Freight News, Sea

Climate change set to put global trade at risk

[ July 20, 2023   //   Chris Lewis ]

More than $122 billion of economic activity is at risk from the impact of extreme climate events on ports, according to research by Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute.

According to the paper in Nature Climate Change, knock-on effects within global shipping, trade and supply chains network will hit ports and economies around the world, those not directly affected by extreme events. According to the study, $81 billion per year of maritime trade is at-risk, around 60% of which is because of effects outside a country’s own jurisdiction. 

Parts of northern Europe, the western US, Southern Australia, the Middle East and West Africa are particularly expected to feel such effects, mainly because of dependencies on East Asian ports.

According to the research, the top ten most at-risk economies include Taiwan, Macau, Hong Kong and some small island developing states.

A previous analysis by the same researchers already revealed that physical damages to ports from storms, floods and other climatic extremes could add up to almost $8 billion each year.

Tags: Environmental Change Institute