Assessing the Potential Consequences of Climate Destabilization in Latin America

Vergara, Walter

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ABRUPT CLIMATE;    ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGE;    ACCESS TO INSURANCE;    AEROSOL POLLUTION;    AGRICULTURE;   

RP-ID  :  89922

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Estimating the potential costs ofclimate destabilization is not a trivial matter. Potentialclimate impacts have multiple consequences, some of whichcan be monetized while others are beyond the reach ofstandard economic tools. A full assessment of theimplications of climate impacts often cannot be completedbecause many of the consequences are only partly known. Thisreport summarizes data recently made available, through theportfolio of adaptation activities in the region, on some ofthe damages induced by climate destabilization. Theseinclude impacts from hurricane intensification, glacierretreat, and increased exposure to tropical vector diseases,coral bleaching, and composite costs of climate change inthe particularly vulnerable Caribbean Basin. Other costs arebecoming evident but they still cannot be estimated. Mostworrisome among these are the potential implications fromAmazon dieback which, if realized, will drastically affectthe water cycle in the region as well as environmentalservices essential to economic activity in the region, withwider global implications. The report refers todestabilization in the title as recognition, that the regionis now facing impacts from major, destabilizing changes inits climate.