Climate Change and Economic Growth: What Lies Ahead

Policy Paper No. 1

Author: Shahid Yusuf
Chief Economist, The Growth Dialogue, George Washington University School of Business. Send comments
to shahid_yusuf@hotmail.com, copied to info@growthdialogue.org.

Publication: The Growth Dialogue Institute

Publication Year: July 2021

Mean global temperatures have risen by 1.2°C over the preindustrial average and already there is mounting evidence that the environmental impact is accelerating. Severe weather events have become more frequent, with increasingly destructive wildfires, prolonged droughts, thinning Arctic ice, vanishing glaciers, bleaching coral reefs, shrinking biodiversity, and acidifying oceans. The urgent need to achieve carbon neutral development and to prevent the mean temperature from rising above 1.5°C, is more apparent than ever. Scientists warn that the global ecosystem might be perilously close to tipping points that could lead to large and irreversible climatic change and cause major economic impacts.

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Climate Change and Economic Growth: What Lies Ahead