According to a new study, the combined damage from 10 of the most severe weather events this year was $170 billion.
Hurricane Ida was a tropical storm that battered large parts of the eastern U.S., in August, and killed at least 95 people. It also cost the economy $65 billion. According to research published by Christian Aid in the U.K., floods in Europe caused 240 deaths, and an economic loss $43 billion. Floods in China’s Henan province killed more than 300 people in July and caused damage of over $17 billion.
Kat Kramer (Christian Aids climate policy lead, author of the report) said that climate change has had severe consequences this year. It is clear that the world does not have the resources to ensure a safe and prosperous future.
This year is expected be the sixth time that natural disasters in the world have cost more than $100 trillion, according to the report, which cited insurer Aon. All six of these years have taken place since 2011.
The damage estimates were based on insured losses. This suggests that the true costs of these natural disasters will be even greater. Calculations are typically more expensive in rich countries due to higher property and insurance values. Some of this years most deadly weather events have hit poorer nations that have not contributed much to global warming. South Sudan was hit by floods that forced nearly a million people from their homes. East Africa has been devastated by drought. This highlights the injustice of climate crisis, according to Christian Aid. It warned that such events would continue if there is no concrete action to reduce emissions.
Mohamed Adow, director at Power Shift Africa in Kenya, stated that the continent has been the victim of some of the worst and most costly climate impacts. Adow said that East Africa’s severe droughts, which are expected last until mid-2022 will push communities to the brink.
According to the report, the Paris Agreement on global warming, which seeks to limit global temperature rises to below 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2022, will not be achieved unless more urgent action takes place. There is more that needs to be done by 2022 to provide financial aid to vulnerable nations. This includes a fund to deal the damage caused climate change. Nushrat, a Christian Aids climate justice adviser in Bangladesh, stated that it was disappointing that the Paris Agreement on global warming was not implemented at COP26. It is essential that the fund be brought to life in 2022.
