[Silence]
[Instrumental Intro: sly blues-rock guitar, bass, piano, and a steady cash-register rhythm]
[Intro]
They said it was distant
(Too far away)
Something for tomorrow
(Not today)
But tomorrow came knocking
(On the front door)
And suddenly the mocking
(Costs a little more)
[Verse 1]
The roof needs fixing
(The storm came through)
The premium’s rising
(What can you do?)
The insurer’s nervous
(So am I)
The policy’s canceled
(Well, goodbye!)
[Refrain]
What will change you, honey?
(Money!)
Need some assurance
(About insurance)
And the fate
(Of the interest rate)
Taxes are taxing me
(Climate reality)
What will change you, honey?
(Money!)
[Verse 2]
Mortgage payment climbing
(The rate went high)
Climate risk pricing
(You wonder why)
The lender’s calculating
(The risk in the loan)
Location, exposure
(You’re on your own?)
Higher cost of capital
(Higher cost of debt)
When risk gets repriced
(You ain’t seen nothing yet)
A house isn’t just a house
(It’s an asset, you see)
It’s weather, water, wildfire
(And geography)
[Pre-Chorus]
You can ignore
(A temperature chart)
You can debate
(The science part)
But when the bill
(Comes through the door)
You start asking
(What was this for?)
[Refrain]
What will change you, honey?
(Money!)
Need some assurance
(About insurance)
And the fate
(Of the interest rate)
Taxes are taxing me
(Climate reality)
What will change you, honey?
(Money!)
[Bridge]
Climate change
(Prices rearrange)
Risk becomes
(A financial cost)
And the cost becomes
(A consumer loss)
[Break]
What happens
(When the wallet feels it?)
What happens
(When the market reveals it?)
What happens
(When the numbers don’t lie?)
You can close your eyes
(But when the bill comes… you cry!)
[Refrain]
What will change you, honey?
(Money!)
Need some assurance
(About insurance)
And the fate
(Of the interest rate)
Taxes are taxing me
(Climate reality)
What will change you, honey?
(Money!)
[Instrumental: cash-register percussion, blues guitar solo, piano stabs]
[Final Chorus]
Climate short changed
(Short changed!)
Paying for the weather
(Again and again)
Climate short changed
(Short changed!)
Everywhere you turn
(It’s the cost of the trend)
[Final Refrain]
What will change you, honey?
(Money!)
Need some assurance
(About insurance)
And the fate
(Of the interest rate)
Taxes are taxing me
(Climate reality)
[Outro]
What will change you, honey?
(Money!)
Climate short changed
(Deranged!)
You don’t need to love it
(You don’t need to hate)
You don’t even have to
(Participate)
But if the price keeps rising
(You’ll probably find)
Climate change
(Has changed your mind)
Climate short changed
(Short changed…)
Money…
(Honey…)
See…
(Climate reality.)
About the Song
When Climate Change Hits the Wallet: Insurance, Interest Rates, and Taxes
What will actually change consumer behavior when it comes to climate change?
💰 Money.
Insurance. Interest rates. Taxes.
For years, climate change was largely treated as an environmental issue. But that is changing as climate risk increasingly enters the household economy.
🏠 Insurance premiums and availability are being affected by rising climate risks.
💰 Climate-related economic and fiscal pressures are affecting the cost of capital.
🧾 The growing costs of climate damage, adaptation, infrastructure, and energy transition are increasingly flowing through tax systems.
These forces can reinforce one another:
Climate change → financial disruption → higher household costs → changed consumer behavior
Consumers may ignore a temperature graph. They are much less likely to ignore an insurance cancellation, a higher mortgage payment, or a rising tax bill.
Climate change does not have to be universally accepted before it changes behavior.
It only has to become cost prohibitive to ignore.
Read the full report: “When Climate Change Hits the Wallet: Insurance, Interest Rates, and Taxes”
From the album “Present Tense“