That climate change will affect the economy poorer countries Scientists have been warning for years that climate change will hit the global south hardest. The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) has now added a new observation: Economic risks from climate change are increasing particularly quickly for rich consumers – including in Germany. The PIK study was published on Friday in the science magazine “Nature“ was published.
In the richest countries, the so-called consumption risks for the fifth of the population with the highest incomes have already increased by an average of 27 percent between 2011 and 2020. They thus rose significantly more in these countries than for the fifth with the lowest incomes.
For the latter, the increase was 17 percent. In the world’s poorest countries, the consumption risk increased by an average of 15 percent across all income groups during this period.
Recommended editorial content
Here you will find external content selected by our editors that enriches the article with additional information. You can display or hide the external content with one click.
I agree to the external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data can be transmitted to third-party platforms. You can find more information about this in the data protection settings. You can find these at the very bottom of our page in the footer, so that you can manage or revoke your settings at any time.
The PIK researchers refer to consumption risks as impairments of Supply chains in the supply of consumer goods, for example due to climate-related extreme weather. Using the USA as an example, they explain why the risk increases more quickly in rich countries. Climate change The study says that the impact on consumption has been rather small so far, but because of its acceleration the risks are now even more apparent than before.
Challenges “no longer manageable”
“Global warming increases consumer risks locally and along supply chains, but high-income consumers face the greatest increase in risk,” the research team wrote.
“Over the next 20 years, climate change will disrupt the economic Risks due to increasingly chaotic weather,” said PIK scientist Anders Levermann. However, the economic risk is growing most strongly “for the wealthy, in countries like the USA and the European Union.” Without effective climate protection, the challenges posed by global warming will at some point no longer be manageable for consumers all over the world – regardless of their income.
