Extreme weather cost $2tn globally over past decade, report finds
Extreme weather cost $2tn globally over past decade, report finds
The Facts
As diplomats descend on the Cop29 climate meeting in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) published a study claiming that severe weather has cost the world $2T over the last decade.
The consulting firm Oxera evaluated around 4K weather events between 2014 and 2023 that affected more than 1.6B people. Researchers described the direct damage to homes, businesses, and infrastructure, as well as labor productivity losses, caused by these disasters.
The Spin
Climate change is not a problem for the future; it is a reality with immediate consequences, costing the world trillions of dollars. World leaders at COP29 in Baku must recognize that financing climate action in the developing world is not an act of generosity. All nations must immediately transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient development. Every dollar we invest in a more resilient global economy will benefit us all.
Conferences such as COP29 or dire predictions from agencies such as the WMO must be contextualized within the UN's rampant climate alarmism. Whether it's supposedly searing temperatures, brimming oceans, or tumbling glaciers, UN climate tropes are often debunked with more nuanced analysis. The UN's politicized rhetoric limits both American energy security and personal choice.
The success of COP29 climate negotiations in Baku depends on the West's commitment to funding poorer countries' climate change efforts. Low- or zero-carbon technology, adapting to rising sea levels and shifting weather patterns, and resilient infrastructure cost trillions. Clean energy programs in emerging markets and developing countries will require $80 -100B by the early 2030s—global equity must be kept in mind.
