(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Climate change may be about to crush the EU economic zone [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']

Date: 2022-07-20

Again, the economics of climate change gets to the front page of CNBC (even if they won’t acknowledge it). Germany, and I feel by extension, the EU could be massively impacted if:

A critical shipping lane in Europe’s economic heart is drying up in the searing heat

The article is here and they are talking about the Rhine River — central to so many of the manufacturing hubs of the EU. Many of us here keep talking about water as the next “oil” but we commonly think of it in terms of human, animal, and agricultural consumption. But the other reality is that much, if not most, of the global economy depends on water as the most efficient bulk way of transporting goods.

And CNBC gets it.

Analysis has been done by the Kiel Institute to measure the economic impact of low water levels with the research showing that in a month in which water levels are below the 78cm threshold every day, German industrial production is around 1% lower than in a month with no low-water days. In its 2020 analysis the institute stated that “low water levels lead to transportation disruptions that cause a significant and economically meaningful decrease of economic activity” but there are concerns that the economic impact could be worse this time, with supply chains already disrupted following the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine already threatening Germany’s energy supplies and the increased use of larger barges (with deeper drafts) on the river.

The article indicates that less product will ship per barge and there will be an inflationary impact as well because less material per barge means more total barge shipments — which increases barge lease rates. In a n event in 2018 where Rhine River dropped even lower, some manufacturers had to shut down.

We have had similar issues when the Mississippi River has gotten too low for barges

Currently at a depth of less than 9 feet, the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau is below the Army Corps of Engineer’s target level. Executive Director Cary Harbison works at the Cape Port Authority and said if the water continues to drop, it will be costly for shipping companies. “They’ll have to light load barges, due to the draft of the barge,” Harbison said. “The depth of the barge under the surface of the water. So, your shipping costs are going to go up for that product for the same about of product.” www.kfvs12.com/… By Jeremy J. Ford Published: Jan. 27, 2022 at 2:48 PM MST

Climate change has global impacts that are starting to bite. But it’s all a hoax — right?

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/20/2111524/-Climate-change-may-be-about-to-crush-the-EU-economic-zone

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.