The costs of climate change are many – from the destruction of ecosystems and the loss of species to increased risk of famine. The famous Stern Review by the British government in 2006 looked at the effects on the world economy. Eight years later, a recently released report focuses on the financial bottom line in the U.S., providing an assessment of how unmitigated climate change will add up over the remainder of this century.
Compiled by The Risky Business Project – a nonpartisan group chaired by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson Jr., and former hedge fund manager Thomas Steyer – the report hopes to show that acting on climate change now can prevent financial disaster in the long-run.
The report predicts that by the year 2050, 66 billion to 106 billion dollars worth of America’s coastal property will be below sea level. At the same time, increased demand for air conditioning to cope with higher temperatures could cost electricity customers up to 12 billion dollars annually.
Effects are broken down by region. For instance, the Northeast is most likely to suffer from property loss and damage, whereas the Southeast and Southwest will see a sharp rise in the number of days topping 95 degrees. This will likely lead to more deaths, as well as dangerous and costly natural disasters like wildfires and droughts.
Clearly, climate change is primed to have a major impact not only on our environment, but on our economy – which is just one of many reasons urgent action is needed.
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Photo, posted June 11, 2013, courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio, with script contribution from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.