Faulty Data Undergirds Widely Publicized Climate Study Claiming Trillions In Damages By 2050
Researchers discovered that flawed GDP figures had drastically inflated future climate damage projections.
by Audrey Streb August 08, 2025, 9:57 AM
A 2024 climate change study amplified by the corporate press projecting up to $38 trillion in global climate damages by 2050 relied on inaccurate data, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. [emphasis, links added]
The study’s inclusion of Uzbekistan’s faulty GDP figures skewed its results and cast doubt on its conclusion that global GDP could be roughly 62% lower by 2100 due to climate change than it otherwise would be, according to the Post.
Numerous prominent media outlets touted the study upon its release as proof of climate change’s imminent economic threat, but a new analysis and experts who spoke to the Post argue the paper is undermined by Uzbekistan’s “data anomalies.”
The original study was the second-most cited paper across media in 2024, according to the U.K.-based climate outlet Carbon Brief.
https://climatechangedispatch.com/faulty-climate-data-gdp-damage-study/
