Valuing the Global Mortality Consequences of Climate Change Accounting for Adaptation Costs and Benefits

158 Pages Posted: 1 Aug 2018 Last revised: 16 Aug 2021

See all articles by Tamma Carleton

Tamma Carleton

University of Chicago

Amir Jina

Harris Public Policy, University of Chicago ; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Michael Delgado

Rhodium Group

Michael Greenstone

University of Chicago - Department of Economics; Becker Friedman Institute for Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Trevor Houser

Rhodium Group

Solomon Hsiang

University of California, Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research

Andrew Hultgren

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign -- Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics

Robert E. Kopp

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - New Brunswick/Piscataway

Kelly E. McCusker

Rhodium Group

Ishan Nath

University of Chicago - Department of Economics

James Rising

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

Ashwin Rode

University of Chicago

Hee Kwon (Samuel) Seo

Development Impact Evaluation (DIME), World Bank

Arvid Viaene

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Jiacan Yuan

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

Alice Tianbo Zhang

Washington and Lee University - Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: August 14, 2021

Abstract

Using 40 countries’ subnational data, we estimate age-specific mortality-temperature relationships and extrapolate them to countries without data today and into a future with climate change. We uncover a U-shaped relationship where extreme cold and hot temperatures increase mortality rates, especially for the elderly. Critically, this relationship is flattened by both higher incomes and adaptation to local climate. Using a revealed preference approach to recover unobserved adaptation costs, we estimate that the mean global increase in mortality risk due to climate change, accounting for adaptation benefits and costs, is valued at roughly 3.2% of global GDP in 2100 under a high emissions scenario. Notably, today’s cold locations are projected to benefit, while today’s poor and hot locations have large projected damages. Finally, our central estimates indicate that the release of an additional ton of CO2 today will cause mortality-related damages of $36.6 under a high emissions scenario and using a 2% discount rate, with an interquartile range accounting for both econometric and climate uncertainty of [-$7.8, $73.0]. Under a moderate emissions scenario, these damages are valued at $17.1 [-$24.7, $53.6]. These empirically grounded estimates exceed the previous literature’s estimates by an order of magnitude.

JEL Classification: Q51, Q54, H23, H41, I14

Suggested Citation

Carleton, Tamma and Jina, Amir and Delgado, Michael and Greenstone, Michael and Houser, Trevor and Hsiang, Solomon and Hultgren, Andrew and Kopp, Robert E. and McCusker, Kelly and Nath, Ishan and Rising, James and Rode, Ashwin and Seo, Hee Kwon and Viaene, Arvid and Yuan, Jiacan and Zhang, Alice Tianbo, Valuing the Global Mortality Consequences of Climate Change Accounting for Adaptation Costs and Benefits (August 14, 2021). University of Chicago, Becker Friedman Institute for Economics Working Paper No. 2018-51, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3224365 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3224365

Tamma Carleton

University of Chicago ( email )

1101 East 58th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
7737026763 (Phone)

Amir Jina

Harris Public Policy, University of Chicago ( email )

1155 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Michael Delgado

Rhodium Group ( email )

5 Columbus Circle
New York City, NY
United States

Michael Greenstone (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Department of Economics

1126 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

Becker Friedman Institute for Economics ( email )

Chicago, IL 60637
United States

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Trevor Houser

Rhodium Group ( email )

5 Columbus Circle
New York City, NY
United States

Solomon Hsiang

University of California, Berkeley ( email )

2607 Hearst Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94720-7320
United States

HOME PAGE: http://gspp.berkeley.edu/directories/faculty/solomon-hsiang

National Bureau of Economic Research ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Andrew Hultgren

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign -- Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics ( email )

310 Barrows Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

Robert E. Kopp

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - New Brunswick/Piscataway ( email )

HOME PAGE: http://www.bobkopp.net/

Kelly McCusker

Rhodium Group ( email )

5 Columbus Circle
New York City, NY
United States

Ishan Nath

University of Chicago - Department of Economics ( email )

1126 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

James Rising

London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) - Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment ( email )

Houghton Street
London, WC2A 2AE
Great Britain

HOME PAGE: http://existencia.org/pro

Ashwin Rode

University of Chicago ( email )

1101 East 58th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

Hee Kwon Seo

Development Impact Evaluation (DIME), World Bank ( email )

Washington, DC
United States

Arvid Viaene

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Jiacan Yuan

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey - Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences ( email )

Wright-Rieman Laboratories
Busch Campus, 610 Taylor Rd.
Piscataway, NJ 08854-8066
United States

Alice Tianbo Zhang

Washington and Lee University - Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics ( email )

Lexington, VA 24450
United States

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.alicetianbozhang.com/

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