He warned that 'governments and central banks need to take out the catastrophic risk to markets'.

Catastrophic risks are normally underwritten by the re-insurance or wholesale insurance market.

Onshore reinsurance companies may also incorporate an offshore subsidiary to reinsure catastrophic risks.

Some economists have discussed the importance of global catastrophic risks, though not existential risks.

At the same time, nanotechnology may be used to alleviate several other global catastrophic risks.