Damage to oceans may reach $2T
annually
Published: Thursday, March 22, 2012
The world's oceans could suffer $2 trillion a year in damage by 2100 if more is not done to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to a study released yesterday.
Researchers found that the Earth's average temperature could rise by 4 degrees Celsius over the next 90 years. This would lead to sea-level rise, water pollution, ocean acidification, species migration, intensified tropical cyclones, and damage to coral reefs and fishing industries. Nitrogen-rich fertilizers and waste are also expected to cause more hypoxic dead zones, where nothing can live because of lowered oxygen in the water.
"By 2100, the cost of damage if we do not radically cut emissions rises to $1.98 trillion, or 0.37 percent of global gross domestic product," said the Stockholm Environment Institute, which led the study.
If warming is limited to 2.2 degrees, the expenses could fall by almost 75 percent, said researchers (Nina Chestney, Reuters, March 20). -- LJ
Reprinted from ClimateWire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net. 202-628-6500
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