3 climate change experts explain why wildfires and melting glaciers aren't stopping them from saving for retirement

Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Climate scientists study microorganisms near the melting Rhone Glacier in Furka, Switzerland.

• Despite grim environmental projections and existential fears about the future of our planet, climate scientists and experts are still saving for retirement. 
• They're making a concerted effort to invest in green initiatives, but they're still socking away money like the rest of us. 
• They say that big changes won't happen until 2050, around the time many of today's young adults will be looking to retire.
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As climate change continues to shake up our planet, you've likely found yourself wondering what your future - and perhaps your retirement - will look like. And it's fair to assume that no one thinks about this more than those whose work is focused on climate change and sea level rise.

But when it comes to retirement, these professionals are still saving like everyone else - and it all comes down to one factor: It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Because, against the backdrop of melting glaciers, raging wildfires, floods, mudslides, and other concerns, saving for the future might just be more important than ever. 

Here's what three climate experts had to say about how their work has impacted the way they save for retirement. 

Ian Miller: "I don't think it really has affected my retirement investment strategy."

Ian Miller, a coastal hazards specialist at Washington Sea Grant who is based in Port Angeles, Washington, has two different reasons for not letting climate change affect his retirement planning. 

"One is that I feel like I know enough about the projected timescales of change," he says. "For example, it's not really 'til you get into the second half the century that we expect to see some of the really major climate changes in our area. And that's kind of getting beyond my retirement timeline." 

"Prior to, say, 2050, we're talking about a world in which changes are definitely observable but not really community altering," he says. 

But Miller's second reason for saving for retirement is much more hopeful: "I believe that we can adapt to this. I don't look at the future and sort of throw up my hands in hopelessness because of the work that I do."

He continues, "There are conceivably some unexpected pressures coming for Washington state and the Pacific Northwest. But overall, when I look at the realms in which I work - which is coastal impacts and sea level rise - I see definitely some stressors, but things that I believe that we should be able to adapt to." 

Katharine Reich: "When I think about planning ahead, I'm not necessarily thinking, 'Oh, climate change impacts will be terrible.' I need to figure out how to arrange my investment portfolio so I'm protected from climate impact."

Katharine Reich, the aassociate director of strategic planning and communications at UCLA's Center for Climate Science, says that to her, saving for retirement is a safeguard. While she saves like anyone else, she tries to be hyper aware of where her money is going.

"How do I make investments that are responsible, that are fossil-fuel free, and that try to encourage sustainability and encourage action on climate change?" asks Reich.

She feels strongly that the funds she's saving for retirement shouldn't be invested in causes she doesn't believe in. "I have a young daughter, she's almost 2," says Reich. "How do I explain my investments to her? She's going to be even more affected by climate change than I am; her generation is more vulnerable to the changes. By the time she's in college and beyond, they're going to be larger than they are now if we stay on our current path." 

So far, though, she's found that investing her retirement funds in sustainable companies and industries isn't simple at all. "It turned out it's a pretty difficult thing to do if you're a casual investor," says Reich. "You talk to investment managers, the banks, and they have almost no awareness of this issue." 

And this goes for everything from her retirement account to her young daughter's new 529 education-savings account. "How do I look her in the face and say to her, 'Yes, I paid for your education by investing in fossil fuels...I paid for your education by investing in industries that threaten your future.'"

Heidi Roop: "How is it that we make sure that as we save and invest in our future, we're also investing in the bigger future beyond us, the health of the planet?"

Heidi Roop is a recent graduate and lead scientist for science communication at the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group in Seattle. She's married to a glaciologist, and is now expecting her first child. 

"We both are able to contribute to Roth IRAs," says Roop. "We try to and are increasingly thinking about how is it that we make sure that as we save and invest in our future, we're also investing in the bigger future beyond us, which is the health of the planet."

While she saves and invests for retirement like anyone else, she puts a big emphasis on being able to do it sustainably. "I grapple with things like, do I want to invest or have a portfolio where I'm thinking about water futures, investing in where water comes from, water utilities, water providers?" she says. 

She also wonders about where to live when she reaches retirement age, noting that the competitive housing market in Seattle might not be ideal. "Where would we want to live? Where would it be safe to live in the future?" she asks, saying that flood plains and coastal areas like Miami are places she plans to avoid. 

There's one thing she thinks about above all as she saves for retirement: "At the root of the uncertainty in both the economy and climate is actually what people in society choose to do and what they value." 

• Read more:
• Greenland is approaching the threshold of an irreversible melt, and the consequences for coastal cities could be dire
• There's a cavity underneath Antarctica that's two thirds the size of Manhattan - a sign ice sheets are melting faster than we thought
• At least 20 people have died from Europe's extreme heat. The Arctic caught on fire. This is what climate change looks like.
• We asked insurance workers where they'd live in the US to avoid future natural disasters - here's what they said

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