Ocean Damage Doubles Estimated Cost of Climate Change, Study Finds

The global economic cost of greenhouse gas emissions is nearly double previous estimates, a new study from the University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography revealed. The study, published Thursday, is the first to include damages to the ocean in the social cost of carbon (SCC) assessment, a key measure of the economic harm caused by climate change.

Factoring in losses from coral reefs, fisheries disruption, and coastal infrastructure destruction adds an estimated $2 trillion annually to the SCC, fundamentally changing how we measure climate finance and economic decision-making, according to the research. This revised assessment significantly impacts the understanding of climate change's economic impact by acknowledging the ocean's financial value.

For decades, previous assessments of the economic cost of climate change effectively overlooked the financial impact on the world's oceans. The new study addresses this gap by quantifying the economic consequences of ocean-related damage. The inclusion of ocean damage in the SCC assessment is expected to have a significant impact on climate finance and policy decisions.