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Inequality is decreasing between countries—but climate change is slowing progress

Forecasts have painted a difficult picture for the future. But one new study argues that climate change has already imposed an economic penalty on many countries.

By Alejandra Borunda

PUBLISHED April 22, 2019

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Amid the soot covered stalks of last year's corn, a farmer prepares for spring near a power plant in Shanxi Province.

Photogrpah by Robb Kendrick, Nat Geo Image Collection

Scientists have known for decades that climate change is reshaping the physical face of the planet. But according to new research, warming has also had a measurable impact on economies, providing a boost to some countries and a penalty to others.

Inequality between countries has decreased over the past few decades. But between 1961 and 2010, the country-to-country gap would have narrowed more if not for climate change, says new research published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The difference between the richest and poorest countries in the world is some 25 percent wider than it would be in a world without global warming, the authors say.

Until now, we didn't have a number that showed “how much the global warming that's already happened has impacted the growth of existing countries, and the harm that’s already occurred," says Noah Diffenbaugh, an author of the study and a climate scientist at Stanford University. And critically, he says, “The countries that are most responsible for global warming are different from the countries that are bearing the brunt of...

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Inequality is decreasing between countries—but climate change is slowing progress

Forecasts have painted a difficult picture for the future. But one new study argues that climate change has already imposed an economic penalty on many countries.

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