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We're Number One - In Financial Damage From Climate Change
This week, just in time for the Copenhagen climate convention, the
annual Global Climate Risk Index was released, telling how vulnerable
each country in the world is to the costs of climate change. Guess
who was number one in financial losses from climate change? The United
States.
Dec 11, 2009
This week, just in time for the Copenhagen climate convention, the
annual Global Climate Risk Index was released, telling how vulnerable
each country in the world is to the costs of climate change. Guess
who was number one in financial losses from climate change? The United
States.
Surprised? There's a reason you haven't heard much about the
extent of climate change threat to the US. Strange bedfellows are
trying to conceal the threat posed to the US by global warming. No,
they're not the crowd that denies global warming even exists, or that
it isn't cause by man-made greenhouse gasses. They're people who don't
deny the scientific findings about climate change, but who for
political reasons underplay its devastating impact on the US.
One group of strange bedfellows are the advocates from and for
developing countries who emphasize the indisputable face that the
impact of climate change will be most devastating for the poor
countries of the global South. They argue that the rich countries are
overwhelmingly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, but the
effects are disproportionately on the poor countries. They use this
argument to justify their demand that the costs of climate change fall
on the rich rather than the poor. However valid their argument it
tends to obscure the damage that is occurring to rich countries as well.
The other group of strange bedfellows are the advocates for the
fossil fuel producers and users who don't want to sound like
anti-scientific cranks, but who want to be free to go on pouring carbon
pollution into the atmosphere. They downplay the fact that climate
change is already having devastating impacts on the US.
Even on the broader ranking that includes deaths as well as
financial losses, the US was number eighteen of the world's 176
nations. For the year 2008, we were number five.
The Global Climate Risk Index
uses the most reliable available data to evaluate the impact of extreme
weather events. While no single event can be attributed to a single
cause, the overall increase in extreme weather events corresponds to
scientific predictions based on rising greenhouse gasses in the
atmosphere. As the study notes, climate change is "an increasingly
important factor for the occurrence and intensity of these events."
These figures include only extreme weather events. The real cost
of global warming for the US would also have to include rising sea
levels, water shortages, species extinctions, expanding diseases,
agricultural costs, forest fires, and many other factors.
Americans need to start thinking of climate protection not just as
something we might do to help the most threatened people in poor
countries, but as something we must do together with them to protect
both them and ourselves. It's not a question of charity, nor just a
question of whether we owe developing countries a "climate debt." It
is a question of mutual self-interest.
And those Americans who think protecting the climate is too
expensive had better start reckoning with what the real costs of
climate change are going to be for us.
[To learn more go to www.labor4sustainability.org]
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Jeremy Brecher
Jeremy Brecher is a historian, author, and co-founder of the Labor Network for Sustainability. His book, "Climate Insurgency: A Strategy for Survival," or free download at his personal website. His other books include: "Save the Humans? Common Preservation in Action" (2020), "Strike!" (2020), and, co-edited with Brendan Smith and Jill Cutler, "In the Name of Democracy: American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond" (Metropolitan/Holt).
Brendan Smith
Brendan Smith is an oysterman and green labor activist. He is co-founder of the Labor Network for Sustainability and Global Labor Strategies, and a consulting partner with the Progressive Technology Project. He has worked previously for Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) -- both as campaign director and staff on the U.S. House Banking Committee -- as well as a broad range of trade unions, grassroots groups and progressive politicians. He is a graduate of Cornell Law School.
This week, just in time for the Copenhagen climate convention, the
annual Global Climate Risk Index was released, telling how vulnerable
each country in the world is to the costs of climate change. Guess
who was number one in financial losses from climate change? The United
States.
Surprised? There's a reason you haven't heard much about the
extent of climate change threat to the US. Strange bedfellows are
trying to conceal the threat posed to the US by global warming. No,
they're not the crowd that denies global warming even exists, or that
it isn't cause by man-made greenhouse gasses. They're people who don't
deny the scientific findings about climate change, but who for
political reasons underplay its devastating impact on the US.
One group of strange bedfellows are the advocates from and for
developing countries who emphasize the indisputable face that the
impact of climate change will be most devastating for the poor
countries of the global South. They argue that the rich countries are
overwhelmingly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, but the
effects are disproportionately on the poor countries. They use this
argument to justify their demand that the costs of climate change fall
on the rich rather than the poor. However valid their argument it
tends to obscure the damage that is occurring to rich countries as well.
The other group of strange bedfellows are the advocates for the
fossil fuel producers and users who don't want to sound like
anti-scientific cranks, but who want to be free to go on pouring carbon
pollution into the atmosphere. They downplay the fact that climate
change is already having devastating impacts on the US.
Even on the broader ranking that includes deaths as well as
financial losses, the US was number eighteen of the world's 176
nations. For the year 2008, we were number five.
The Global Climate Risk Index
uses the most reliable available data to evaluate the impact of extreme
weather events. While no single event can be attributed to a single
cause, the overall increase in extreme weather events corresponds to
scientific predictions based on rising greenhouse gasses in the
atmosphere. As the study notes, climate change is "an increasingly
important factor for the occurrence and intensity of these events."
These figures include only extreme weather events. The real cost
of global warming for the US would also have to include rising sea
levels, water shortages, species extinctions, expanding diseases,
agricultural costs, forest fires, and many other factors.
Americans need to start thinking of climate protection not just as
something we might do to help the most threatened people in poor
countries, but as something we must do together with them to protect
both them and ourselves. It's not a question of charity, nor just a
question of whether we owe developing countries a "climate debt." It
is a question of mutual self-interest.
And those Americans who think protecting the climate is too
expensive had better start reckoning with what the real costs of
climate change are going to be for us.
[To learn more go to www.labor4sustainability.org]
Jeremy Brecher
Jeremy Brecher is a historian, author, and co-founder of the Labor Network for Sustainability. His book, "Climate Insurgency: A Strategy for Survival," or free download at his personal website. His other books include: "Save the Humans? Common Preservation in Action" (2020), "Strike!" (2020), and, co-edited with Brendan Smith and Jill Cutler, "In the Name of Democracy: American War Crimes in Iraq and Beyond" (Metropolitan/Holt).
Brendan Smith
Brendan Smith is an oysterman and green labor activist. He is co-founder of the Labor Network for Sustainability and Global Labor Strategies, and a consulting partner with the Progressive Technology Project. He has worked previously for Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT) -- both as campaign director and staff on the U.S. House Banking Committee -- as well as a broad range of trade unions, grassroots groups and progressive politicians. He is a graduate of Cornell Law School.
This week, just in time for the Copenhagen climate convention, the
annual Global Climate Risk Index was released, telling how vulnerable
each country in the world is to the costs of climate change. Guess
who was number one in financial losses from climate change? The United
States.
Surprised? There's a reason you haven't heard much about the
extent of climate change threat to the US. Strange bedfellows are
trying to conceal the threat posed to the US by global warming. No,
they're not the crowd that denies global warming even exists, or that
it isn't cause by man-made greenhouse gasses. They're people who don't
deny the scientific findings about climate change, but who for
political reasons underplay its devastating impact on the US.
One group of strange bedfellows are the advocates from and for
developing countries who emphasize the indisputable face that the
impact of climate change will be most devastating for the poor
countries of the global South. They argue that the rich countries are
overwhelmingly responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, but the
effects are disproportionately on the poor countries. They use this
argument to justify their demand that the costs of climate change fall
on the rich rather than the poor. However valid their argument it
tends to obscure the damage that is occurring to rich countries as well.
The other group of strange bedfellows are the advocates for the
fossil fuel producers and users who don't want to sound like
anti-scientific cranks, but who want to be free to go on pouring carbon
pollution into the atmosphere. They downplay the fact that climate
change is already having devastating impacts on the US.
Even on the broader ranking that includes deaths as well as
financial losses, the US was number eighteen of the world's 176
nations. For the year 2008, we were number five.
The Global Climate Risk Index
uses the most reliable available data to evaluate the impact of extreme
weather events. While no single event can be attributed to a single
cause, the overall increase in extreme weather events corresponds to
scientific predictions based on rising greenhouse gasses in the
atmosphere. As the study notes, climate change is "an increasingly
important factor for the occurrence and intensity of these events."
These figures include only extreme weather events. The real cost
of global warming for the US would also have to include rising sea
levels, water shortages, species extinctions, expanding diseases,
agricultural costs, forest fires, and many other factors.
Americans need to start thinking of climate protection not just as
something we might do to help the most threatened people in poor
countries, but as something we must do together with them to protect
both them and ourselves. It's not a question of charity, nor just a
question of whether we owe developing countries a "climate debt." It
is a question of mutual self-interest.
And those Americans who think protecting the climate is too
expensive had better start reckoning with what the real costs of
climate change are going to be for us.
[To learn more go to www.labor4sustainability.org]
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.