Climate-related disasters are on an alarming trajectory. The 2010s may well go down as the decade when the trendline of these events headed aggressively north after a noticeable rise in their intensity and frequency since the 1970s. The underlying link to all this is climate change.
Climate change will alter the very economic models being used to promote strong and sustained economic growth, as countries strive to leave a lighter carbon footprint.
The Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris agreement on climate change showcase the importance of a less environmentally destructive pattern of growth and climate action. For that we need to value all three forms of capital – physical, human and natural.
Right now, however, few of the forecasts being made by the government for the global and country-level growth actually takes into account the impacts of climate change or the massive investment and resources that will need to be mobilised for climate action.
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Source: The Business Times, 6 January 2017