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Costing a lot !

global warming will have serious repercussions on the world economy. The damage from climate-induced natural disasters could rise so steeply that will will become difficult for insurance companies and even the governments to absorb it, a spokesperson for a leading British insurance company said. Global economic losses from natural disasters have increased at a pace of 10 per cent a year for the past four decades reaching us $100 billion in 1999. "If this trend continues, the damage could exceed global gross domestic product by 2065,' said Andrew Dlugolecki, director of General Insurance Development, one of the world's largest insurance companies. Dlugolecki added that the insurance industry needs to notify governments about the dangers that lie ahead and the need for immediate action for curbing at least 60 per cent emissions. Even the most comprehensive research understates the true economic loss due to climate change. The cost of absorbing the extra emissions could be as high as us $1.2 trillion. Recently more than 250 international banks and insurance companies agreed to adjust their portfolios favouring investments that help mitigate climate change.

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