How climate change is impacting the U.S. economy - WBUR News
How climate change is impacting the U.S. economy | Here & Now
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The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it would be putting an additional $6 billion in funding towards climate resilience.
The announcement came tied to the release of the new National Climate Assessment, which found that climate change costs the economy nearly $150 billion every year.
Roben Farzad, host of public radio's "Full Disclosure," joins us.
This segment aired on November 14, 2023.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”