A new study predicts a 19% income reduction for the global economy by 2050 due to climate change, based on data from over 1,600 regions. These economic damages, estimated at $38 trillion annually by 2050, are largely due to past emissions affecting agriculture, labor, and infrastructure, and are six times greater than the costs of limiting global warming to two degrees. Credit: SciTechDaily.
Projected income changes in 2049 compared to an economy without climate change. Income changes are committed in the sense that they are caused by historical emissions. Credit: Kotz et al., Nature To date, global projections of economic damages caused by climate change typically focus on national impacts from average annual temperatures over long-time horizons.
They are also the ones with the least resources to adapt to its impacts. It is on us to decide: structural change towards a renewable energy system is needed for our security and will save us money. Staying on the path we are currently on, will lead to catastrophic consequences. The temperature of the planet can only be stabilized if we stop burning oil, gas, and coal,” says Anders Levermann, Head of Research Department Complexity Science at the Potsdam Institute and co-author of the study.