Researchers put together a forecast for a scenario in which greenhouse gases continue to be emitted at a similar rate to today. London – According to a recent forecast, the costs of climate change could run into the trillions over the coming decades. By 2070, they could already amount to 5.4 trillion US dollars (roughly 4.6 trillion euros) worldwide, as calculated by researchers at University College London and the non-governmental organisation Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

By the end of the next century, in 2200, they could even surpass the threshold of more than 30 trillion US dollars (more than 26 trillion euros), as natural disasters, for instance, are likely to cause increasingly devastating damage. This calculation is based on a "business-as-usual" scenario with a similar level of greenhouse gas emissions, which would lead to global warming of 4.4 degrees by the end of this century.

Alternative scenario

The Paris Climate Agreement states that global warming should be kept well below two degrees. This is the alternative scenario for which the researchers in London have calculated the costs: read more at: derstandard.at