India may lose 3-10% of its GDP annually by 2100 due to climate change

India may lose 3-10 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) annually by 2100 due to climate change, according to a new report. The report was released by a London-based global think tank Overseas Development Institute on June 8.

The report, titled ‘The Costs of Climate Change in India', looked at the economic costs of climate-related risks in the country. India’s poverty rate may rise by 3.5 per cent in 2040 due to climate change, the report said.

India is already experiencing the consequences of one degree Celsius (°C) of global warming with extreme weather events and rising sea levels, the report mentioned. The report found that even if global temperature rise is contained to 2°C over pre-industrialisation levels, India will lose 2.6 per cent GDP annually.

India has made rapid progress in boosting incomes and living standards over the last three decades but without rapid global action, climate change may reverse development gains of recent decades. Climate change may also affect labour productivity with more incidents of endemic vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue.

Climate change is already slowing the pace of poverty reduction and increasing inequality in India and the effects of climate change on the economy will affect rural parts of the country more than the urban areas. Experts say that pursuing low-carbon development could stimulate a faster, fairer economic recovery for India.

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