100m will die by 2030 - climate report

London - More than 100 million people will die and global economic growth will be cut by 3.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030 if the world fails to tackle climate change, a report commissioned by 20 governments said on Wednesday.

As global average temperatures rise due to greenhouse gas emissions, the effects on the planet, such as melting ice caps, extreme weather, drought and rising sea levels, will threaten populations and livelihoods, said the report conducted by humanitarian organisation Dara.

It calculated that five million deaths occur each year from air pollution, hunger and disease as a result of climate change and carbon-intensive economies, and that toll would likely rise to six million a year by 2030 if current patterns of fossil fuel use continue.

More than 90% of those deaths will occur in developing countries, said the report that calculated the human and economic impact of climate change on 184 countries in 2010 and 2030. It was commissioned by the Climate Vulnerable Forum, a partnership of 20 developing countries threatened by climate change.

"A combined climate-carbon crisis is estimated to claim 100 million lives between now and the end of the next decade," the report said.

It said the effects of climate change had lowered global output by 1.6% of world GDP, or by about $1.2 trillion a year, and losses could double to 3.2% of global GDP by 2030 if global temperatures are allowed to rise, surpassing 10% before 2100.

Reduction in global consumption

It estimated the cost of moving the world to a low-carbon economy at about 0.5% of GDP this decade.

British economist Nicholas Stern said earlier this year investment equivalent to 2% of global GDP was needed to limit, prevent and adapt to climate change. His report on the economics of climate change in 2006 said an average global temperature rise of 2-3° in the next 50 years could reduce global consumption per head by up to 20%.

Temperatures have already risen by about 0.8% above pre-industrial times. Almost 200 nations agreed in 2010 to limit the global average temperature rise to below 2° to avoid dangerous impacts from climate change.

But climate scientists have warned that the chance of limiting the rise to below 2° is getting smaller as global greenhouse gas emissions rise due to burning fossil fuels.

The world's poorest nations are the most vulnerable as they face increased risk of drought, water shortages, crop failure, poverty and disease. On average, they could see an 11% loss in GDP by 2030 due to climate change, Dara said.

"One degree Celsius rise in temperature is associated with 10% productivity loss in farming. For us, it means losing about 4 million metric tons of food grain, amounting to about $2.5bn. That is about 2% of our GDP," Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in response to the report.

"Adding up the damages to property and other losses, we are faced with a total loss of about 3-4% of GDP."

Even the biggest and most rapidly developing economies will not escape unscathed. The United States and China could see a 2.1% reduction in their respective GDPs by 2030, while India could experience a more than 5% loss.


- Reuters/News24