Authors : Subhash J. Deshmukh and Rushikesh N. Bhagat
Page Nos : 68-72
Description :
This article describes the economic impacts of climate change. Given the inherent nature of economic forecasting, which involves significant degrees of uncertainty, estimates of the results of global warming over the 21st century have varied widely. Many analyses, such as that of the Stern Review presented to the British Government, have predicted
reductions by several percent of world gross domestic product due to climate related costs such as dealing with increased extreme weather events and stresses
to low-lying areas due to sea level rises. However, attempting to quantify the economic
costs of global warming as a percentage of GDP has its inherent problems because it omits the ecological effects of climate climate that are difficult to associate with a dollar value such as loss of human life or biodiversity, or those effects that will have economic consequences later on. To summarize, most studies by independent economists looking at the effects of climate change have suggested that climate change does
negatively affect the global economy, though the issue remains intensely debated.
