US economy, environment in grave danger: Climate report
FACING THE HEAT Paper mandated by Congress trashes Donald Trump’s stance on climate change
WASHINGTON: Just days after US President Donald Trump took another jab at global warming citing a record cold spell, a report by his administration warned of the dire consequences of climate change, saying it could cost the US economy hundreds of billions of dollars and affect the growth rate.
The congressionally mandated Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II, written by experts from dozens of US agencies and departments, argues that adverse effects of climate change, which are already being experienced in the form of longer summers, more devastating hurricanes and more frequent wildfires, will only get worse unless corrective action is taken.
Changes will impact everything from health to infrastructure to agriculture, transportation, tourism and recreation, availability of water in some parts, ecosystems, and social systems, and the worst hit will be those at the lower end of the income scale, the report said.
“With continued growth in emissions at historic rates, annual losses in some economic sectors are projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century - more than the current GDP of many US states,” said the report, adding that it would “impede the rate of economic growth over this century”.
The New York Times reported that the US economy could shrink as result by a 10th by 2100.
Though the report makes no policy recommendations, it stressed on the need for urgent action and a far more aggressive approach.
While mitigation measures can help reduce damages in a number of sectors, “this assessment shows that more immediate and substantial global greenhouse gas emissions reductions, as well as regional adaptation efforts, would be needed to avoid the most severe consequences in the long term”, the report said.
The Trump administration, however, has been moving in the opposite direction. The president, who had once called climate change a hoax by the Chinese, has routinely questioned it, as have many conservatives.
“Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?” he tweeted last week.
Trump has rolled back Obama-era regulations to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, saying they were slowing down the US economy.
He has pulled the US out of the Paris Accord, alleging that it is unfairly less demanding on developing nations such as India and China.
The White House called the report inaccurate in a statement to Reuters. Lindsay Walter, a spokesperson, said it was “largely based on the most extreme scenario, which contradicts long-established trends by assuming that...there would be limited technology and innovation, and a rapidly expanding population”.
She added that the next update of the assessment will be “more transparent and data- driven”.
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat, said, “No matter how hard they try, the Trump administration can’t bury the effects of climate change in a Black Friday news dump.”
He added, “The president says outrageous things like climate change is a hoax engineered by the Chinese and raking forests will prevent catastrophic wildfires. But serious consequences like collapsing coastal housing prices and trillions of dollars in stranded fossil fuel assets await us if we don’t act.”