Climate change could damage Belgian economy by up to 5 per cent by 2050, study warns
Climate change could cause significant damage to the Belgian economy: up to 5 per cent of gross domestic product could be lost by 2050. This is according to a study by the Climate Risk Assessment Centre and the Federal Planning Bureau.
"GDP losses by 2050 would hover around 2.8 per cent in a scenario in which climate warming reaches 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century and 5 per cent in a 3-degree warming scenario," the study said.
This includes the costs associated with the "chronic risks" arising from the gradual increase in temperature and precipitation.
There are also the acute risks, such as floods and storms. "By 2050, depending on the warming scenario, the damage caused by acute natural disasters could reach 12 per cent of GDP in the years in which they would occur," it reads.
Climate change would also have an impact on public debt. That would increase by 15 percentage points of GDP in a scenario with strong warming, according to the study.
"Fiscal efforts to absorb that impact range from 0.7 to 1.4 per cent of GDP," the report says. According to Planning Bureau commissioner Baudouin Regout, that is "comparable to that of ageing costs and increases in defence spending".
The aftermath of floods in Pepinster in 2021 © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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