the planet to burn

The government needs to find a way of stimulating more green investment. Reforming the solvency rules governing insurers could help so long as consumer protection is maintained, writes James Moore

Extreme weather like the torrential rain that lead to flooding in London is made more likely by climate change (Rob Day)

“For the UK, the most tangible evidence [of climate change] is severe flooding.”

That’s not my view. It comes from the insurance industry, the claims side of which was having a busy day on Monday in the aftermath of the flash floods in London that closed roads and, more seriously, led to the declaration of a major incident by Barts NHS Trust after problems at two of its hospitals.

Extreme weather events such as the one the capital experienced – with more than a month’s rainfall tipping down in the space of a couple of hours – are set to become much more common the hotter the planet gets.