A report by the U.S. Global Change Research Program concluded climate change is affecting every region of the country and key sectors of the U.S. economy and society.
More than 300 experts under the guidance of a 60-member Federal Advisory Committee produced the report, the Third National Climate Assessment. It received extensive review by the public and experts, including by several federal agencies and a panel of the National Academy of Sciences.
The report said “the evidence of human-induced climate change continues to strengthen and that impacts are increasing across the country.”
Evidence of climate change is seen in every region and the effects are seen in every state. While some climate change is unavoidable and some of its effects irreversible, “the amount of future climate change, however, will still largely be determined by choices society makes about emissions,” the report stated.
Mitigation and adaptation are required to combat the effects of climate change.
“Both are essential parts of a comprehensive climate change response strategy,” according to the report. “Current implementation efforts are insufficient to avoid increasingly negative social, environmental, and economic consequences.”
Agriculture, water, human health, energy, transportation, forests, and ecosystems are affected by climate change. For instance, “Climate change has the potential to both positively and negatively affect the location, timing, and productivity of crop, livestock, and fishery systems at local, national, and global scales. The United States produces nearly $330 billion per year in agricultural commodities.”
Additionally, the reports said more damages to infrastructure are projected due to sea-level rise, heavy downpours, and extreme heat.
A recent study co-sponsored by regional utility Entergy cited some of the costs associated with climate change: Coastal counties in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, face annual losses averaging annually $14 billion from hurricane winds, land subsidence and sea rise level; future losses by 2030 could reach $19 billion to $24 billion annually.
A more immediate weather-related threat could be a 2014 “Super El Nino.” Meteorologist Paul Douglas said the chance of an El Nino this year has risen to over 70 percent and is one of numerous weather experts citing the increased possibility of such a weather event.
“The amount of warm water in the equatorial Pacific is greater than any time since the record El Nino of 1997-98,” Douglas wrote in his May 4 blog. He pointed out that 1998 was the hottest year worldwide on record in the last century.
Estimates of the impact on the U.S. economy from the 1997-98 El Nino range from about $4.5 billion (with insured property losses of $1.7 billion) to $25 billion.
Patricia O’Connell writes for the Advisen Risk Network. She has more than 15 years of experience writing about a variety of business subjects, including strategy, the C-Suite, and management. She is the former news editor at Businessweek.com, where she oversaw coverage for the daily web site.
