The economic gap between the US and the Eurozone has almost tripled since the foundation of the Euro. In 1999, the year the Euro was introduced, the US economy was 11% larger than the Eurozone in purchasing power parity terms; this gap has since widened to 30%.
The world has long passed the point where a gradual and essentially smooth economic transition was possible to achieve the Paris goals and keep the rise in global temperature below 1.5C. Consequently, trade-offs between affordability and insurability – and between our current and sustainable lifestyles – are becoming more challenging.
Since our last quarterly economic update in September, growth momentum has been weakening but remained resilient, disinflation is ongoing and interest rates are plateauing, very much in line with our expectations.
Extreme weather events have almost become the new normal around the world, emphasizing the urgency of the global climate crisis. Yet, climate literacy has declined to an alarmingly low level.