Eclac estimates climate change could

account for 2.5% of regional GDP

By Elizabeth Trovall
Tuesday, September 23, 2014

The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac)
estimates that the economic costs of climate change will account for some 2.5%
of the region's GDP in the event that temperatures rise 2.5 degrees Celsius
above the historical average.

Eclac executive secretary Alicia Bárcena said in a statement that various studies
show climate change costing between 1.5% and 5% of the region's annual GDP,
though figures are preliminary and fail to address all potential effects.

Though the region is not among the world's biggest contributors of the
greenhouse gases causing climate change, it is particularly vulnerable to its
effects.

"The biggest risks are concentrated in agriculture, water availability, forest

conservation, loss of biodiversity, the population's health, tourism in coastal
areas and rural poverty reduction," Bárcena added.

Shifting towards renewable energies and a lower-carbon production matrix, along

with improved public services, will help the region move towards equal and
sustainable development, according to Bárcena.