'Inaction is a far costlier choice': How 3C of climate warming could cost global economy $178tr

Michael Holder
clock • 6 min read
The 2018 Woolsey wildfire in California burned 96,949 acres of land, destroyed 1,643 structures, killed three people, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people | Credit: iStock
Image:

The 2018 Woolsey wildfire in California burned 96,949 acres of land, destroyed 1,643 structures, killed three people, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people | Credit: iStock

While unchecked global warming could knock 7.6 per cent off GDP, net zero could boost global GDP by 3.8 per cent, according to Deloitte

Climate change could cost the global economy $178tr over the next 50 years if left unchecked, amounting to a 7.6 per cent cut in GDP in the year 2070 alone, according to a sobering new assessment from...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

Michael Holder
Author spotlight

Michael Holder

Editor

View profile
More from Michael Holder

'World first': Ecobank nature bond raises $450m for biodiversity projects in Africa

ABP secures £300m backing for major UK port upgrade programme

More on Climate change

Global Briefing: Spain earmarks €9bn for housing and transport in 'Social Climate Plan'
Climate change

Global Briefing: Spain earmarks €9bn for housing and transport in 'Social Climate Plan'

May temperatures in Saudi Arabia reaching extremes previously confined to summer , report finds countries can ‘dramatically impact’ plastic pollution without global consensus, and Spain earmarks €9bn for energy transition

Stuart Stone
Stuart Stone
clock 29 May 2026 • 8 min read
WMO: World set to face yet more record hot years this decade
Climate change

WMO: World set to face yet more record hot years this decade

UN's World Meteorological Organisation warns it is 'very likely' that global temperatures will temporarily exceed 1.5C for at least one year by 2030

Amber Rolt
clock 28 May 2026 • 4 min read
'Profound implications': Study finds Arctic Ocean ecosystem may have already passed 'major tipping point' in 2009
Climate change

'Profound implications': Study finds Arctic Ocean ecosystem may have already passed 'major tipping point' in 2009

Irreversible shift in Arctic Ocean chemical make-up driven by climate change has disrupted the region’s food chain for more than a decade, study suggests

Stuart Stone
Stuart Stone
clock 28 May 2026 • 4 min read