For Financial Intermediary, Institutional and Consultant use only.

Schroders Not for redistribution under any circumstances.

The impact of climate change on the

global economy
By Keith Wade, Chief Economist and Strategist and Marcus Jennings, Economist

Drawing on the comprehensive research done over the past two decades, Keith Wade
and Marcus Jennings of the Schroders Economics Team examine how climate change will
shape the global economy. In their view, global growth will be hindered by rising operational
costs as global temperatures rise, with studies suggesting that a worst-case impact of a 1%
reduction in GDP growth per year could be realized. Research also suggests that the impact
will be disproportionately damaging to developing economies, and only through a collective
effort to enact strict carbon emissions policies can the long-term financial repercussions of
climate change potentially be ameliorated.

The academic Introduction

community is leading Assessing the impact of climate change is, at best, an extremely complex exercise with uncertainty about
the way in an attempt
to encourage financial both the degree of future global warming and the subsequent impact on global activity. There are clearly
market participants some benefits as well as costs as the planet warms. There is also the unknown of how technological
and governments alike progress will respond and potentially alter the path of global warming. Any assessment also involves taking
to change behavior so a very long-run view, well beyond that normally used by financial market participants. However, increasing
as to mitigate the costs
awareness of the issue means there is a growing demand for a view from shareholders who are either
of global warming.
Against this backdrop, concerned about how the companies they own impact the environment, worried about the effect of
we explore how climate change on the value chain of those companies, or a combination of both.
global warming is likely
to impact global activity Developing economies likely to be most impacted by global warming
and discuss the
need for a collective
policy response.

Our main themes are

as follows:
1. The effect on growth
and inflation (page 2)
2. Climate damage
functions: quantifying
the impact on activity
(page 4) Very Vulnerable
3. Regional effects Vulnerable
(page 7) Intermediate
4. Policy responses Less Vulnerable
(page 9)
Least Vulnerable
Unrated Sovereigns

Source: Standard and Poors, 2014

Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

1. The effect on growth and inflation

Despite there being winners and losers, increasing temperatures will be negative for global activity overall

The overall aggregate effect of climate change on economic growth will most likely be negative in the long
run. Although there will be winners and losers from climate change at varying levels of warming, the impact
of rising temperatures will be widespread, in part due to the financial, political and economic integration
of the worlds economies. Global warming will primarily influence economic growth through damage to
property and infrastructure, lost productivity, mass migration and security threats. The balance between
winners and losers turns increasingly negative as temperatures rise.

Global warming is expected to increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, bringing
with it property and infrastructure loss. The likes of Hurricane Sandy, which flooded much of New York in
2012, are prime examples of the economic damage such extreme weather events can cause. Rising sea
levels will also likely harm economic output as businesses become impaired and people suffer damage to
their homes.

While the initial economic response to recover this damage may be positive for GDP (when it is possible
to do so), once it is recognized that such events are a permanent feature of the environment, the world
economy faces an extreme challenge. Many will find that it is not worth replacing capital stock unless
measures can be taken to prevent future damage, or there is an opportunity to move the business to
safer ground. At best, this could involve a short period of disruption as businesses relocate; at worst,
a permanent loss of capital stock and output. As the temperatures continue to climb, the damage will
become increasingly permanent.

Using a production function (Figure 1), we can demonstrate the likely effect climate change will have on
output. If we assume less capital stock is available due to the damage inflicted from climate change, we
would see a fall in the productive capacity of the world economy. This would translate into a downward
shift in the world production function as each unit of labor produces less output. Lower labor productivity
may not just occur due to a lower level of capital stock, however. Higher global temperatures may affect
food security, promote the spread of infectious diseases and impair those working outdoors. Such factors
are likely to cause greater incapacity and social unrest and as a result will reduce both the effectiveness
(productivity) and the amount of labor available to produce output.

This effect can also be expressed as a supply shock through a supply and demand framework (Figure 2).
Global warming is likely to contract supply at any given price and result in a backward shift of the supply
curve (from S1 to S2). As the diagram demonstrates, this will result in a lower level of output (Y2) and, as
we discuss in the next section, a higher price (P2).

Figure 1: Global production function Figure 2: Supply and demand effects

Output Price
S2

Y1 Y=f (L, K1) S1

P2
Y2 Y=f (L, K2)
P1

L Labor Y2 Y1 Output

Source: Schroders Economics Team. For illustrative purposes only.

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Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

There is also an opportunity cost to be considered. The above analysis is based on a ceteris paribus1
argument whereby the worlds population is seen not to respond to climate change. It is probable that
over time, preventative measures such as flood defenses are put in place in order to avoid the costs of
climate change. While this may reduce the long-term economic consequences, there is likely to be a
short-term economic cost to this action as resources are directed away from more productive uses.

According to Mendelsohn (2013), the biggest threat climate change poses to economic growth is from
immediate, aggressive and inefficient mitigation policies. The process of adaptation and mitigation will
require a temporary economic transition from consumption to investment, with the argument being
that the transitional costs are small relative to the cost of inaction. Stern (2006) estimates the costs of
mitigation to be in the region of 1% of global GDP per annum by 2050. However, we would argue that
as the costs of mitigation rise, budget constraints are likely to become increasingly important.
Governments may be unable to raise the capital necessary to build adequate defenses, for example.

Inflation is likely to rise as shortages emerge, particularly in agriculture

The above supply and demand diagram not only shows a reduction in output, but an increase in the
general price level as a result of global warming. This leads us onto the possible inflationary effects of
global warming on the world economy.

Agricultural yields are sensitive to weather conditions and as our climate becomes ever more extreme,
more frequent droughts may reduce crop yields in areas where food production is vital. Higher global
food prices will likely thus squeeze consumers income in the process. We must acknowledge that these
effects will be partially offset as other regions becoming more suitable for crop production and new drought
resistant crops are developed. However, in aggregate, and as the level of warming becomes even greater,
food price inflation should rise.

Rising inflation may also materialize through reduced land availability. The surge in global temperatures may
eventually cause some areas of the world to become uninhabitable and with this will come mass migration.
Alongside the political and socioeconomic implications of these moves will be higher demand for an ever
decreasing amount of land. In essence, the worlds population will be forced to live in an increasingly
concentrated space. In similar fashion to food inflation however, this effect will also be moderated by some
areas of land becoming more habitable.

Energy costs to increase in the transition to renewables

Higher energy costs are also likely to boost inflation. As our climate becomes more extreme we are likely
to demand greater energy to both cool our working and living environments during the summer, and heat
them when we experience harsher winters. Not only will energy demand change, but supply may shrink
as the efficiency of existing power stations is compromised due to higher temperatures. Policy actions by
governments to encourage a transition to green energy may further contribute to energy inflation in the
short- to medium-term whereby taxes are placed on fossil fuel-derived electricity. Given that energy forms
the basis of most of the worlds production, the secondary effects of higher energy prices on inflation
will be felt throughout the global economy. Conversely, depending on the pace of change, the greater
prominence of renewable energy could limit the cost of energy increases going forward.

Climate change risks are already pushing insurance costs higher

The insurance industry recognizes that it is likely to bear much of the risk of global warming. Companies
have already felt the force of extreme weather events on profits; from unseasonal floods in the UK to
Hurricane Katrina in the US, extreme weather-related damage to properties has seen insurance companies pay
out to cover these costs. It is believed that 2011 was the most expensive year on record for natural disasters,
with insured losses costing the industry more than $126 billion. The Governor of the Bank of England,
Mark Carney, commenting on the research the Bank has conducted recently, stated that climate change
is one of the top risks faced by the insurance industry.

1
Ceteris paribus is Latin for all else equal

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Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

The industry has been at the forefront of assessing climate risk, and as a consequence, the costs of
global warming could be felt earlier than expected in the form of higher premiums. We are already seeing
a curtailment of available cover in areas such as Florida and many Gulf coast states for example. The
cost of flood insurance has risen significantly in the UK. Rising insurance costs add to inflation and will
deter firms and households from locating in areas at risk. From this perspective, the costs of climate
change are already being incorporated into business decisions and in this way are already affecting global
activity. Insurance companies may go as far as to refuse to provide insurance cover, posing a challenge
for governments who may either have to underwrite, and/or mitigate the risk of damage.

2. Climate damage functions: quantifying the impact on activity

Early estimates of the cost of global warming on world GDP emerged in the early 1990s and since then
there have been a number of studies that have both agreed with and contradicted the initial assessments.

Covington and Thamotheram (2015) base their analysis on so called climate damage functions that
quantify the risk the economy faces as a result of climate change. Economic climate damage is defined as
the fractional loss in annual economic output at a given level of warming compared to output in the same
economy with no warming. Climate damage functions plot the level of output lost over a range of warming
estimates, with all functions predicting a greater loss in annual economic output as the level of warming
rises. However, among the estimated climate damage functions there is a lack of consensus as to how
damages evolve as warming gradually increases. The following figure and table summarize a number of
estimated economic damage functions, named after their respective originators. We briefly discuss each
climate damage function below, focusing on the 4C mark given that the World Bank estimates there is
a 40% chance of exceeding this level by 2100, assuming emissions follow a medium business-as-
usual pathway.

Figure 3: Climate damage functions

Climate damage forecasts at a given level of warming based on estimates by Dietz and Stern (2014),
Weitzman (2012) and Nordhaus (2013).

100%
DS W
75%

50%

N
25%

0%
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Source: Covington and Thamotheram (2015)

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Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

Table 1: Climate change functions

Estimates of climate damage at varying degrees of warming. Climate damage is defined as the fractional loss in
annual economic output at a given level of warming compared to output in the same economy with no warming.

Climate damage

Warming DS-damages W-damages N-damages

1 0% 0% 0%

2 2% 1% 1%

3 14% 3% 2%

4 50% 9% 4%

5 81% 25% 7%

Source: Covington and Thamotheram (2015)

Estimates of climate change damage vary according to whether there is a tipping point at which
damage accelerates
The N-damages climate damage function, named after its originator Nordhaus (2013), is widely used
by economists and is the least concerning of the three climate damage functions. Climate damage under
this function would be progressive whereby no tipping point is reached and the worlds population has the
greatest amount of time to offset any negative effects of global warming. It can be seen that by the year
in which the world is 4C warmer, annual economic output will be just 4% lower than a base case with
no warming. The baseline case in Nordhauss study is for warming of around 3.8% by 2100. Nordhaus
believes the economic impact of climate change is likely to be small over the next couple of decades
and that agriculture is the most exposed sector to global warming. Although the cumulative effects are
reasonable at the point at which 4C is reached, the loss in terms of average annual growth would be
extremely small and difficult to distinguish given that it will take many decades to reach 4C of warming
based on current estimates.

The W-damages function was produced by Weitzman (2012) and estimates that by the time 4C of
warming is reached, 9% of annual economic output will be lost relative to the base with no warming
effect. Under this scenario, those industries that are largely predisposed to climate change risk globally are
likely to be affected, for example insurance, agriculture and forestry. However, Pearce et al (1996) believe
that only a fraction of the market economy is vulnerable to global warming, namely agriculture, coastal
resources, energy, forestry, tourism, and water. These sectors contribute just 5% of global GDP to which
their share is expected to shrink overtime (Mendelsohn, 2013).

This can be seen when we translate the damage function into the effect on economic growth. If we
assume a base case of 3% annual economic growth and that 4C warming is reached by 2080, we find
that annual growth will be pared back to 2.85%. This is based on an economy that is 9% smaller due to
climate damage in 2080 relative to an economy with no warming. An effective loss of 0.15% per annum
could be seen to warrant some attention from policymakers and the government alike, but is unlikely to
be sufficiently powerful to prompt a significant response to climate change.

In the most severe case, global GDP growth would be some 1% lower per annum
The final climate damage function, DS-damages, named after Dietz and Stern (2014) is the most
extreme scenario in which the global economy would suffer considerable loss as a result of climate
change. Under this scenario, as and when warming extends to 4C, annual economic output will be 50%
lower compared to a scenario where no warming occurs. To put this into perspective, Dietz and Stern
estimate warming of approximately 3.5C by 2100. If we take a stricter approach however, using the
same assumptions as the W-damages function above but assuming 4C is reached in 2080, the base
case 3% annual economic growth rate falls to just 1.9% a year. At this rate, climate change is set to have

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Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

a noticeable impact on future growth and living standards. Reaching a tipping point at 2-3C, as Dietz
and Stern predict, could therefore be seen as a crucial stage of warming for the global economy whereby
the costs of insufficient action significantly weigh on growth. Christine Lagarde, head of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), believes the planet is perilously close to a climate change tipping point to the
extent that climate change poses the greatest economic challenge of the 21st century.

In table 2 we summarize some additional benchmark studies in the literature aiming to address the
economic impacts of climate change. Similar to the damage functions described above and aside from
the Stern review and upper estimates from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the
consensus is that the economic costs of marginal warming will be small up to 2C but begin to gather
pace if we move toward 4C.
This analysis indicates that output losses accelerate once warming exceeds 2C, but that these effects are
not likely to be felt for another 30 years. It is this threshold which is apparent in investment studies such
as that recently published by Mercer which finds negative returns to diversified portfolios once warming
breaches 2C.
However, let us not forget that warming unfolds over time and that actions today have implications for the
future. Since the process is largely irreversible over the medium term, the global economy can be seen
to have committed to a certain degree of future warming already. A 2014 World Bank study titled Turn
Down the Heat. Confronting the New Climate Normal estimates that warming of close to 1.5C above
pre-industrial times is locked into the earths atmospheric system and is thus unavoidable. According to
the same study, without reasonable action to reduce emissions, the earth is on track for 2C warming by
mid-century and 4C or more by the end of the century. Stern (2006) also estimates that without action to
reduce emissions, the concentration of greenhouse gases could double their pre-industrial levels as early as
2035, almost committing the world to temperature increases of over 2C.
For investors assessing the value of a stream of income, these projections are critical and we would suggest
using a range of climate damage functions given the uncertainty over each. Expressing future economic
losses in todays prices requires discounting the loss in output back to the present day. By its nature, small
changes in the discount rate cause large changes in loss estimates given the very long time horizon in which
climate change is expected to occur. When attempting to quantify the impact climate change will have on a
diversified portfolio, Covington and Thamotheram (2015) use a discount rate of 6.5%. In contrast the Stern

Table 2: Estimates of economic losses from climate change

Study Warming Impact (% on GDP) Comment

Assuming 2C of warming is reached by 2060, most damages will come from

Mendelsohn,
A cumulative effect of agriculture. OECD economies will gain from warming while the rest of the world will
Schlesinger,
2.0 by 2060 a loss of 0.3% of GDP lose. Damages to individual countries do not always follow continental averages.
Morrison and
in 2060 The Ricardian model predicts much smaller losses and gains than the reduced-form
Andronova (2000)
model, predicting a 0.04% net gain to 2060 GDP levels from 2.0C warming.

Cumulative market The market impact costs will vary from country to country across the globe. High-
Mendelsohn,
impact costs do not latitude countries are expected to gain and low latitude countries are forecast to be
Schlesinger and 2.5C by 2100
exceed 0.1% of GDP harmed by warming. However, temperature effects beyond 2C are expected to
Williams (2000)
in 2100 reduce benefits and increase damages.

Baseline
An average loss of 5% Estimates are based on no action. Costs increase to 20% of GDP or more if a wider
scenario of
of global GDP per range of risks and impacts are considered. Based on simple extrapolations, costs of
Stern (2005) between 2.4C
annum over the next extreme weather alone could reach 0.5-1% of world GDP per annum by the middle
and 5.8
two centuries of the century.
by 2100

Intergovernmental There are large differences between countries when damage estimates accelerate
Panel on Climate Approximately A loss of 0.2%-2.0% beyond 3C of warming. Delaying mitigation efforts beyond those currently in place
Change, Fifth 2.0C of GDP per annum to 2030 is estimates to substantially increase the difficulty of transitioning to low
Assessment (2014) long-term emission levels.

Source: Schroders. Please refer to references section for complete sourcing information.

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Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

review (2006) uses 1.4% (0.1% above expected consumption growth), so it is unsurprising that Sterns
estimates forecast greater costs of climate change than many other studies. Given the decline in long-term
interest rates since the Global Financial Crisis, it seems using a rate toward the lower end of recent studies
would be reasonable.

3. Regional effects
The burden of climate change will be felt most by the developing world
The effects of climate change will not be uniformly distributed across the globe and there are likely to be
winners and losers as the planet warms. Applying a broad brush to climate effects, developing countries
are more likely to disproportionately experience the negative effects of global warming. Not only do many
developing countries have naturally warmer climates than those in the developed world, they also rely more
heavily on climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture, forestry and tourism. As temperatures rise further,
regions such as Africa will face declining crop yields and will struggle to produce sufficient food for domestic
consumption, while their major exports will likely fall in volume. This effect will be made worse for these
regions if developed countries are able to offset the fall in agricultural output with new sources, potentially
from their own domestic economies as their land becomes more suitable for growing crops. Developing
countries may also be less likely to create drought resistant harvests given the lack of research funding.
The increased frequency and severity of extreme weather will weigh on government budgets. The aftermath
of natural disasters often falls on authorities who are forced to spend vast amounts on clear-up operations
and healthcare costs that come with experiencing extreme weather. Revenue reductions may also be
experienced by countries heavily dependent on tourism or on selling fishing rights, for example (IMF, 2008).
The effects on the developing world are two-fold. Firstly, as developed countries face an increasing strain
on domestic budgets, fewer resources in the form of aid and economic development funds will flow to
developing countries. Secondly, the governments of these nations will be forced to channel resources away
from productive and growth-enhancing projects towards countering the costs of extreme weather. Such
effects will damage near-term growth prospects. Furthermore, developing countries are likely to have less
capacity to rebuild. The time required to recover from natural disasters will be prolonged and if longer than
the frequency with which such disasters occur, many developing economies could remain in a constant
state of reconstruction (Hallegatte, Dumas, Hourcade, 2010).
Parts of Africa and Asia most at risk
Highly vulnerable regions in the emerging world include Sub-Saharan Africa and South and South East Asia,
according to the World Bank. In South Asia, cities such as Kolkata and Mumbai will face increased flooding,
warming temperatures and intense cyclones. Loss of snow melt from the Himalayas will also reduce the flow
of water into the Indus Ganges and Brahmaputra basins. Meanwhile in South East Asia, Vietnams Mekong
Delta, which produces most of the countrys rice, is especially vulnerable to rising sea levels. For Sub-
Saharan Africa, food security will be a major challenge due to droughts and shifts in rainfall.
Many developing nations are situated in low latitude countries and it is estimated that 80% of the damages
from climate change may be concentrated in these areas (Mendelsohn et al 2006). In contrast, northerly
regions such as Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, may enjoy a net benefit from modest levels of warming
(Stern, 2006). Higher agricultural yields, lower heating requirements and lower winter mortality rates are
a handful of economic benefits climate change may bring, although these benefits may diminish as
warming continues.
The prediction that developing countries will be disproportionately affected is reinforced by Standard and
Poors research on the influence climate change will have on sovereign risk. Recognizing that climate
change is a global mega-trend impacting sovereign risk through economic, fiscal and external performance,
they find that lower-rated sovereigns appear most exposed. They assess sovereign vulnerability on three
measures: share of the population living in coastal areas below five meters of altitude, the share of agriculture
in national GDP and a country score from the vulnerability index compiled by the Notre Dame University
Global Adaption Index. Such an index measures the degree to which a system is susceptible to, and unable
to cope with, adverse effects of climate change. Based on these measures we can interpret the results in
part as the susceptibility of an economy to climate change. Figure 4 below summarizes the results on a
world map. In line with much of the economic literature, many developing nations appear most vulnerable to
climate change during the remainder of the current century.

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Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

Figure 4: Sovereign risk to climate change

Potential vulnerability to climate change

Very Vulnerable
Vulnerable
Intermediate
Less Vulnerable
Least Vulnerable
Unrated Sovereigns

Source: Standard and Poors, 2014

Alternatively, Figure 5 below expresses this trend of higher vulnerability among poorer countries by plotting
the overall vulnerability ranking against GDP per capita for each country.

Figure 5: Sovereign vulnerability ranking vs. GDP per capita (USD)

Vulnerability to climate change is inversely related to prosperity

Overall vulnerability ranking (higher ranking = more vulnerable)

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
100 1,000 10,000 100,000
GDP per capita in USD
Source: Standard and Poors, 2014

UK should fare better than developed peers

In the UK, the average temperature is now 1C higher that it was 100 years ago and 0.5C higher than it
was in the 1970s. As a higher latitude country, it is believed that the UK will fare better than many developing
nations as global warming progresses. That is not to say the nation will escape the costs of climate change
particularly given its significant coastline where rising sea levels pose an obvious threat. According to Stern
(2006), estimates of the cost of floods to the UK economy as a result of 3C - 4C of warming are in the
region of 0.2% - 0.4% of GDP annually by the middle of the century, if flood management efforts are not
strengthened. In England, the south and parts of Yorkshire and Humberside are forecast to experience the
greatest impact from flooding by 2050 as shown by Figure 6.

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Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

Aside from increased flooding, water availability will become progressively more constrained and droughts
more frequent (Stern, 2006). Milder winters and the associated decline in cold-related mortality rates will
be countered by a greater prevalence and severity of heat waves, bringing with it a higher number of heat-
related mortalities. Finally, with the agricultural sector contributing approximately just 0.6% of GDP, the
benefits of longer growing seasons will be marginal to the economy.
Climate change may also indirectly affect the UK economy through global supply chains. The UK may both
export to and import from climate-sensitive countries. The subsequent influence of climate change in these
economies may feed through to the domestic economy through lower demand for exports or higher prices
of imports for example.

Figure 6: Numbers of residential properties at significant likelihood of flooding (rival and tidal) in
England and Wales

Baseline data 2020s Low estimate 2020s Central estimate 2020s High estimate
(River: 1961 90) (Tidal: 2008)

2050s Low estimate 2050s Central estimate 2050s High estimate

Number of properties
0 25,000
25,001 50,000
50,001 100,000
100,001 150,000
150,001 200,000
No data

Source: the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment, 2012

4. Policy responses
Climate change calls for a collective effort from governments, firms, shareholders and individuals to both
adapt and implement measures to mitigate its effects. As carbon dioxide emissions are the main culprit
for global warming, any policy response must effectively target reduced emissions. Since free markets fail
to incorporate and price the negative externality2 of global warming, government intervention is required
to realign resource allocation. Without public policy looking to change private sector behavior, economies
run the risk of continuing to pollute to a point where it is too late and the economic costs are catastrophic.
Intergovernmental agreements that encompass all major economies will be the most effective in tackling
climate change. Without a collective policy response, the efforts of only a handful of countries looking to
reduce carbon dioxide emissions will fall short of what is needed to make a material impact on a global
level. We touch upon some popular policy responses below.
Decarbonizing the worlds energy supply through a rapid energy transition will reduce the risks of climate
change. The use of biofuels, hydrogen and clean energy can speed up decarbonization alongside reducing
demand through energy efficiency measures. Governments may offer subsidies to green energy providers
to promote innovation and reduce the cost of energy from these sectors.

2
A negative externality is a cost that is suffered by a third party as a result of an economic transaction that they were not directly involved in.
Similarly, a positive externality is a benefit enjoyed by a third party who did not partake in the economic transaction from which they derive
this benefit.

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Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

The Bank of England has recently committed to researching the risks to the financial system if climate
regulation were to limit global temperature increases. It follows on from comments made by Mark Carney
during the 2014 World Bank seminar that referenced the possibility that the majority of proven coal, oil and
gas reserves could be considered unburnable if regulation limited temperature increases to 2C. Among
economists, it is recognized that to effectively stem the production of carbon dioxide, a globally recognized
market-based approach is required. One of the most widely proposed measures is carbon pricing. Placing a
price on each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted, or distributing tradable permits that license a stated level of
carbon dioxide emissions, is believed to be an effective measure to combat global warming. Economically
speaking, this internalizes the negative externality (in other words, ensures that the company/entity that is
emitting the carbon dioxide pays for the social costs) associated with burning fossil fuels. Nevertheless,
this method brings with it a host of questions primarily focused on determining appropriate emission levels,
pricing and implementation measures. To work successfully it also requires global recognition. Since an
estimated carbon price of $100 per tonne is believed to be needed by 2030, few countries are willing to
make their economies internationally uncompetitive by introducing carbon pricing.
In their second paper, Covington and Thamotheram (2015) propose an alternative method that places
the responsibility on shareholders to initiate change. Recognising that directors of fossil fuel companies
are assessed, and remunerated, on short-term goals to create value, shareholders are able to use voting
rights to place a greater emphasis on meeting long-term goals. One such goal would be reducing carbon
dioxide emissions. By setting goals consistent with a reduction in the level of emissions, directors would be
measured and remunerated on meeting these goals. Such a plan could redirect capital expenditure away
from fossil fuel exploration to the development of clean energy projects. For this concept to work, Covington
and Thamotheram (2015) rightly highlight that it relies on sufficiently high carbon pricing (or low emission
ceilings) to make the transition economically viable. Meanwhile, investors concerned about the impact of
climate change and the potential for carbon-based assets to be written down, will vote with their feet.
Monetary policy dilemma
Finally, let us briefly consider the monetary policy implications of climate change. Climate change will reduce
economic growth and create higher inflation. From a monetary policy standpoint, such a stagflationary
environment will place the worlds central banks in a dilemma: weaker growth will bring calls to stimulate the
economy, but such efforts are only likely to aggravate inflation. Monetary policy is not able to offset the shift
in the supply curve and policy action will have to focus on the measures described above. The long-time
horizon means that we are unlikely to see much in the way of a visible effect until much later in the century.

Conclusion
Climate change will have an impact on the global economy. Attempting to understand, let alone quantify,
these impacts is, however, a particularly difficult exercise subject to great error. Despite this, from what
we know today, we are able to make inferences about how global warming will influence various
economic factors.
More extreme weather has the potential to weaken economic growth through damage to the capital stock
and labor supply, and labor productivity will weaken as the world economy adjusts to higher temperatures.
Inflation will rise through the growing cost of food, energy and insurance. Monetary policy will be limited as
it attempts to combat the stagflationary pressures of climate change.
The general consensus, which is supported by a growing amount of evidence, suggests we should act
sooner rather than later to avoid potential future costs. Successful mitigation policies will necessitate actions
from all parties. The insurance industry is already moving to incorporate some of these costs, but without a
broader co-ordinated correct policy response, the world economy is unlikely to factor in one of the greatest
negative externalities ever faced.
Recognizing that quantifying the impact of climate change on shareholders investments is critical in creating
an incentive to act, we will be looking to incorporate climate change effects into an extended long-run return
forecast for different asset classes.

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Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

References
Carney.M (2014) World Bank Seminar Speech on Integrated Reporting, October 10th, 2014
Carney.M (2015) House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee Speech, March 10th, 2015
Covington. H and Thamotheram. R (2015), The Case for Forceful Stewardship (Part 1): The Financial Risk from Global Warming, Available at SSRN: http://
ssrn.com/abstract=2551478 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2551478
Covington.H and Thamotheram.R (2015), The Case for Forceful Stewardship (Part 2): Managing Climate Risk (January 19, 2015), Available at SSRN: http://
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Schroders The impact of climate change on the global economy

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