The Asia-Pacific economy will be 2.6 percent smaller in 2050 according a new framework developed by The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU), with developing countries in the region set to be the most affected. The EIU expects economic losses in every year leading up to 2050, with the risk that further losses could be seen if policy effectiveness is not improved. According to The EIU’s framework, Africa is the least resilient region to the impact of climate change (4.7 percent smaller), followed by Latin America (3.8 percent), the Middle East (3.7 percent), Eastern Europe (3 percent) and the Asia-Pacific. The regions displaying the most reliance and likely to see the least impact economically are North America (1.1 percent smaller) and Western Europe (1.7 percent). The primary reason for this is the relative wealth of these two regions, which can more easily afford preparations to tackle climate change from an institutional standpoint. The EIU’s research shows that being rich is an advantage to tackle climate change, but institutional quality matters, too.

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