This article is based on the book Climatenomics by Bob Keefe. The cost of climate disasters is growing exponentially according to Adam Smith, Applied Climatologist with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). We have intensive fires and drought in the west, flooding and hurricanes in the Southeast and violent weather events in the Midwest. Four out of the last five fire seasons have eclipsed the 10B dollar damage mark, and that has never happened before 2017. Our annual damages from violent climate events averages 150B dollars. It is not just an ecological emergency, it is an economic threat. The World Economic Forum issued its 2021 Global Risks Report and ranked “climate action failure” as the second most pressing risk facing the world with only infectious diseases ranking higher. Climate change is an economic issue that is killing our economy. We are all a part of the solution. It starts by understanding it is a big problem and we are the government, and we are here to solve the problem. We have irrigation resources in the Grand Valley that required collective action long ago. We built a railway system in the west by using investment money from the Railroad Act. Tesla had its start in part because of a 2009 DOE loan guarantee, and the R&D in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act contributes to the lower cost of wind and solar.
Russell Riggs, Director Environmental and Sustainability policy for the National Association of Realtors explains the property losses due to flooding and fires are increasing home and business insurance costs. These costs often impact low to moderate incomes even more as they already have thin margins. Historically low income communities have difficulty accessing federal assistance, making this a matter of social justice. In the future we will likely see mapping for the various risks that could make home and business insurance unavailable.
Davon Goodwin is a first generation farmer in North Carolina. His land is suffering from standing water and loss of topsoil. He has experienced three 500 year floods in less than 20 years. Many farmers are simply walking away from the land because they can not recover. He faces increasing crop insurance and even when he has a successful crop year he struggles for economic recovery. He needs federal assistance for cropping support and methods to decrease his own agricultural carbon footprint. He states that as food production decreases, food prices increase and food abundance goes down. Western drought is already here and increasing the threat of food insecurity. Protecting our local food sources will require assisting farmers to adapt to dryer conditions.
Bob Keefe, the Executive director of E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) states that if any other phenomenon were causing 150B dollars in damages to our economy, perhaps we would see Congress move on solutions. 150B dollars is more than the gross state product of at least 17 states, and more than the earnings of Microsoft. He also understands the climate crisis presents real economic opportunities. For example, E2 has been tracking jobs over the last decade and we now have about 3 million people working in clean energy jobs. Prior investments in energy efficient appliances and building improvements are saving consumers billions of dollars today.
Currently, the 550B Reconciliation bill (Build Back Better Act) is critical to invest in clean technologies to scale up the deployment of these products. It is a response to the reality of the rising cost of climate change while providing economic opportunity. Mitigating the impact of our high carbon lifestyles and dependence will require bold action from government policies, businesses and investors. It also will require public sobriety about the threat of inaction. Inflation is more complicated than a partisan blame game. These investments are critical to fueling our transition into the next generation of energy development with R&D, domestic manufacturing, energy efficiency tax incentives for both businesses and individuals, and agricultural assistance. They will drive healthy economic growth in the right direction and give us tools to live within our environmental limits. Research and development will secure our place in the next level of the global market and manufacturing jobs and will make our communities thrive in the global markets. The Reconciliation bill is critical to meet the scheduled emission goals in a well considered progression. The US House of Representatives will send the package to the US Senate to continue negotiations and most climate-related provisions are likely to remain in the bill following Senate negotiations. Like many investments you often get used to the benefits and are unaware of the consequences of not making those investments.
