Asia-Pacific risks growth amid climate crisis: ADB

Rising sea levels and falling labor productivity would slash growth in the Asia-Pacific region, which needs an annual investment of at least $102 billion in the next five years for adaptation measures to help offset the huge economic losses brought by climate change, the Asian Development Bank said on Thursday.

The effect of climate change could reduce regional GDP by 17 percent by 2070 under a high-emissions scenario, ADB said in its Asia-Pacific Climate Report.

The Manila-based lender estimated that an accelerating climate crisis could expose up to 300 million people to coastal inundation, with trillions of dollars in coastal assets at risk of damage annually by 2070.