Consequences of a Warming World

The researchers say cautiously that climate change—driven by greenhouse gas emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in the last century or so—“can reallocate natural capital, change the value of all forms of capital, and lead to mass redistribution of wealth”. And it isn’t obvious, they suggest, that even the better-off will always benefit from changes of natural capital, such as a shift in the fishing grounds. An influx of desirable species off the more northerly fishing ports could actually reduce the cash value of catches.

A Warming World Would Rob From the Poor and Give to the Rich
Posted on Mar 7, 2016

By Tim Radford / Climate News Network

LONDON—Climate change could seriously redistribute resources and reallocate wealth—but not in a fair way.

In a reverse of the famous Robin Hood folklore, it could rob from the poor to give to the rich, according to researchers. Yet even the rich may not feel any richer.

In one clear instance, as scientists have repeatedly warned, fish stocks are likely to move away from the equator and towards the poles, as the tropics heat up and expand.

This means that at least one valuable resource will move away from some of the world’s poorest nations, and in the direction of societies that are relatively wealthier—if only because economic power has for so long been vested in the temperate zones. And this shift will have economic consequences ...

More here: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/a_warming_world_would_rob_from_the_poor_and_give_to_the_rich_20160307