Severe Weather, the Costly ‘New Normal’
While scientists hesitate to attribute a single severe weather event to climate change, many are willing to blame climate change for the recent swell in such events — more frequent droughts, heavier snowfall, and more regularly occurring 100-year storms and flooding events have been dubbed the ‘new normal.’
Across the country there has been an intensification of severe weather over the past several years. For example,
Texas has seen a record-length dry period over the last five years, even as there have been two 100-year rain events.
The recent devastation across the Southeast and heavy New England snowstorms of the 2010-2011 winter are just two other examples of what American businesses, communities, and families face more of in the years and decades to come. In Illinois, city of Chicago official, Aaron Durnbaugh, highlights concerns regarding the cost and complications of adaptation measures.
The city of Chicago’s cost of dealing with extreme weather events through the end of this century has been conservatively estimated in a range from $690 million to $2.5 billion, Durnbaugh said, with the cost to homeowners and local businesses expected to be far higher.
The cost of doing nothing to mitigate the effects of climate change threatens to reach millions, if not billions, of dollars in the not-so-distant-future. The American Security Project recently released its newest reports on the cost of climate change. The “Pay Now, Pay Later” reports show there will be costs to our economy, security, competitiveness and public health and that the costs of inaction will be steep for each state.
How much will climate change cost? Illinois? Arkansas? Each of the 50 States?
Globally, [Nikhil] da Victoria Lobo, [member of Swiss Re’s Global Partnerships team] said the annual average economic losses from natural disasters have escalated from $25 billion in the 1980s to $130 billion in the first decade of the 21st century.
But instead of incurring higher costs in the coming decades, we can invest now in a green economy. The manufacture and installation of new, clean technologies will create jobs. Increased energy efficiency will save businesses and homeowners billions of dollars. In Iowa, an increase in energy efficiency of just 1.5% annually could generate $68-90 million in savings throughout the state by 2030. In Leominster, Massachusetts, the high-efficiency Fidelity Bank building was built to use 31% less energy than other office buildings of the same size. Upgrades cost $100,600. They will pay for themselves in less than four years. Energy savings are projected to reach $27,600 per year.
Climate change will have a cost. We can either pay it now to invest in transforming ourenergy economy, or we can pay significantly higher economic and social costs in the future.
