Global warming could cost the US $35bn per year: GAO
The US must develop a plan to combat climate change, or face severe economic consequences, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. The report discloses that the US government spent over $350bn on natural disasters and flood and crop insurance over the past decade. An additional $300bn will be added to that total by this year’s hurricanes and wildfires. The study warns that costs will rise to $35bn per year by mid-century if global emissions do not fall. Non-profit the Universal Ecological Fund has warned that such costs could be closer to $360bn annually within the decade.

Climate change is happening now. It is already impacting our daily lives. It is also impacting the United States economy.

Action to address climate change is compatible and essential for economic growth. It also creates jobs.

However, the United States Federal Government under the Trump Administration decided to increase economic growth without climate action. In addition, against the world’s commitment to fight climate change, the United States has begun the process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. These decisions were based on the claim that action to tackle climate change is against America’s domestic interests. As a result, energy production in the United States will continue to be primarily generated by burning fossil fuels –the major driver of the observed changes in climate.

The impacts of climate change affect many sectors, including agriculture, water, human health and ecosystems, among others. Although some of these impacts are positive, most are negative and affect lives and livelihoods. Using different indicators and assumptions, numerous studies have assessed the impacts of climate change in the United States. The majority of these assessments use the end of this century as a timeframe for the analysis.

This report specifically focuses on economic losses caused by extreme and frequent weather events influenced by human-induced climate change and on health costs due to air pollution exposure caused by fossil fuel energy production. It is thus a partial assessment of the economic losses and costs of human-induced climate change and fossil fuel use on the United States economy.

Climate is the average weather –temperature, precipitation and wind– over a period of time. Changes in climate are usually measured over a 30 year period, as defined by the World Meteorological Organization. Thus, this report analyzes extreme weather events over three decades: 1980s (1980-1989), 1990s (1990-1999) and the last decade (2007-2016). Based on these past trends, a projection for the next decade is estimated. It also presents the opportunities to boost economic growth and job creation while taking climate action.

Sources used for the analysis presented in this report include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the American Meteorological Society, the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Lung Association, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Second Biennial Report of the United States of America under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Peer-reviewed research studies published in prestigious journals were used as sources for health costs.

Economic losses, health costs and economic growth figures are presented in 2017 dollars. To harmonize and compare, all figures were adjusted using the latest Consumer Price Index.

September, 2017