Unequal economic impacts of climate change around the world
The global economy is expected to lose about 19% income in the next 25 years due to climate change, with countries least responsible for the problem and having minimum resources to adapt to impacts suffering the most according to a new study published
South Asia and Africa will be strongly affected
The researcher says the global income loss could vary between 11% and 29%, depending on different climate scenarios and uncertainties in the data
The countries least responsible for climate change are predicted to suffer income loss that is 60% greater than the higher-income countries and 40% greater than higher-emission countries
Climate science says the world needs to slash CO2 emissions by 43% by 2030 to limit the average temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the guardrail to prevent worsening of climate impacts
Why countries in the tropics will suffer the most?
While most regions in the world are expected to suffer economically due to these changes, the regions near the poles might see some benefits due to less temperature variability.
On the other hand, the hardest-hit regions will likely be those closer to the equator, which historically have contributed less to global emissions and currently have lower incomes.
Countries in the tropics will suffer the most because they are already warmer.
Further temperature increases will therefore be most harmful there
COMMENTS