International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday called for global efforts to support low-income countries to fight against climate change, as the low income countries will be suffering the most from the climate change.
"Increases in temperature have uneven macroeconomic effects, with adverse consequences concentrated in countries with relatively hot climates, such as most low-income countries," the IMF said in an analytical chapter of its latest World Economic Outlook which is to be released soon.
The research found that a rise in temperature lowers per capita output in these countries by reducing agricultural output, suppressing productivity of workers, slowing investment and damaging health.
According to the research, a one Celsius degree in temperature in a country with an average annual temperature of 25 Celsius degrees, such as Bangladesh or Haiti, would reduce per capita output by up to 1.5 percent, which could persist for at least 7 years.
This pernicious effect could affect close to 60 percent of the world's population which currently resides in these countries, said the IMF. According to its forecast, this number is projected to rise to more than 75 percent of the global population by the end of 21st century.
Although countries with policy buffers, such as lower public debt and flexible exchange rates, tend to have smaller output loss from climate change, low income countries will still find it challenging to make necessary investments, because it requires huge spending and resources to fight against the climate change.
"Advanced and emerging market economies have contributed the lion's share to actual and projected warming. Hence, helping low-income countries cope with its consequences is both a moral duty and sound global economic policy that helps offset countries' failures to fully internalize the costs of greenhouse gas emissions," said the IMF.
