Global Costs

Some telling facts show the costs we are paying for environmental degradation which will grow exponentially. The World Health Organization estimates that air pollution is responsible for 1 in 8 deaths worldwide causing more premature deaths than cigarettes, terrorism, and natural disasters combined. Of the last 12 warmest days on record since 1850, 11 occurred over the last 12 years. And 2023 is shaping up to be the hottest year ever. Farm land is rapidly disappearing. Water suitable for drinking and agriculture is under continued pressure. The Amazon Rain Forest which currently produces 6% of the world’s oxygen has been reduced by 20% over the last 40 years because of logging and burning to make way for mostly animal agricultural farmland. And severe weather incidences are causing more flooding and wild fires are accelerated by extreme drought. Our icecaps are melting faster increasing sea levels, a phenomenon which could displace 2 billion people by 2100 when the world population will have risen to 11 billion people. As millions of people relocate to find territories where they can survive which is the most basic need, there will be societal chaos and anarchy breeding grounds for totalitarian regimes and nuclear solutions. Antonio Guiterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations stated recently that “we are beyond global warming and we have now entered global boiling. It is terrifying”.

According to biologists, half of Earth’s species could go extinct by 2050 unless humanity addresses man-made climate change. There have been five mass extinctions in the history of our planet. The first four were caused by naturally occurring global events. The most recent happened 65 million years ago when the dinosaurs disappeared. Even the majestic polar bear is on the list. Once it goes, we may soon be next, having ushered in the sixth mass extinction. A consensus is developing in the scientific community that it is already here.

The industrial revolution was the start of our despoiling of the earth, and now the “green industrial revolution” will have to clean up the mess. To reduce world greenhouse gases to half the current levels by 2050 will cost the world $45 trillion, twice the amount of the annual US GDP to give you an idea of scale, and that only gets half the job done. Some cost estimates are much higher. If we do not act massively now, the future does not look good for us and, moreover, for our children. Counter-intuitively, though, this problem creates a great opportunity for investment in the “green economy”. This will take herculean commitment worldwide. The world will now have to concentrate more on the environment than on the economy to repair the damage done, but this will create great economic prosperity.

Clear evidence highlights the mounting toll of environmental degradation. The World Health Organization asserts that air pollution causes 1 in 8 global deaths—more than cigarettes, terrorism, and natural disasters combined. Eleven of the hottest days since 1850 have been recorded over the past 12 years, with 2023 predicted to be exceptionally warm. Farmland is vanishing while drinking and agricultural water face ongoing strain.

The Amazon Rain Forest, a crucial oxygen source, has diminished by 20% in 40 years due to logging and burning for farmland. Rising extreme weather events trigger floods and droughts. Meanwhile, accelerating icecap melting raises sea levels, posing a threat of displacement to 2 billion people by 2100.

Since 1880, the global temperature has risen over 1 degree Celsius, with two-thirds of the warming occurring since 1975. A consensus in the scientific community warns that a further 1-degree increase will intensify these issues. The looming challenge is both social and political.