Without action, climate deaths could soar by century’s end | Berkeley News

A new study co-authored by CEGA affiliated professor Solomon Hsiang indicates that deaths associated with climate change may be in the tens of millions by 2100.

“Rising temperatures driven by climate change could cause tens of millions of deaths per year worldwide by the end of the century, potentially matching the global death rate for all infectious diseases combined, according to a new study led by Solomon Hsiang, a climate policy researcher at UC Berkeley.

The study, prepared by the Climate Impact Lab, reported that as greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere continue to escalate, rising temperatures in the decades ahead could raise annual global mortality rates by 73 deaths per 100,000 people. By comparison, the current death rate for all infectious diseases — including malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, plus diseases transmitted by ticks, mosquitos and parasites — is about 74 deaths per 100,000 people globally.

The working paper was published Monday, August 3 by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The Climate Impact Lab is a multi-disciplinary consortium that includes scholars from the University of Chicago, Rutgers University, Berkeley and the Rhodium Group, based in Oakland, California; the lab includes a number of Berkeley faculty and graduates, with Hsiang serving as co-director.”

Source: Study: Without action, climate deaths could soar by century’s end | Berkeley News