#ecological risks

[shubhamyadavy2015]

The Fish Poison Tree, scientifically known as Barringtonia asiatica, is a tropical tree that might seem innocuous at first glance, but it ha

[worklabournewsresearch]

Canada Faces Huge Physical Costs from Climate Change, Making Net Zero a Great Investment

Willcott, N. & Cleary, S. (2022, May 17). Canada faces huge physical costs from climate change, making net zero a great investment. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/canada-faces-huge-physical-costs-from-climate-change-making-net-zero-a-great-investment-182847

Neal Willcott and Sean Cleary write: “There has been a lot of discussion in Canada lately about the financial costs of achieving the country’s climate targets. And rightly so. The situation is urgent and we need to act now. Fighting climate change will require a concerted effort, affecting all sectors of the economy. And while there will be great economic opportunity and lots of new jobs in the green economy, there will be considerable disruptions in the workforce, major economic challenges and significant capital investment required.”

“In a new study we recently published with the Institute for Sustainable Finance, we posit that economic value is sacrificed every day that action is not taken to mitigate the economic and ecological risks posed by climate change. Existing economic models agree that losses are unavoidable without change and investment. But questions remained regarding how much value will be lost and how quickly.”

“Our study found that the costs of climate change damage are expected to grow gradually until 2050, around which time there is a sharp increase under all scenarios. By 2070 there is an exponential increase in damages. These dates correspond to two of the significant target dates for achieving net zero noted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its reports. … We have much to lose. And it should now be clear that tackling climate change more than pays for itself in terms of avoided physical damage alone.”

Additional Information

Cleary, S., & Hui, S. (2022). An Update on Canadian Corporate Performance on GHG Emissions Disclosures and Target Setting. Institute for Sustainable Finance. https://smith.queensu.ca/centres/isf/pdfs/tsx-emitters-report-2022.pdf

Skea, J. et al. (2022). Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg3/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_FinalDraft_FullReport.pdf

Creutzig, F., Roy, J., et al. (2022). Chapter 5: Demand, Services and Social Aspects of Mitigation. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg3/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_FinalDraft_Chapter05.pdf

Photo Source: Gunn, F. (2022). [Photograph]. The Canadian Press. https://theconversation.com/canada-faces-huge-physical-costs-from-climate-change-making-net-zero-a-great-investment-182847