Climate impacts and global supply chains: an overview

Extreme weather events and changing climatic conditions affect various fundamental elements of a local economy. In an economically densely connected world, the adverse effects of such climate-related events are not necessarily locally confined but can also extend to regions in other parts of the world, for instance via ripple effects along supply chains. Consequently, the configuration of international trade relations and the structure of the global supply network have important implications for climate change damages. This chapter provides a (non-comprehensive) overview of empirical and numerical modeling approaches to assess such higher-order effects along global supply chains. Regarding the latter, it introduces input-output, equilibrium, and agent-based models. Further, it presents the respective notations and data sets frequently used to describe the international trade and supply network. This is completed by a discussion and synthesis of recent findings in the literature and an outline of key challenges and pathways for future research.