Some parts of the world are warming far faster than other, but even within the same city some neighbourhoods are exposed and suffer more than others.

AbstractIn this review, we summarise the literature on weather and climate adaptation in developing countries. First, we document the effects of climate change and extreme events on economic outcomes....

(Forthcoming Article) - As urban populations grow, more people face extreme heat, increasing demand for natural cooling. Urban trees offer various amenities, including cooling benefits, yet their economic value is hard to quantify. This paper estimates the implicit value of urban trees by exploiting the Emerald Ash Borer infestation caused by an invasive beetle that kills ash trees in Toronto as an exogenous shock. We find that a onepercentage- point increase in a postcode’s tree cover raises property prices by 1.13% and reduces exposure to extreme heat, pollution, and energy consumption. These findings underscore trees as a cost-effective, practical strategy for mitigating urban warming.

Billions of people have access to far less electricity per day than is required to run an air conditioner for just one hour.

Developing countries face the joint challenges of reducing poverty and adapting to a changing climate, while in some cases also needing to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. From 1990 to 2015, the global extreme-poverty rate (as measured by the $2.14 per day benchmark) fell steadily, but in recent years this progress has slowed, and in some instances reversed (World Bank 2020). Currently, 60% of the world’s population lives in a place where a hotter year causes lower GDP growth, and by 2100, 75% will (Acevedo et al. 2017). Therefore, even if the ambitious global target of limiting...

Lessons for editors

Air conditioning adoption in Mexico has grown much faster than earlier forecasts, with nearly one million more units installed than predicted, largely due to falling electricity prices and rising energy efficiency that lowered the cost of cooling.

Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

Studying the impacts of environmental change on human health and well-being

Fraud and cover-up

On July 29, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a report from its Climate Working Group (CWG). This report features prominently in the EPA's reconsideration of its 2009 Endangerment Finding...

On July 29, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) published a report from its Climate Working Group (CWG). This report features prominently in the EPA's reconsideration of its 2009 Endangerment Finding...

Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

We provide a first globally-relevant assessment of the electricity consumption consequences of households’ adaptation to ambient heat through air cond…

Global warming caused an additional 1,500 deaths in 12 cities during last week’s heat wave, an analysis found.