The Asian Development Bank says reduced food crops in Papua New Guinea will be the main cause of PNG's economic damage due to climate change.
A new report by the bank assessed the potential impacts of climate change on agriculture, fisheries, tourism, coral reefs and human health in the region.
A senior economist with the ADB, Christoper Edmonds, says PNG is looking at a loss of as much as 15.2 percent of its GDP by 2100.
He says the agriculture sector will be severly affected, which is of huge concern for the poor.
"In PNG, one of the most affected crops would be their sweet potato, which is the staple there. We are expecting significant production declines in that staple crop. It puts people's nutrition and livelihood in danger. We go into very detailed modelling for different crops, and look at different ways of adjusting production patterns to mitigate the effects of climate change."
Christoper Edmonds says with agricultural technology, new varieties of drought-resistant crops can be developed.
