Sovereign rating cuts coming to those who ignore the climate

“As climate change batters national economies, debts will become harder and more expensive to service, ” Matthew Agarwala, an environmental economist at Cambridge’s Bennett Institute for Public Policy, said. (File pic shows Cambridge University)

LONDON: A failure to cut pollution will cost governments around the world hundreds of billions, according to University of Cambridge economists who used artificial intelligence to forecast climate change’s effect on sovereign credit ratings.

If emissions continue at current levels, 63 countries will see ratings downgrades of more than one notch by 2030, according to the group, which includes Moritz Kraemer, S&P Global Ratings’ former chief sovereign ratings officer.