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Climate Change and the Economy

by Vivian Nabisere | 21-10-2021 08:00


PREDICTABLE UNCERTAINTIES


The future never tells us her true plans. However, for climate change in our present, tomorrow comes with truly predictable uncertainties that are a great threat to survival of global economic and social system. Climate change is change in average weather patterns of regions of the earth which is characterized by global warming, extreme weather events and the associated dangers such as extreme soil erosion. Economy is the state of a region in terms of production and consumption of goods and services and supply of money. 

It already is confirmed that coral reefs are dying and climate is changing, estimated that island nations will be submerged ( Rana, 2015). But what will happen to the economy? The following are constructed scenarios which demonstrate impact on the future of economic sectors.

Agriculture and forestry, which are primarily determined by land and climate, will be adversely affected. The 2020 Locust plague in the Horn of Africa might have been a dawn for the coming doom. It is estimated that climate change will continue to cause land degradation, instability of seasons, droughts, desertification and water scarcity (IPCC, 2019) which cause ineffective planning, increased incidence of pests and diseases which recede into low yields in crops and livestock.

 This will cause significant losses, food crisis and decrease in availability of raw materials for agro based industries. Food insecurity will increase malnutrition in animals and people.

Energy endowment, infrastructure and transportation will decline (Ebinger et al., 2011) due to high frequency of from extreme weather events which lowers supply of energy services. For example, water scarcity will reduce efficiency in generation of hydroelectric power.

There will likely be decline in availability and productivity of human labour as resource due to heightened vulnerability to both contagious and weather-induced diseases and high frequency natural disasters which are occupational health hazards and may further cause death. Subsequently, there shall likely be the greatest shift towards labour automation where possible, which will breed loss of employment and livelihood.

The service sector shall be reshaped. For instance, tourism will deteriorate as extreme weather events for example floods will damage road infrastructure and accommodation facilities. Transportation of goods and people to tourist and other commercial sites will be hindered.


 Floods also encourage resettlement of locals which causes loss of cultural heritage. Droughts and global warming contribute to water scarcity, rapid spread of diseases and wildfires which will reduce species diversity due to loss of lives and induced migration of different species to more favorable regions.


Insurance industry will expand due to high frequency of novel acute climate risks. These create increasing opportunities and demand for new insurance solutions and products for economic security to customers (Grimaldi et al., 2020) and make being insured accordingly a basic need.

There's no doubt that climate change will stress all corners of global economy. Nevertheless, it will be possible to cope with the prevailing world and prevent avoidable losses through timely mitigation and adaptation (IPCC, 2014) efforts as discussed below.


Firstly, it will be essential for leaders at different levels to reach out to people and raise awareness through information networks to make them accept reality of the threat, understand risks and build strong commitment to collective action such that every person implements practices that secure sustainable communities.

In addition, each proprietor needs to invest in risk management regardless of their industry. Individuals and the government also need to construct resilient and eco-friendly infrastructure that can withstand all extreme weather events in the region to minimize risks and promote continuity of commercial and social operations.


For agriculture and forestry, there will be need to implement modern eco-friendly technologies that offer adapting solutions to any prevailing environment such as integrated production, afforestation and reforestation which reduce greenhouse emissions and limit global warming to a minimal rate. Genetic improvements in crop and animals can be utilized for drought and heat tolerance.

There will further be need for consistent investment in research and analysis in order to acquire a firmer understanding of environmental changes and create better adapted and eco-friendly tools and methods for effective response. For instance, investigating affordable, user-friendly and efficient renewable energy supply technologies that would be appealing to people and therefore reduce high-carbon fossil fuel use.


Furthermore, governing bodies will need to create policies that prioritise development of environmentally sustainable economies and societies and encourage engagement of citizens, implement them and enforce strategies for climate action.

We cannot erase the weight of the altering earth off our conscience: we need to respond positively, acting together as the world. The Paris Agreement on Climate Change was a good start. Now the question is if we can comprehensively and transparently think globally but act and invest locally in creation of common ground between the future generations and climate change.

References

1.Climate change and P&C insurance: The threat and opportunity 
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/financial-services/our-insights/climate-change-and-p-and-c-insurance-the-threat-and-opportunity

2. A Polycentric Approach to Dealing with Climate Change by Elinor Ostrom

3. Addressing the impact of climate change on labour by International Labor Office

4. Balesh, Rana. (2015) "Submerging Islands: Tuvalu and Kiribati as Case Studies Illustrating the Need for a Climate Refugee Treaty"