Climate change is projected to increase premature deaths across the world, with over 90 per cent of these slated to occur in low– and middle-income countries, a new global report has highlighted.
The report, released on Wednesday by the Climate Impact Lab, a global network of economists, climate scientists, data engineers, and risk analysts, warned that climate change-induced extreme heat is expected to impact low- and middle-income countries the most.
“This report uncovers one of climate change’s cruellest ironies. It is projected to kill millions of people in the countries that have generally done the least to cause it. Further, their relatively low-income levels mean that they are not as well-positioned as people in rich countries to confront the new and unfolding risks from climate change,” said Michael Greenstone, co-founder of the Climate Impact Lab and director of the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Growth and Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago.
Greenstone said that the report also identified the regions around the world where climate adaptation investments can save the most lives.