Climate adaptation: Seizing the challenge
Scientific and business communities increasingly recognize that climate change is causing weather extremes and precipitating natural disasters, such as the European heat wave of 2003, the drought in East Africa in 2011, and in 2012 the worst drought in the US since 1956. In one report, which examined a number of countries, losses are projected at 1-12% of GDP per annum based on current climate patterns. Based on the projection of future economic development and analysis of various climate scenarios, these losses, in some cases, are likely to rise to up to 19% of GDP by 2030. Depending on the region, up to 69% of this increase will be driven by economic development in hazard-prone areas, such as cities in coastal regions.