Countries could reap a $7 trillion economic prize by investing in measures such as flood defences and protecting mangrove forests to adapt to a rapidly-changing climate, according to an analysis backed by .
The first report from the argues it is time to rethink climate change adaptation as an opportunity rather than a burden. 鈥淐learly we are seeing climate impacts are here and now. One can鈥檛 avoid opening the paper and seeing what is happening around the world,鈥� says Manish Bapna at the World Resources Institute and an author of the report.
There is a strong economic case for acting, says Bapna. The commission鈥檚 analysis found every dollar invested in adaptation could yield between $2 and $10 in net economic benefits. If $1.9 trillion was spent over ten years globally on making infrastructure more resilient and other measures such as early warning systems for extreme weather, it would result in $7tn of total net benefits.
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Ban, Gates and Kristalina Georgieva of the World Bank said the world鈥檚 adaptation to a warming world has been 鈥済ravely insufficient鈥� so far. Meanwhile, 鈥渕assive wildfires ravage fragile habitats, city taps run dry, droughts scorch the land,鈥� they write in the report鈥檚 foreword.
Failing to adapt to climate change is not an option, the commission said, pointing out that growth in global agriculture yields could be depressed by nearly a third without action. The report also rejects the 鈥渇alse choice鈥� of choosing between climate mitigation 鈥� cutting emissions 鈥� and adaptation. 鈥淲e must do both,鈥� the commission said.
