By Michał Podolski
BANGKOK, Thailand, Jun 10 2025 – Year by year researchers improve and deepen our understanding of economic activity. The primary example, and probably the most commonly used, is the detailed data and analysis available on gross domestic product (GDP).

Yet, it is merely one of several measures of economic activity and development used by researchers, economists and policymakers. As no one would describe the weather solely by temperature when a storm is developing, focusing solely on GDP when analysing the economic impact of climate change and climate action would be far from adequate.

And this is where many of us, whether policymakers, researchers or citizens who care about the economic impacts of climate change, must wonder: what are the other macroeconomic indicators to use?

This is also what ESCAP’s Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2025 report sheds more light on.

There is plenty of reliable information on different economic sectors and spheres of economic activity. Productivity, employment, technological adoption or capital investment are just some most looked at. Besides economic performance, these indicators also can reveal how climate change affects economies at the grassroots level – where people work and businesses operate.

However, this information is often hidden and difficult to notice due to the complexity and vastness of climate-economy impact channels.

For instance, economy-wide productivity tends to rise until we reach certain temperature level. The “optimal level” is currently estimated at around 13°C on average during a year. Why? The impact of too low or high temperatures is not just that people work less efficiently in extreme cold or heat.

For example, in agriculture, higher temperatures impact plant growth, therefore agricultural productivity. As temperatures shift, farmers need to adopt new crops or farming techniques, but they are often lacking the skills or financial resources to adapt to new reality.

Rising temperatures also facilitate the spread of diseases, such as dengue, which is now appearing further towards North than before.

Once ill, people are unable to work. With higher temperatures, children may miss school or struggle to concentrate and learn. The effects of worse education may not be clearly visible in today’s productivity data but will manifest in decades to come.

Similarly, extreme weather events, driven by rising temperatures, not only cause significant infrastructure damage but also reduce productivity through seemingly trivial issues like traffic jams. Even a 15-minute delay becomes significant when it occurs regularly to millions of people.

Such disruptions increase transportation costs, necessitate larger inventories and reduce capital productivity, particularly in manufacturing. Hotter, more humid conditions also cause machinery to fail more frequently.

The hidden and less intuitive impact channels extend far beyond the already simplified yet still complex overview shared above. For example, lower productivity reduces wages and household incomes, which in turn limits households’ ability to save.

Smaller domestic savings hold back business expansion and job creation, as well as push up borrowing costs. At the end, securing a mortgage may become more challenging while house construction itself is more costly – all just because of some hotter or wetter conditions.

Although the above impact channels are well-documented, reasonable and logical, there are still massive research gaps on their exact scale, intensity, and local impact. For example, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its climate report compiled by hundreds of researchers spanning climate science, biology, geography, economics and social sciences in 2022, concluded, “Projected estimates of global aggregate net economic damages generally increase non-linearly with global warming levels. The wide range of global estimates, and the lack of comparability between methodologies, does not allow for identification of a robust range of estimates. (…) Economic damages, including both those represented and those not represented in economic markets, are projected to be lower at 1.5°C than at 3°C or higher global warming levels.”

To put it simply: we know that climate change negatively impacts economies, and we know that the impact worsens with greater warming. However, we cannot yet determine whether the economic impact of climate change will be mild, severe or catastrophic – this requires further research, in particular on localized impact.

Those who view the climate change impact channels described above as remote from everyday concerns and assume that their effects are negligible, may wonder about their long-term aggregate impact: losing even a small amount of money every day, by everyone, for decades or even centuries to come adds up to tremendous amounts.

Therefore, even if with climate change, we all lose, informed policy action can lower these loses, and macroeconomic indicators are one of the tools that help and still have lots of potential to improve climate action.

Given the above considerations, as ESCAP’s Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2025 report argues, we need not only a more comprehensive understanding of climate change and economy nexus but broader and more common use of the current macroeconomic findings.

The report contributes to this conversation by examining how the economic impacts of climate change and climate action are reflected in macroeconomic indicators, outlining what can and should be done to better navigate the climate storm.

IPS UN Bureau

Excerpt:

Michal Podolski is Associate Economic Affairs Officer, ESCAP

By Kizito Makoye
NICE, France, Jun 10 2025 – A groundbreaking initiative to revolutionize global ocean observation is being launched this week at the UN Ocean Conference side event, aiming to enlist 10,000 commercial ships to collect and transmit vital ocean and weather data by 2035.

Known as “10,000 Ships for the Ocean,” the ambitious program seeks to vastly expand the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) by collaborating with the maritime industry to install state-of-the-art automated sensors aboard vessels that crisscross the globe’s waters.

“Ships have been observing the ocean for centuries, but today, we are scaling up with purpose and urgency,” said Joanna Post, Director of the Global Ocean Observing System at UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), at a press conference. “What we want to do now is to create a win-win model for the shipping industry and the planet—providing useful data for forecasting and resilience, while helping optimize shipping routes and reduce risks.”

The initiative, backed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), France, and major shipping players, comes at a pivotal time as climate-driven disasters increasingly wreak havoc on vulnerable coastal communities. Observations from the ocean surface—ranging from temperature to salinity to atmospheric conditions—are critical for weather forecasts, early warning systems, climate models, and maritime safety.

A Critical Infrastructure for Humanity

“Ocean observations are not just a scientific endeavor. They are critical infrastructure for society,” said Post. “We need this data to understand climate change, predict extreme weather events, and respond to disasters. Yet the ocean remains vastly under-observed.”

Currently, only around 1,000 ships regularly collect and share data with scientific networks. The initiative aims to increase this number tenfold, mobilizing 10,000 vessels to provide near real-time ocean data that can be used to power the UN’s Early Warnings for All initiative, support the Global Greenhouse Gas Watch, and advance the goals of the UN Ocean Decade.

Mathieu Belbéoch, Manager of OceanOPS—run jointly by WMO and IOC—described the system as a “complex infrastructure of systems” composed of some 10,000 elements, including satellites, buoys, and ships. “If you want to make any prediction, you need observation,” he said. “Commercial vessels are the missing link in helping us build a more complete picture of what is happening at sea.”

Belbéoch emphasized that over a century of maritime observation provides a strong foundation, but the data gaps remain vast. “This initiative is about making use of the ships already out there. The ocean is our blind spot, and yet it drives our climate.”

A Smart Business Move for Sustainability

The campaign invites shipping companies to voluntarily join the program by installing standardized, automated observation equipment on board. “It’s a smart business move,” said Post, “because in addition to serving the common good, it helps the industry reduce fuel costs, increase safety, and meet sustainability goals.”

In response to a question raised by IPS on how developing countries with limited merchant fleets can participate in the initiative, Post explained, “This is where partnership becomes crucial. Even if countries don’t have large commercial fleets, they can benefit from the data and engage through science, policy, or by hosting data centers. Inclusivity is key to making this a truly global system.”

Strong Political Momentum

The launch of the 10,000 Ships initiative comes just as momentum builds around the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), also known as the High Seas Treaty. With 136 signatories and now 16 ratifications, the treaty is edging closer to the 60 ratifications needed to enter into force.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called the agreement a “historic step towards protecting vast areas of the ocean,” urging nations to ratify quickly.

The joint declaration unveiled at the conference called for concrete commitments by 2030 and 2035, aligning the 10,000 Ships program with broader Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Ocean Decade’s Challenge 7: expanding the Global Ocean Observing System.

“The ocean has long given to us,” said Ambassador Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. “It’s time we give back—through action, technology, and partnerships. 10,000 ships is not a dream. It’s an imperative.”

As oceans warm, sea levels rise, and extreme weather intensifies, the launch of this initiative signals a critical move toward a more informed, prepared, and cooperative global response. The sea may be vast, but with the right tools and partnerships, it need not be unknown.

IPS UN Bureau Report

The late afternoon sun sparkles on the waters of the French Riviera as yachts dock at the Port of Nice with mechanical grace. A tram glides past palm-lined boulevards, where joggers, drenched in sweat, huff past leisurely strollers and sunbathers. Just beside the promenade, a crowd gathers around a young girl. With braided hair bouncing […]

By Naureen Hossain
NICE, France, Jun 10 2025 – “When we poison the ocean, we poison ourselves,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters on the second day of the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3).

“There’s a tipping point approaching—beyond which recovery may become impossible. And let us be clear: Powerful interests are pushing us towards that brink. We are facing a hard battle against a clear enemy. Its name is greed.”

Guterres made the comments in a press briefing where he relayed his priorities for the conference and the need for urgent action toward ocean conservation and sustainability.

He remarked on the “clear link” between climate change, biodiversity, and marine protection, and that without timely and effective intervention, both the ocean and humanity would be irreversibly impacted.

Guterres called for increased “financial and technological support” to developing countries, including coastal communities and small-island nations, so that they are in a position to protect themselves from extreme weather and natural disasters.

As overfishing threatens marine biodiversity, countries must work together to enforce stronger measures against illegal fishing and expand protected areas in order to safeguard marine life. To that end, Guterres called for countries to deliver on the target to conserve at least 30 percent of marine and coastal areas by 2030.

Scientists have said that the 1.5 degree threshold to mitigate the worst of global warming is still achievable. Yet as Guterres pointed out, they have been “unanimous” in saying that the international community is “on the brink of the tipping point that might make it impossible.” As the ocean absorbs carbon emissions, this has contributed to the imbalances in its biodiversity, such as extremely high temperatures and coral reef bleaching.

There is not “enough urgency, enough spirit” towards an energy transition to renewable sources. Guterres urged countries to formulate and present Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for COP30 in Brazil. These NDCs or climate action plans should be “fully compatible” with the 1.5 degree threshold and that will work towards “dramatic reductions” in emissions by 2035. “We must accelerate our transition, and this is for me the most important objective of the next COP.”

Guterres noted positively the significant turnout from governments, civil society, business leaders, Indigenous groups, and the science community for this year’s Ocean Conference. This is a clear show of “momentum and enthusiasm” on the issue of ocean conservation and sustainability. He added that in the two years since the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) was first adopted in 2023, 134 countries have signed it and 50 have ratified it, including 15 new signatories and ratifications since the start of the conference. The BBNJ may soon come into effect once it has received 60 ratifications or acceptances.

The spirit of solidarity that has brought groups from all corners of the world to participate in UNOC must be carried right to its end and beyond. “I urge everyone to step forward with decisive commitments and tangible funding. The ocean has given us so much. It is time we returned the favor. Our health, our climate, and our future depend on it,” Guterres said.

IPS UN Bureau Report