Kreetika Kumar 
A new Asian Development Bank research finds the impacts of climate change could reduce gross domestic product in developing Asia and the Pacific, including Fiji, by 17 percent by 2070.
This is under a high-end greenhouse gas emissions scenario, rising to 41 percent by 2100.
ADB Senior Economist David Raitzer says rising sea levels and falling labor productivity will cause huge losses, with lower income and fragile economies hit hardest.
Raitzer says if the climate crisis continues to accelerate, up to 300 million people in the region could be threatened by coastal inundation and trillions of dollars of coastal assets could be damaged annually by 2070.
“We look at things like the effects of sea level rise and how it can impact capital infrastructure and assets. We looked at river-based flooding and how that can also damage capital. We looked at effects on labor productivity from hotter temperatures limiting the ability of people to do manual work in exposed sectors.”
In an ADB climate change perception study this year, 91% of respondents across 14 regional economies said they view global warming as a serious problem, with many seeking more ambitious government action.
The report values annual investment needs for regional countries to adapt to global warming at between $102 billion and $431 billion far exceeding the $34 billion of tracked adaptation finance in the region in 2021–2022.
Raitzer says that on the mitigation front, the report shows the region is well placed to embrace renewable energy in driving a transition to net zero, and that forging ahead with domestic and international carbon markets can help achieve climate action goals cost effectively.
