A shocking new study says extreme weather events caused by climate change could result in an economic recession “the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”
The research, published in Nature Energy, notes that financial markets are not taking into account the risks that catastrophic events such as floods, droughts and other extreme weather events will have on the economy.
“If the market doesn’t do a better job of accounting for climate, we could have a recession — the likes of which we’ve never seen before,” the study’s author, University of California, Davis accounting professor Paul Griffin, said in a statement.
Griffin added the amount of “unpriced risk” in the energy market is significant, noting this is what caused the Great Recession. “Right now, energy companies shoulder much of that risk. The market needs to better assess risk, and factor a risk of extreme weather into securities prices,” he explained.
He specifically cited the excessively high temperatures that were felt in Europe and the US last summer as events that could be detrimental not only to human health, but disrupt agriculture and the energy supply.
Last year, California utility company PG&E cut power to hundreds of thousands of people across the state because of weather-related events.
These events have continued to put a strain on the local and broader economies, but the risks have not been seen yet, Griffin warned. “Loss of property is what grabs all the headlines, but how are businesses coping? Threats to businesses could disrupt the entire economic system.”
The newly published study follows several others in recent months that have tied extreme weather and climate-related events to negative impacts on the economy.
A study circulated by the National Bureau of Economic Research in August suggested that “virtually all” nations will be negatively affected by climate change by 2100 if they do not abide by the 2015 Paris Agreement.
In June, the United Nations Human Rights Council published a report that warned of a potential “climate apartheid,” splitting the planet between the wealthy and the rest of the world who will be “left to suffer.”
A separate study published in April warned of the startling economic dangers that pollution from plastic in the oceans could cause — perhaps as much as $2.5 trillion.
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