Climate crisis costs the world 12% in GDP for every 1°C temperature rise

Climate change costs the world 12% in gross domestic product (GDP) losses for every 1°C of warming, according to a new report.

The study on the macroeconomic effects of climate change has estimated that the damage caused is as much as six times larger than previous estimates.

Each 1°C increase in global temperature can be linked to a 12% decline in global GDP, according to the report by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

The “social cost of carbon” could be around $1,056 per metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions, the study says – much higher than previous estimates which range between $51 and $190 per metric ton.

Global carbon emissions for 2023 were about 37.55 billion metric tons, according to Statista.

Scientists predict a 3°C temperature rise by the end of this century due to the ongoing burning of fossil fuels, which the NBER report says will cause “precipitous declines in output, capital and consumption that exceed 50% by 2100.”

Adrien Bilal, an economist at Harvard who co-authored the paper, said: “There will still be some economic growth happening but by the end of the century people may well be 50% poorer than they would’ve been if it wasn’t for climate change.”