Climate change to put APAC GDP on thin ice with 41% melt by 2100

India alone could face 24.7% loss in GDP by 2070

- NITIN KUMAR

Climate change could reduce developing Asia and the Pacific's gross domestic product (GDP) by 17 per cent by 2070 and as much as 41 per cent by 2100 under high-end greenhouse gas emissions, according to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.

India alone could face a 24.7 per cent loss in GDP by 2070, with neighbouring countries like Bangladesh (minus 30.5 per cent), Vietnam (minus 30.2 per cent), and Indonesia (minus 26.8 per cent) seeing even steeper declines.

The Asia-Pacific (APAC) Climate Report 2024, released Thursday, warns of accelerating climate-related GDP losses, particularly between 2050 and 2070, driven by rising sea levels and declining labour productivity. Lower-income and fragile economies face the greatest risks, with up to 300 million people threatened by coastal flooding and trillions in coastal assets potentially damaged annually by 2070 if the crisis persists.

As climate change accelerates, India is poised to suffer losses far exceeding the regional average. While labour productivity losses are projected to cost the APAC region 4.9 per cent of GDP, India could see an 11.6 per cent decline.

Cooling demands may reduce regional GDP by 3.3 per cent, but for India, this figure could reach 5.1 per cent.

River flooding also threatens to shrink India's GDP by around 4 per cent, underscoring its heightened vulnerability to climate impact.

"Climate change has supercharged the devastation from tropical storms, heatwaves, and floods in the region, contributing to unprecedented economic challenges and human suffering," said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa.