Climate and Economy in Two World Cities.

¶ … climate and economy in two world cities. There are six references used for this paper.

The world is currently undergoing a number of changes both in terms of the climate and the economy. It is important to look at Lima, Peru and Canberra, Australia and determine what effect the changing climates could have on the economies there.

Canberra, Australia

Canberra is the capital city of Australia and over the past eighty years has grown into a governmental powerhouse, as well as being home to "the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, the Academy of Science and the National Science and Technology Centre (www.tomw.net.au/cnbst1.html)."

Economy

Australia enjoys a "prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four dominant West European economies (www.photius.com/wfb/wfb1999/australia/australia_economy.html)." Due the high level of natural resources available, the major exports of the country are "agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels, which account for 57% of total exports (www.photius.com/wfb/wfb1999/australia/australia_economy.html)." This leaves the country vulnerable economically whenever there is a decline in commodity prices throughout the world.

While the country experienced "low growth and high unemployment in the early 1990s, the economy has expanded at reasonably steady rates in recent years. Canberra's emphasis on reforms is a key factor behind its economy's resilience to the regional crisis and its stronger than expected growth rate that reached 4.5% in 1998 (www.photius.com/wfb/wfb1999/australia/australia_economy.html)."

Potential Effect

An investigation into the "regional impact of climate variability on farm financial performance (http://www.abareconomics.com/research/farmbusiness/climate.htm)" was conducted in February 2004.

The conclusion of the research "emphasized the impact of climate variability, but also the probability distribution of likely outcomes. For this reason, the research has now moved toward the ultimate goal of being able to fully assess the risks to farming, and the tools available to control these risks, in an environment where seasonal climate variation so strongly dominates the productive capacity of broadacre farming (http://www.abareconomics.com/research/farmbusiness/climate.htm)."

It is predicted that if there is continued improvement in the seasonal conditions and climate, the farm economy which saw an increase of 17.3% during the second half of 2003 will continue to grow and "farm production will increase in volume terms by 1.9% in 2004-05, thus contributing significantly to the city's growth in economic activity (http://www.abareconomics.com/australiancommodities/ACMARCH%2004_

EconOverview.pdf).

Impact of El Nino on Lima, Peru

The El Nino effect is responsible for shifting the weather patterns in Lima every three to seven years. "The phenomenon usually brings weather extremes - either torrential rain or severe drought, depending on the region - so the farmers have learned to change their planting schedules accordingly (Lama, 2003)."

In 1998, El Nino had a profound effect on the tropical rainforest in South America. During this time, "a high-pressure dome dominated weather patterns over the region, causing high temperatures and extensive drought. Tropical forests received less than 10% of normal rainfall amounts, and the typically humid forest fuels became tinder-dry (Cochrane, 2001)." This produced a number of fires, and the effect on the economy of the area was in the billions.

These fires can have a lasting impact on the environment and economy of the area, since they also "increase global carbon dioxide levels and threaten the health of those exposed to the resulting particulates, as well as causing extensive and long-lasting damage to the affected forests (Cochrane, 2001)."