Climate change could cost Germany about one trillion euros by 2050
A government-commissioned study warns of the price Germany could pay if no adaptation is made to the rising temperatures' impact.
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In this Monday, Jan. 13, 2020 file photo the RWE Niederaussem lignite-fired power station steams in Bergheim, Germany (AP)
The extreme weather events caused by climate change could put a price on Germany close to one trillion euros by 2050, according to a government-commissioned study published Monday.
Severe floods or heat, which result from the growing global temperatures, could cost Europe's largest economy up to 910 billion euros ($979 billion) in a "strong" scenario without any adaptation measures, according to the report.
The number was a "lower-bound" estimate, according to the economy ministry, with the analytical model incapable of considering all the climate change's possible impacts.
More deaths, decreasing quality of life, and the extinction of animal and plant species, the ministry said, were not included "despite their high significance".
Therefore, the total costs were likely to be "significantly higher" than those in the modeled scenarios.
The price of a "weak climate change" would come to 280 billion euros if no adaptation is made to the rising temperatures' impact.
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The considered mitigation measures involved investment in climate change-resistant plant varieties, better irrigation, and funding for public research.
The steps could in the mildest scenario "completely" make up for the climate change costs, and in the most severe situation, reduce the costs by 60%.
The study highlighted the need for "ambitious" climate measures today in order to spare future generations the cost, junior minister Stefan Wenzel said in a statement, adding, "Climate change is already having serious economic consequences, which can increase massively."
The study says that Berlin had already registered, between 2000 and 2021, 145 billion euros in climate-related costs, with more than half coming since 2018.
Historic floods struck the country in 2021, resulting in 40 billion euros' worth of damages, according to the report.
Such events could "occur more and more frequently", while the same possible costs "every year by the middle of the century", the ministry said.
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