Global Warming an Environment and Economic Threat: Study

As global temperatures continue to rise, the consequences are no longer only environmental. According to a recent report, even a one-degree rise in temperature can wreak economic havoc and cause a major decline in GDP.

This alarming forecast is based on a study of economies around the world, particularly those bearing the brunt of global warming and its consequences. The study clearly correlates the rising wave of extreme weather events, including deadly floods and droughts, to the increase in temperatures in different parts of the world. 
 
The report produced by the National Bureau of Economic Research cites evidence showing that climate change can lead to major losses in global trade to the extent of 12 per cent. The finding by a group of eminent researchers points to the need for urgent climate action to at least slow climate change, if not all together arrest it.  

The scientists say that natural disasters fuelled by human action is not only reshaping ecosystems but also causing unacceptable damage to financial markets, industries and livelihoods in economies around the world. As is inevitably the case, the poorest nations would be the worst hit by these toxic changes. 
 
Analysing 120 years of climate and economic data, the eminent scientists have observed that the microeconomic consequences of climate change are six times more than what was previously imagined. A report from the National Centres for Environmental Information predicts that 2024 might be the hottest year in the last 100 years, with a 99 per cent chance of it being among the five hottest years ever recorded.  
 
The impending heat waves and their consequences are likely to cause unprecedented damage across sectors from technology to trading and way beyond, encompassing every facet of life on the planet. Inaction or inadequate action to contain climate change could disabilise the entire global economic system, leading to unimaginable consequences, say the researchers. The outcomes of the study are finding resonance worldwide, adding urgency to the sluggish global effort to decarbonise the planet and achieve net zero goals at a much faster pace than envisaged so far. 
 
The pathway for achieving a sustainable future is well known but complex, involving both resolve and trillions of dollars in funding. Among the obvious solutions are to plant more trees, conserve water and curb carbon footprints. The report underlines the fact that the need to mobilise collective global action to safeguard both the economy and the environment has never been greater.