Climate impacts 'to cost world $7.9 trillion' by 2050
PARIS, France — Climate change could directly cost the world economy $7.9 trillion by mid-century as increased drought, flooding and crop failures hamper growth and threaten infrastructure,
The Economist Intelligence Unit's (EIU) Climate Change Resilience Index measured the preparedness of the world's 82 largest economies and found that based on current trends the fallout of warming temperatures would shave off three percent of global GDP by 2050.
Its analysis, which assesses each country's direct exposure to loss as climate change brings more frequent extreme weather events,
"Being rich matters," John Ferguson, EIU country analysis director, told AFP.
"Richer nations
"When we are already dealing with global inequality, for the impacts of climate change the developing world's challenges are much greater," he added.
Of the countries
The study put this down to a mixture of a lack of quality infrastructure,
Land degradation in Angola would prove a "significant" economic hindrance, the report said, given that agriculture is its largest employer.
Nigeria (5.9 percent negative GDP), Egypt (5.5 percent), Bangladesh (5.4 percent) and Venezuela (5.1 percent) were the next most climate vulnerable nations identified in the analysis.
Act now, and later
The analysis said rising temperatures meant
While the United States
Melting permafrost
Nations agreed in Paris in 2015 to work to limit temperature rises to "well below" two degrees Celsius, and 1.5-C if possible.
To do so, the global economy must rapidly decrease its greenhouse gas emissions
"The global economy
"Developing countries can't do this on their own. There needs to
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