Study: climate change could cost Cyprus’s economy €29 billion by 2050

The Cyprus University Economics Research Centre has assessed how climate change will affect the country’s economy — both at the macro level and across individual sectors. According to experts’ estimates, under an adverse scenario cumulative losses by 2050 could reach €29 billion.

The authors emphasize that the scale of damage depends on how quickly the state begins to act. Several scenarios are examined in the study, and under a more “sustainable” approach losses could be reduced to around €4 billion.

The analysis primarily evaluates physical risks — the consequences of rising temperatures, environmental degradation, and the related economic effects. The study also shows how economic activity affects nature and how this feeds back in the form of additional costs and risks.

Among the tools that, according to the researchers, could help stabilize the situation are:

• investments in clean energy infrastructure;
• subsidies and incentives for the adoption of “green” solutions;
• the introduction of a carbon tax (on CO₂ emissions).

A separate section is devoted to sources of pollution. It is noted that air transport makes a significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions — as passenger traffic at airports grows, the environmental burden will increase.

It is also noted that the electricity generation sector is associated with high emissions of sulfur oxides. The European climate agenda предусматривает their significant reduction, therefore the decarbonization of energy is named one of the key tasks.

In maritime transport, a reduction in harmful emissions is recorded, but overall it is emphasized that in a number of areas Cypriot sectors pollute the environment more than their counterparts in EU countries — largely due to more advanced technologies and processes in mainland Europe.