The Trump administration does not usually acknowledge the reality of climate change. But it’s willing to make exceptions in certain cases—namely, where it sees that the coming planetary apocalypse might be profitable.

At a meeting last week of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum for countries with territory in the region, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refused to sign on to a document stating climate change posed a threat to the Arctic. But he was willing to speak at length about the economic promise of rapidly melting ice.

“The Arctic is at the forefront of opportunity and abundance,” Pompeo said, practically salivating over the area’s natural resources—minerals, gold, and oil among them. “Steady reductions in sea ice are opening new passageways and new opportunities for trade ... Arctic sea lanes could become the 21st century Suez and Panama Canals.”

It’s more than a bit grotesque to tout the capitalist potential of a global crisis that threatens one million species, humans among them. But Pompeo is technically correct. Thanks to climate change, investment opportunities abound in the Arctic Ocean (at the edge of which, this past weekend, temperatures reached 84 degrees).

But such opportunities also extend far beyond Arctic shipping lanes. As wildfires intensify, private firefighting companies can charge a mint to Malibu celebrities seeking to protect their homes. As droughts spread, demand for companies offering water desalination will grow. As floods worsen and sea levels rise, more people will look to developers to raise and waterproof their homes.