Pluck a number out of the air and then treble it

From the BBC:

Protecting societies against the impacts of climate change will be much more expensive than previously believed, according to a new analysis.

In 2007, the UN climate convention came up with a sum of $49 - $171bn per year. The new report says the UN sums omitted important factors and the true cost will be two to three times higher. Developing nations want [to blackmail] rich countries to provide major sums for adaptation as part of the new UN climate deal due to be agreed in Copenhagen in December.

PS, I love the caption to the picture:

"Some fear that a shortfall in the Asian monsoon is linked to climate change."

If there is a shortfall in the Asian monsoon, then that is climate change, surely, and not just linked to it? A more fitting caption might have been: "Some people believe we can influence the weather by turning back the economic clock two centuries. Others believe we can influence the weather by wearing garlands of flowers and sitting in rain butts."