Research by specialist economic consultancy Oxera has shown that climate-related extreme weather events affected almost 4,000 billion people from 2014 to 1.6 billion in 2023.
In the last two years alone, global economic losses due to extreme weather events reached $2 billion – a 451% increase compared to the previous eight years. Oxera’s analysis also highlights the severe impact on many developing countries – extreme weather events often cause economic damage that exceeds these countries’ annual GDP.
The report was released at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in the Azerbaijani capital Baku and warned of increasingly serious climate change. The ICC calls on governments to take immediate action to prevent this situation.
COP29 conference where world leaders discuss the responsibility of rich countries to help poor countries transition to a green economy, adapt to global warming and address the damage caused by increasingly severe weather events.
Mr John Denton, Secretary General of the ICC, said: “The data over the last decade clearly shows that climate change is not a problem of the future. The real economy is currently suffering enormous productivity losses due to extreme weather events.”
Extreme weather phenomena such as storms, floods, forest fires, droughts and heat waves… not only cause damage to property but also seriously affect production, trade and industry.
The report shows a gradual increase in damage costs from extreme weather events from 2014 to 2023, with a peak in 2017 when an active hurricane season caused extensive damage in the North America region.
The United States is the country that has suffered the largest economic losses from extreme weather events over the past 10 years at $935 billion, followed by China at $268 billion and India at $112 billion. Germany, Australia, France and Brazil are also among the top 10 most affected countries.
Mr Denton stressed that concrete results are needed to accelerate climate action, particularly in light of current economic risks. Achieving this requires a comprehensive financial package to help countries transition to a green and climate-resilient economy.
He also said that financing developing countries is not charity but an investment in a stronger and more sustainable global economy. From a business perspective, urgent, coordinated and collective action to reduce emissions and increase resilience to climate change is critical.
Mr Ilan Noy, a disaster economist at Victoria University of Wellington, said the data from the ICC report was consistent with his previous studies, but stressed that the data did not fully reflect the real picture. “It is worth noting that these numbers ignore the significant impacts in poor communities and vulnerable countries,” he said.
Climate change has serious consequences. Research by Mr Ilan Noy last year estimated that annual economic losses due to extreme weather linked to climate change amounted to $143 billion. However, due to a lack of data, particularly in Africa, this assessment may be incomplete.
The ICC calls on world leaders to act quickly to provide financial support to countries that need help in reducing pollution and achieving sustainable development to withstand the shocks of harsh weather events.