International News
Arctic melt to cost up to $24 trillion by 2050
Posted on: Mon February 08, 2010
International Highlights
WASHINGTON: Arctic ice melting could cost global agriculture, real estate and insurance anywhere from $2.4 trillion to $24 trillion by 2050 in damage from rising sea levels, floods and heat waves, according to a report released on Friday.
Everybody around the world is going to bear these costs, said Eban Goodstein, a resource economist at Bard College in New York State who co-authored the report, called Arctic Treasure, Global Assets Melting Away.
He said the report, reviewed by more than a dozen scientists and economists and funded by the Pew Environment Group, an arm of the Pew Charitable Trusts, provides a first attempt to monetize the cost of the loss of one of the world s great weather makers.
The Arctic is the planet s air conditioner and it s starting to break down, he said.
The loss of Arctic Sea ice and snow cover is already costing the world about $61 billion to $371 billion annually from costs associated with heat waves, flooding and other factors, the report said.
Courtesy : The News