Care2Causes/Kevin Mathews: Addressing Climate Change Now Would Save U.S. Hundreds of Billions PER YEAR tweet

Care2Causes
Addressing Climate Change Now Would Save U.S. Hundreds of Billions PER YEAR
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    By: Kevin Mathews
    April 13, 2019

“How do we pay for it?” As environmental leaders present renewable energy plans to ensure that the world has a sustainable way forward, their pitches are quickly met with concerns about the associated costs.

While economic aspects are valid to discuss, the better retort is “How can we afford not to pay for it?” The latest research demonstrates just how financially stupid it is not to try to address climate change as soon as possible – we’re talking hundreds of billions annually.


THE RESEARCH

This week, scientists from the EPA published a study in Nature detailing the exorbitant expenses that the U.S. will have to pay to deal with the consequences of climate change by the turn of the century. Though it’s hardly the first report to attempt to estimate the oncoming damage, peers of the research team say it’s definitely the most thorough – and in turn the most frightening.

Altogether, EPA researchers looked at 22 different factors including electricity, infrastructure, fishing, real estate and air quality. Some of the biggest anticipated money-losers will come from the destruction of coastal properties and wasted labor productivity during extended periods of extreme heat, though other factors like the decline of the skiing industry and the more rapid decay of bridges and roads also play a part.

Incidentally, the research models also backed up a Brookings Institution study from earlier this year that projected not all parts of the country would equal financial repercussions thanks to climate change – ironically, the counties that vote for climate change deniers look like they’ll be hit the hardest.
JUST HOW MUCH MONEY? THAT DEPENDS

Obviously, the extent of financial devastation depends on how much the world gets its act together in the coming decade. To account for different trajectories, the EPA ran multiple models, including one where the world does nothing to curb emissions, and another where the world takes just enough action to limit the average temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius.

In taking no significant action, projections put the price tag at about $500 billion per year in another 70 years or so. By limiting the climate damage, that price tag decreases by $200 billion each year, which is a pretty serious savings.

“The cost of inaction is really high, and [the cost of] reducing emissions pales in comparison,” said Brenda Ekwurzel of the Union of Concerned Scientists.


SPEND SOME MONEY TO SAVE MONEY

The answer couldn’t be more clear – action on climate change, even if it falls short of perfection, is a cost-saving measure in the long-run. The Republican Party that clings to a label of fiscal responsibility ought to live up to its mission and acknowledge that any money spent now is a smart investment in and for the future.

That’s why when we see proposals like the Green New Deal, which marries a transition to renewable energy with a deliberate method of stimulating the economy, we should meet them with applause rather than jeers and skepticism. It may seem “expensive” now, but your grandchildren will wind up paying way more for this inaction – and not have an inhabitable planet to show for it, to boot.
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21 comments
Wesley S22 minutes ago

Sure it would. But they can save CURRENT money by denying or kicking the environmental can down the road for our heirs to pay. Easy-peasy, right? [yeah, that's sarcasm, too]
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Sherry K1 hours ago

Many thanks to you !
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john c1 hours ago

Although the article is interesting and factual, the most important two (2) items ,
1) get people to acknowledge that there is a CLIMATE CHANGE ( whether man made or by nature or combination thereof) 2) In the U S politicians MUST STOP catering to special interest groups such as the OIL & GAS INDUSTRY and begin to
convert their ideology to clean energy. Until these two things are done, it will remain the same or alternatively until the OIL & GAS INDUSTRY changes it's mind and find
other ways to get such large TAX BREAKS and make larger profits.
John C./Houston, Tx.
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Heather B2 hours ago

Gene you're so right and as long as the ultra rich stay rich there is no reason in their minds to save billions since tRump thinks there is no climate change.
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Gene J2 hours ago

It's not only real, it is accelerating rapidly, far more so than earlier projections showed. We will be remembered as the only species responsible for its own extinction. Rightly so. Perhaps the next sentient species will be smarter and read the fossil record well enough to avoid our fate, rather our grandchildren's fate.
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Lisa M2 hours ago

Thanks.
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Robert Fitzgerald2 hours ago

We cannot afford to see climate change as separate from societal collapse. While the climate is changing far faster than scientists predict, ALL mathematical indicators that measure societal health predict collapse maybe within 10 years. As society collapses around our ears, so too will our sacred economy. The death rate will soar from severe loss of food due to possible massive starvation, even here in the West. Starvation will open the door to global pandemics. And a whole lot sooner than we expect, than even scientists expect. If all matter is nothing more than packets of energy, then enlivening the creative energy of life through meditation, and creating positive-earth visualization energies could easily be a solution.
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Lisa M2 hours ago

Thanks.
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Bill Arthur2 hours ago

I blame the eduction system, there was a clip of a politician from maybe Alabama who was blaming rising ocean levels on rocks and dirt being put into the water for rising sea levels.
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Tabot T3 hours ago

Thanks for sharing!
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