In addition to the serious threat it poses to biodiversity and the preservation of unique ecosystems, climate change also makes us lose a lot of money: failed crops, damage to buildings and infrastructures associated with floods and other natural disasters, massive migrations … Quantifying these losses is quite complicated, since some of these effects, for example health problems, are indirect and difficult to measure.
However, the European Environment Agency publishes every few years a very detailed report calculating the economic costs of climate change . The latest data indicate that, between 1980 and 2013, the costs associated with climatic events have accounted for almost 400 billion euros for Europe. Furthermore, the average annual loss has ranged from € 7.6 billion in the 1980s to € 13.7 billion in the 21st century.
Losses on a planetary level
Obviously, the economic losses associated with climate change occur on a global scale, and in fact many developing countries are the hardest hit by this.
A study published earlier this year in the journal Nature looked at the relationship between temperature and economic productivity. To do this, he used meteorological data from the years 1960-2010 and created a mathematical model that took into account variables such as cultural differences between countries, changes in market prices, and population growth trends.
According to its authors, there is an “ideal” annual average temperature in which economies reach their maximum productivity: 15⁰C. Above this value, productivity decreases , and this confirms two things: first, that the most developed economies are in temperate regions where productivity is higher. Second, that increases in temperatures associated with climate change will cause greater economic losses in countries with hot regions.
In addition, the conclusions of the study are clear: climate change will cause increasing economic losses and, in addition, will cause a huge increase in social inequalities .
