Limiting Global Warming to 1.5C Would Avoid Two-Thirds of Economic Toll
A temperature rise of 3C would shrink GDP by 10%, but curbing climate change would avoid most of the economic damage, researchers say.
Submerged buildings in the flooded village of Piniada following Storm Daniel, in the Trikala region of Greece, Sept. 7, 2023.
Photographer: Konstantinos Tsakalidis/BloombergClimate inaction will depress the world’s economy more than previously estimated, according to a new study that takes into account the impacts of weather extremes and variability such as temperature spikes and intense rainfall.
A scenario in which global temperatures rise 3C on average will reduce the world’s gross domestic product by about 10%, doctoral researcher Paul Waidelich of ETH Zurich and colleagues write, with less developed countries paying the worst toll. By comparison, limiting global warming by 2050 to 1.5C — as sought by the Paris Agreement — will reduce that impact by about two-thirds.