Current:Home > MyU.S. Unprepared to Face Costs of Climate Change, GAO Says-DB Wealth Institute B2 Reviews & Ratings
U.S. Unprepared to Face Costs of Climate Change, GAO Says
lotradecoin review View Date:2024-12-26 01:58:00
The auditing arm of Congress says the costs of climate change are likely to soar in the decades ahead, and it is urging the federal government to get a better grip on the risks to the economy and to the federal budget.
The Government Accountability Office, in a report issued on Tuesday, cited a range of research concluding that the costs of worsening droughts, floods, wildfires, heat waves and storms will run into hundreds of billions of dollars and threaten many parts of the economy, while hitting some regions particularly hard.
But so far, it said, too little is being done to understand and defend against the dangers.
“Even with the magnitude of these disaster recovery costs, the federal government does not have government-wide strategic planning efforts in place to help set clear priorities for managing significant climate risks before they become federal fiscal exposures,” the report says.
Already, the report noted, direct costs to the federal government for expenses like firefighting, flood insurance and payments for lost crops have come to about $350 billion in the past decade. (The figures don’t include tens of billions yet to be paid for the latest season of storms and fires; and the costs inflicted across the whole economy are much bigger than those reflected in the federal budget.)
Reviewing recent estimates, the GAO predicted that annual fiscal costs could increase by as much as $35 billion a year by 2050, and by as much as $112 billion by the end of the century.
Because all such cost estimates are imprecise, one of the most important things the government can do is to improve them to better identify particular risks and figure out how to minimize the costs.
Instead, the Trump administration has been under stiff criticism for taking steps to scale back estimates of climate change costs, especially in its justification for revoking the Clean Power Plan, a centerpiece of the Obama administration’s climate policy, which cracked down on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
The GAO did not address that particular rule, but it criticized the Trump administration for neglecting efforts to address the issue.
How Progress Has Been Undermined
For years, the GAO and others had warned that the federal government had been blind to the rising fiscal risks, but recently the agency had seen glimmers of progress. Now, those have been undermined by Trump policy changes.
“In February 2017, we found that federal agencies had undertaken various strategic planning efforts, but it was unclear how they related to each other or whether they amounted to a government-wide approach for reducing federal fiscal exposures,” the report said. “Subsequently, a March 2017 Executive Order rescinded some of these planning efforts and created uncertainty about whether other planning efforts would continue or take their place.”
The GAO cited research into the economy-wide effects of climate change—beyond those incurred directly by the federal government—that says, if emissions stay on their current course, rising temperatures could mean up to $150 billion in lost labor productivity due to missed work hours, up to $89 billion in coastal damage and up to $87 billion in increased energy costs, annually. Agricultural losses could reach $53 billion a year, even though some crop yields could climb.
Which Regions Face Highest Economic Risks?
The report, requested by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), took two years and comes as Congress considers a relief package for Puerto Rico that would also pay flood insurance claims from the recent sweep of deadly hurricanes.
The report leaned on two major nationwide studies on the economic impact of climate change, along with 28 others, including assessments from the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
It finds that the economic impacts will vary across the country, but “the Southeast, Midwest and Great Plains regions will likely experience greater combined economic effects than other regions, largely because of coastal property damage in the Southeast and changes in crop yields in the Midwest and Great Plains.” The West, the report says, will suffer from increased drought, heat and wildfire.
In some northern areas, certain crop yields will go up as temperatures rise and cold-related deaths will drop.
The report recommends that Trump and executive offices, including the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), “use information on the potential economic effects of climate change to help identify significant climate risks facing the federal government and craft appropriate federal responses. Such responses could include establishing a strategy to identify, prioritize and guide federal investments to enhance resilience against future disasters.”
Trump recently appointed Kathleen Hartnett White, a fossil fuels promoter who has called carbon dioxide “the gas of life,” to head CEQ. The top position at OSTP, meanwhile, remains vacant.
The administration did not respond to the GAO report’s draft recommendations, as is customary.
veryGood! (6982)
Related
- Drugs to treat diabetes, heart disease and blood cancers among those affected by price negotiations
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. throws punch at Kyle Busch after incident in NASCAR All-Star Race
- Big Ten outpaced SEC with $880 million in revenue for 2023 fiscal year with most schools getting $60.5 million
- 16 family members hit by same car, 2 dead, Michigan hit-and-run driver arrested
- Democrats try to block Green Party from presidential ballot in Wisconsin, citing legal issues
- Judge cites error, will reopen sentencing hearing for man who attacked Paul Pelosi
- EPA warns of increasing cyberattacks on water systems, urges utilities to take immediate steps
- Should the Fed relax its 2% inflation goal and cut interest rates? Yes, some experts say.
- Beyoncé leads nominations for 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards
- 6 dead, 10 injured in Idaho car collision involving large passenger van
Ranking
- Judge tells Google to brace for shakeup of Android app store as punishment for running a monopoly
- Erin Foster Gives Birth, Welcomes First Baby With Husband Simon Tikhman
- There was a fatal shooting at this year’s ‘Jeep Week’ event on Texas Gulf Coast. Here’s what to know
- EPA warns of increasing cyberattacks on water systems, urges utilities to take immediate steps
- As Baltimore’s Sewer System Buckles Under Extreme Weather, City Refuses to Help Residents With Cleanup Efforts
- Kennesaw State University student fatally shot in front of residence hall; suspect charged
- Supreme Court declines to hear challenge to Maryland ban on rifles known as assault weapons
- 6 dead, 10 injured in Idaho car collision involving large passenger van
Recommendation
-
The State Fair of Texas is banning firearms, drawing threats of legal action from Republican AG
-
Scarlett Johansson Slams OpenAI for Using “Eerily Similar” Voice on ChatGPT’s Sky System
-
Dali refloated weeks after collapse of Key Bridge, a milestone in reopening access to the Port of Baltimore. Here's what happens next
-
Pride House on Seine River barge is inaugurated by Paris Olympics organizers
-
Millions of kids are still skipping school. Could the answer be recess — and a little cash?
-
The government wants to buy their flood-prone homes. But these Texans aren’t moving.
-
Family of Black teen wrongly executed in 1931 seeks damages after 2022 exoneration
-
WNBA and LSU women's basketball legend Seimone Augustus joins Kim Mulkey's coaching staff