U.S. government shutdown poses 'seismic' threat to climate
A U.S. government shutdown would have deep, far-reaching consequences and imperil efforts to protect people from lead and cancer-causing chemicals, a top White House official warned Thursday. “The effects of a lapse in appropriations would be seismic and cascade not just through the federal government but into the real economy — into our ability to support communities and protect them,” White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi told Bloomberg News. “This is a very significant risk, not just to government operations, to communities all across the country, and Congress needs to get its priorities right.” Zaidi’s remarks come with just nine days left before a lapse in federal funding that would shutter a host of government services. Congress is struggling to pass a short-term spending bill needed to keep the government open past the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Federal regulators in many cases would have to stop writing marquee Biden administration regulations limiting pollution from power plants, oil wells and automobiles. That could make it more difficult for the Environmental Protection Agency to finalize the mandates in time to better insulate them from the threat of congressional repeal in 2025. Zaidi signaled a shutdown also could delay work on a standard limiting the amount of so-called forever chemicals, known as per— and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in drinking water. “This would tie the hands of the Environmental Protection Agency in protecting the American people from things like cancer-causing PFAS, it would slow our ability to propose and ultimately finalize standards that help us reduce lead exposure through the water system, and it limits our ability to implement these critical statutes that meet a real need in communities,” he said.
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.”