Professor Ilan Noy - Economics of Disasters and Climate Change

Professor Ilan Noy is the Chair in Economics of Disasters and Climate Change - Te Āwhionukurangi, at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. Ilan’s research and teaching focus on the economic aspects of natural hazards, disasters, climate change, and other related topics in environmental, development, and international economics. Ilan is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of the SpringerNature journal Economics of Disasters and Climate Change. Having previously worked at the University of Hawai’i and consulting for the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank (to name a few!), Ilan brings a wealth of knowledge to this conversation.Professor Noy recently co-authored an article, published in Nature Communications, assessing the global cost of extreme weather attributable to climate change. Their findings revealed that extreme events attributable to climate change cost the world US$143 billion per year, yet the loss and damage funding agreement arrived at from COP27 will only offer an average of US$10 billion a year – a drop in the bucket compared to what’s truly needed. Ilan unpacks the paper’s findings and much more in our conversation.In this episode, we discuss:Ilan’s personal and professional backgroundThe diversity of topics that fall under the umbrella of the economics of disasters and climate changeThe driving force behind establishing the Journal Economics of Disasters and Climate ChangeLack of consideration towards climate change in the field of economicsThe deficiencies of current assessment methods regarding the financial costs of climate changeConsidering the wide-ranging damage costs associated with climate change, as well as the costs associated with the loss of human lifeThe need to reduce vulnerabilities and exposure to avoid increased costs associated with anthropogenic extreme weather eventsHow economists attach a dollar value to human lifeWhich countries and regions of the world feel the impact mostThe lack of economist engagement with the IPCCChanging the dialogue in future COPsPrioritising financial support where it’s truly neededTo view all the links to the websites and documents, visit the show notes on our website. Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast, leave us a review and share this episode with your friends and family.Please support our work and enable us to deliver more content by buying us a coffee.Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.