Does climate change affect productivity? New study sees robust link

Does climate change affect productivity? New study sees robust link

In the runup to a global climate conference in Paris, study finds evidence that economic performance in all regions is tightly linked to climate change.

Christian Science Monitor
By Pete Spotts
8 hours ago

If global warming continues unabated, it could slash income around the world by more than 20 percent by century's end, compared with a world without global warming, according to a new study.

Some industrial countries would share in the losses, but the heaviest hits would come to developing countries in the tropics and subtropics, widening an already large gap between rich and poor nations, the study finds. Overall, 77 percent of the countries on the planet would see per capita income fall.

Countries projected to see increases in productivity included Canada, countries in central and northern Europe, and Russia – all of which would benefit from warming, at least for a time.

The work by a trio of economists from the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., sets out the first data-driven evidence that economic performance in all regions is tightly linked to climate, the researchers say. Their approach offers a new – some say more-precise – way to calculating the economic effect of climate change on national economies as well as the global economy.

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http://news.yahoo.com/does-climate-change-affect-productivity-study-sees-robust-221500188.html