US behind $10T in climate damage over 3 decades: Research

ISTANBUL

A new study found that the US is responsible for $10 trillion in damage to the climate over the last 30 years via its global warming emissions, according to new research published in the journal Nature.

The US, which is the largest carbon emitter through the decades, caused greater harm to global economic growth than any other country before China took the mantle as the largest emitter, The Guardian reported on Wednesday, based on the research.

China has also caused $9 trillion in GDP damage since 1990, according to the research.

The US itself saw about 25% of the overall GDP loss, yet other countries also paid a heavy price; the poorest countries suffered from disproportionate economic losses.

The research indicates that since 1990, emissions from the US have led to roughly $500 billion in economic losses in India and about $330 billion in Brazil.

“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 new study seeks to put a monetary value on “loss and damage,” a term that refers to the impact societies face due to dangerously increasing global temperatures driven by fossil fuel use.

Developing nations have urged richer countries, liable for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions since the industrial revolution, to provide financial support to cope with the damage caused by extreme heatwaves, floods, droughts, and crop failures intensified by rising temperatures.

The study captures these effects by estimating how global warming has limited GDP growth and attributing this impact to countries based on their emissions since 1990.

While it does not cover every consequence of rising temperatures, it highlights how heat negatively affects economies by reducing worker productivity and putting pressure on public health systems.

The US has shown reluctance over being held legally accountable for its global warming, which has led the world to climatic conditions not seen in recorded history.

After a push for green legislation in the US under Democratic presidents, two-time President Donald Trump has lambasted climate change as a “hoax” and has actively tried to kill green projects such as wind power and electric cars.