Study Estimates Trillions in Global Economic Losses from Climate Emissions

(MENAFN) A new piece of research has calculated that over the past three decades, the United States has been responsible for approximately $10 trillion in climate-related economic damage linked to its historical greenhouse gas emissions. The findings, based on peer-reviewed academic work, link accumulated emissions to large-scale reductions in global economic output.

The analysis identifies the US as the largest historical contributor to carbon emissions over much of the modern industrial period, arguing that its impact on global economic growth has been greater than any other country until China became the leading current emitter. China is also estimated to have contributed around $9 trillion in global GDP losses since 1990.

While the United States bears a substantial share of the global economic loss—around a quarter of the total GDP reduction identified in the study—other nations have also experienced significant consequences. Lower-income countries, in particular, are described as disproportionately affected by the economic fallout.

The research estimates that emissions originating from the US alone have contributed to roughly $500 billion in losses in India and about $330 billion in Brazil since 1990.

“These are huge numbers,” said an environmental scientist at Stanford University who led the research.

Marshall Burke added that the US has “a lot of responsibility; our emissions have caused damage not only to ourselves, but pretty substantial damage in other parts of the world."

The study attempts to assign a monetary value to what is often referred to as “loss and damage,” a concept used to describe the economic consequences of rising global temperatures driven largely by fossil fuel consumption. These impacts include intensified heatwaves, flooding, drought conditions, and reduced agricultural productivity.

Developing countries have repeatedly called on wealthier nations—those historically responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial era—to provide financial assistance to help cope with these climate-driven losses.

To reach its conclusions, the research models how rising global temperatures have constrained economic growth and attributes portions of that slowdown to individual countries based on their cumulative emissions since 1990.

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