Billionaire investor Warren Buffett has dismissed the threat of global warming to Berkshire Hathaway, comparing it to the “dire” Y2K bug fear which caused only minor problems in a letter to investors opposing a shareholder resolution on climate. Athough Buffett admitted it is “highly likely” that climate change “poses a major problem for the planet,” he concluded that “when you are thinking only as a shareholder of a major insurer, climate change should not be on your list of worries.”
At the upcoming Berkshire Hathaway shareholders’ meeting, the Nebraska Peace Foundation and Bold Nebraska are presenting a proposal calling for a report from Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance division (which includes Geico) on the risks posed by climate change. The board, following Buffett’s wishes, is opposing the proposed report.
Buffett’s conglomerate is increasingly invested in the fossil-fuel industry, from his anti-community-solar NV Energy utility in Nevada to his railroad company BNSF, which profits heavily from oil-train and coal-train traffic.
Download the shareholder resolution and Buffett’s opposition here.
The text of Buffett’s letter is below: