Could the Super El Niño be Climate’s ‘Big Short’ Moment?

Every year, I compulsively re-watch The Big Short: the movie adaptation of Michael Lewis’ rollicking account of the 2008 global financial crisis. I came of age during this downturn, and started my career as a financial journalist sifting through its ruins, so my preoccupation with this particular story of Wall Street folly is well on brand.

Lewis’ yarn — as overly simplified and incomplete as it is — has proved incredibly durable, and continues to shape how the media and popular culture frames stories of financial foolishness. This extends to the potential climate-related financial crisis that commentators insist is coming, especially in the wake of this summer’s wildfires, heatwaves, and droughts.