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Union of Concerned Scientists reports the costs of climate change
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AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has published a new report that describes the rising costs of climate change, entitled “Climate Change in the United States: The Prohibitive Costs of Inaction”.
With a main office in Washington, DC, the Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading science-based non profit organization working for a healthy environment and a safer world. Their report asserts taking preventative action, stressing that the costs associated with addressing the issue before matters worsen would be more cost effective than letting climate change continue unchecked, and then attempting to ameliorate its repercussions. Over the past 50 years, scientists have determined that the Earth’s temperature rose 2°F; and should high-emissions continue, the temperature is anticipated to rise anywhere from 7-11°F by the end of this century. The UCS report analyzes effects to the East Coast, Midwest and Western states, indicating that rising sea levels, acts of nature (such as hurricanes and heat waves), and increased instances of wildfires will be among the main concerns. Other issues include impacts to public health, basic infrastructure (transportation, energy, etc.) as well as disease development and diffusion.
The Union of Concerned Scientists’ international counterparts International Institute for Environment and Development and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London present similar financial concerns, estimating in their report that the costs to adapt to climate change after-the-fact may be well over $200 billion annually.
Earlier this year, Energy Secretary Steven Chu agrees that acting now is key, stating "We can move to a clean energy future at a cost of less than a postage stamp per family per day."
Just yesterday, the Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed the first national standards in U.S. history to limit global warming – targeting reductions in emissions from automobiles to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, while also saving oil and money. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood echoed these intentions earlier this week.
The Union of Concerned Scientists' report was created in collaboration with Stockholm Environment Institute at Tufts University independent researchers Frank Ackerman and Elizabeth A. Stanton.
Additional reading: Heat Island Effect
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