The global cost of greenhouse gas emissions is nearly double what scientists previously thought, according to a study published Thursday by researchers at the University of California, San Diegoās Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
It is the first time a social cost of carbon (SCC) assessmentāa key measure of economic harm caused by climate changeāhas included damages to the ocean. Global coral loss, fisheries disruption, and coastal infrastructure destruction are estimated to cost nearly $2 trillion annually, fundamentally changing how we measure climate finance.
āFor decades, weāve been estimating the economic cost of climate change while effectively assigning a value of zero to the ocean,ā said Bernardo Bastien-Olvera, who led the study during his postdoctoral fellowship at Scripps. āOcean loss is not just an environmental issue, but a central part of the economic story of climate change.ā