Yet one lesson consistently emerges through the scientific fog: The current economic fallout from climate change is nothing compared to what the planet faces if temperatures continue to rise.Īt the lower end of the warming scale, including the 1.1 degree increase humans have already caused since the mid-19th century, the distributional effects of climate change vary by region. To simplify that process, they leave out massive planetary changes, such as large-scale species extinctions, that are beyond our ability to compute, while also generally setting aside predictions on how humanity would react to the extreme floods, storms, drought and migrations that higher temperatures have already begun unleashing on the world. public supports paying for policies that would curb climate change, an AP-NORC poll revealed this month.Įconomists are quick to point out the tremendous uncertainty inherent in trying to peer 50 years or 70 years into the future to forecast potential economic trends. Almost two-thirds now think addressing climate change should be a top priority, the Pew Research Center found in May, and a majority of the U.S. When someone moans about $3.5 trillion spending over 10 years, perhaps remind them that the estimates for the cost of unchecked climate change top out at $551 trillion, which is more money than there is on earth at the moment.- Bill McKibben October 3, 2021Īs experts try to quantify the economic costs of large-scale planetary destruction, more Americans are waking up to the risks.
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