Climate change has widespread but often overlooked economic and social costs, particularly in how it affects human capital development, labor productivity, and educational outcomes. In his book ”Slow Burn – the Hidden Costs of a Warming World” R. Jisung Park gives an economist’s view on the everyday implications of climate change and what it will cost us. But before telling more about Park’s book I want to remind of an interesting Finnish research publication, exploring the costs of climate change for Finland. The KUITTI project assessed the direct and indirect costs of climate change risks for Finland a few years ago. 

https://julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/handle/10024/164032

The key takeaway for me from Kuitti was that slowly changing operating conditions, driven by rising temperatures and changes in precipitation, known as chronic physical climate risks, can cause significantly greater economic damage than extreme weather events if adaptation remains insufficient. The KUITTI project highlights that proactive adaptation is worthwhile. So, we should not only look at climate catastrophe events, but try to better understand the costs of chronic risks and also the hidden costs Park writes about.

Even though I don’t agree with some conclusions that Park makes based on statistics, I can recommend this book, if you are interested in learning more about the costs were are facing with rising temperatures and how the costs occur. 

Debates over proper adaptation will increase in the future, also in countries where the most visible climate hazards do not occur. 

Having a clearer picture of physical climate risks of an area is a good start but it is not enough. We also need to learn about socioeconomical details of climate vulnerability. The hotter temperature is not the only thing hurting us, but also how it impacts human institutions, economic, educational, legal, and political. 

In his book Park analyzes the negative effects global warming has on learning and human capital. Global warming and education is a topic not covered very often and I found it interesting. Rising temperatures and climate-induced disruptions, such as heat waves and school closures, are not just environmental challenges but economic issues. These factors silently undermine learning, reduce cognitive function, and limit future earnings potential, particularly for vulnerable populations. Forest fires are one example in the book too. The smoke has severe costs, not only the flames. 

Park also writes about justice. According to Park, at least two dimensions of climate justice are in danger of being overlooked within the prevailing narrative.The first is the highly local way in which climate change may vary. The second is that we still know little about why some groups are hurt more than others and how the impacts spread across the global economy through interlinkages. These questions go beyond the familiar thinking that poor countries and poorer people suffer more. 

Also for those interested in supply chains and housing markets, Park offers food for thought. 

We need to shift perspective. Climate change is not just about extreme weather events or long-term sea level rise; it is already affecting daily life, workforce performance, and social mobility according to Park. He calls for integrating climate resilience into education, labor policies, and infrastructure planning to mitigate these hidden costs.

#climatechange #adaptation #resilience #climatejustice #economics #physicalrisks #transitionrisks #policy