Climate change effects such as wild fires, sea-level rise, droughts or floods will increasingly put a burden on countries’ economies. Costs from effects that are happening at present are already running at billions of dollars.

Here are two of the latest economic analyses that attempt to estimate future costs of selected climate change effects. One report estimates the cost of sea-level rise in Australia, whereas the other estimates the cost of wild fires in the US.

To keep cost of damages as low as possible, it is essential that governments implement measures that can address some of the risks associated with climate change effects.

For example, the floods at the beginning of this year cost the UK economy up to £14 billion, from damage, lost business and general economic slowdown. The flood that ravaged Pakistan in 2010 is estimated to have caused an estimated $10 billion in damages. Going forward, as climate change impacts worsen, such costs will increase significantly.