Global warming will act as a tax on poor countries and give to the rich, study claims

Global warming "is essentially a massive transfer of value from the hot parts of the world to the cooler parts of the world", a new study has found.

The researchers from Stanford University analysed 166 countries from 1960 to 2010, comparing economic output with temperatures, while controlling for factors like geography, economic changes and global trading events.

The team concluded that the optimum temperature for economic production is 13 degrees Celsius, meaning that Global Warming is:

like taking from the poor and giving to the rich.

The researchers predicted that countries in colder regions, such as North America, Europe and North Asia, would experience an increase in per capita incomes by 2099, whereas warmer regions would experience a decline.

The countries that benefit the most:

Applying their research to climate change forecasts, 77 per cent of countries were expected to experience an economic decline by the end of the century.

The countries disadvantaged the most:

(H/T Quartz)

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