Without climate change action, UK finance faces a £340 billion loss.

The Bank of England has warned that unless action is taken to reduce rising temperatures and sea levels, UK banks and insurers will be forced to bear nearly £340 billion in climate-related losses by 2050.

The figures came from the Bank of England's first climate stress tests on seven of the UK's largest lenders. These includes 3 climate scenarios covering physical and transition risks over a 30-year period, including one in which governments fail to take additional steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in average temperature rises of 3.3 ° C. and a 3.9-metre rise in sea levels.

Without prompt action, the regulator found, companies would face a surge in loan and mortgage defaults, investment losses, and climate-related lawsuits – particularly for insurers – totaling £334 billion across the UK's 19 largest banks and insurers by 2050.