CLIMATE CRISIS AND ECONOMY

WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?

Because of human activities the ecological limits of environment is forced, hence it causes an artificial change in climate. We call this ‘climate change’. Climate change, is a result of consumption of fosil fuels. The consuption of fosil fuels causes the greenhouse effect and this situation endangers all living things and also economy affected too. While this fact was happening there are so many efforts both scientific and political circles. Scientific and politic circle efforts are for reveal the current and possible effects of climate change.

Scopes which negatively affected by climate change are;

• Agriculture
• Tourism and energy
• Labour productivity
• Employment
• Economic growth of countries

Climate has a dynamic structure and can inherently change. Climate variability is a process that can develop on spontaneous basis, and it doesn’t affected by human activities. Climate change is a result of human activities which can be directly or indirectly change the atmosphere’s combination.

Developments which caused intense energy needs are;

• Rapid mechanization process,
• Change in production and consumption structure,
• Population growth and urbanization

These developments caused intensive energy needs, especially after the Industrial Revolution. Hence, the Second World War, caused the countries' demands for economic growth and these demands increased the energy needs of the countries.

Coal and oil are fossil fuels and can be used for intense energy needs. Hence, they cause a change in the atmosphere’s combination. In addition to this situation the change in the atmosphere’s combination can destruct the environment slowly. Along with this process, there is a very important compound which released into the atmosphere by using the fosil fuels and greenhouse gases named carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. This situation causes the climate change.

CLIMATE CHANGE DIAGRAMS

ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Temperature increases and irregularity in precipitation are the first signs of the climate change effects.. This climate elements cause serious economic damage by increasing the density and seriousness of climate-related natural disasters. This climate-related natural disasters ar emay be drougth, flood and storms. Between 1980 and 2012, nearly 87% of natural disasters experienced were climate-related natural disasters. As a result of the research;

• 44% of these natural disasters are caused by storms,
• 41% by floods and
• 15% by drought.

It's been reported that the economic loss because of these natural disasters in the same period was approximately 2.8 trillion dollars. It is predicted that in the 2050s, the losses are going to reach 1 trillion dollars.

The sectors, which are major for the economy, are agriculture, tourism, and energy, which are intensely exposed to the effects of climate change. Agriculture and tourism are directly related, but the energy sector is indirectly dependent on climate.

If climate change continues in the future increasingly, some countries even that are not affected by climate change are expected to be negatively affected too by this situation.

Although there is no method and theory on the mechanism that explains the effects of climate change on the economy. But some indicators may play a leading role to determining the importance of these effects.

It is argued that although climate change may negatively affect economic growth, efforts to protect the environment from the effects of climate change may directly conduce to economic growth. Because the environment, or more technically, natural capital, takes place as an input in the production function. It is thought that the improvement of environmental quality by protecting the environment will lead to an increase in the amount of input in terms of natural capital and that the level of output and income may increase.

The negative effects of the climate change crisis are felt and seen at serious levels in some countries and regions todays world. In the future, these negative effects will cause significant problems all over the world. This negative picture needs to an effective and urgent fight against climate change. Along with these, combating climate change also requires a mental change to get rid of the idea that "the environment is a subsystem of the economy" and to accept the idea that "the economy is a sub-demand of the environment". Accordingly, economic policies has to be shaped by taking into account the natural capital supply function of the environment, as well as the waste storage function.

Yaşam Ayavefe