With the Trump Administration’s surprising U-turn on the COP21 Paris Agreement, the U.S. finds itself with some strange bedfellows, joining Nicaragua and Syria in abstaining from this important treaty. The White House’s argument for leaving the treaty is based on economic nationalism: President Trump, in his speech announcing the decision, cited primarily the “lost jobs, lower wages, shuttered factories, and vastly diminished economic production” that he thought meeting the agreement’s voluntary targets would cause.
If You Think Fighting Climate Change Will Be Expensive, Calculate the Cost of Letting It Happen
$1.5 trillion for major cities, for example.
June 12, 2017
Summary.
Politicians sometimes argue that fighting climate change is bad for the economy. But climate change itself is bad for the economy. Investing in climate resilience is not only a national security priority, but an enormous economic opportunity. The share of national GDP at risk from climate change exceeds $1.5 trillion in the 301 major cities around the world. Including the impact of human pandemics – which are likely to become more severe as the planet warms — the figure increases to nearly $2.2 trillion in economic output at risk through 2025. Climate change is also a critical geostrategic issue. Melting icecaps and rising seas could bring about everything from new arctic shipping routes to undersea land-grabs; climate refugees around the world will create increased instability and economic strain on national budgets. Think that sounds too extreme? Generals in the U.S. and UK already draw a straight line from climate change to the Arab Spring, Syrian civil war, and Boko Haram insurgency. All of this makes the shift away from a carbon-based economy as inexorable as the rising tide and temperature. The good news is that the private sector is starting to embrace this change; creating new jobs and new wealth by pursuing clean energy and other sustainable industries.