Adapting to a changing climate in the future could cost the world up to $500 billion a year if not enough is done to mitigate the effects of climate change now, according to a report issued Tuesday by the United Nations Environmental Program. “The national and sector literature surveyed in this report indicates that the costs of adaptation could range from US$140 billion to US$300 billion by 2030, and between US$280 billion and US$500 billion by 2050,” the report says.
Examples of adaptation activities include: water desalination and re-use, crop relocation, seawalls and storm surge barriers, improved climate-sensitive disease surveillance and control, and relocation.
The best defense against the growing cost of adaptation is to limit greenhouse gas emissions in the present, the report says. “The costs of adaptation in developing countries are increasing, strengthening the case for immediate and enhanced mitigation action. Global, national and sector studies show that adaptation costs increase under higher emissions scenarios. This reinforces the notion that deep mitigation actions are the best insurance against rapidly rising adaptation costs and the potential limits of adaptation.”
