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Jan 5, 2022 · Climate change is an unintended consequence of the industrialization of the world economy. The evidence that human activity has released large amounts of CO 2 into the atmosphere, leading to rising global temperatures, is by now uncontroversial.
- Agriculture. The sector most vulnerable to climate risk is agriculture. Environmental economist Geoffrey Heal, a professor in the Columbia Business School, explained that although agriculture makes up a fairly small part of the total U.S. economy, “locally these effects could be big.
- Infrastructure. Much of our society’s critical infrastructure is at risk from flooding. “Sea level rise could potentially cause a loss of value of assets in the trillions of dollars—probably anywhere from two to five trillion dollars—by the end of the century,” said Heal.
- Human health and productivity. If temperatures rise 4.5˚ C by 2090, 9,300 more people will die in American cities due to the rising heat. The annual losses associated with extreme temperature-related deaths alone are projected to be $140 billion.
- Tourism. Two billion dollars could be lost in winter recreation due to less snow and ice. For example, rapid warming in the Adirondack Mountains could decimate the winter activity sector, which makes up 30 percent of the local economy.
Mar 21, 2024 · IAMs model the climate problem from end to end, from economy to emissions to atmospheric chemistry to climate dynamics, then on to impacts such as sea-level rise, wildfire, and health impacts, and finally closing the loop by including policies to bend the curve of CO2 emissions.
Nov 7, 2024 · Climate change will affect the relationship we have with the environment, including in the specific sectors outlined on this page. Explore how climate change will affect these sectors to gain a deeper understanding of the risks, scale, and ways we can take action.
Nov 1, 2024 · Climate change impacts our health, environment, and economy. For example: Warmer temperatures increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves, 2, 3, 4 which can pose health risks, particularly for young children and the elderly. Calving front of the Upsala Glacier (Argentina). Source: NASA, NASA Image and Video Library, 2017.
reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. This means that the United States will need to reduce reliance on unabated, carbon-intensive fossil fuel technologies and...
Overall, climate change will harm the U.S. economy, even with modest amounts of warming. The U.S. economy would stand to lose between about 1 percent to 4 percent of GDP annually by the end of the century through effects to mortality, labor and the energy sector alone under a high emissions scenario.
