CLIMATE CHANGE ALREADY COSTING U.S BILLIONS IN
LOSSES
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non-partisan federal watchdog says climate
change is already costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars each year, with
those costs expected to rise as devastating storms, floods, wildfires and
droughts become more frequent in the coming decades.
A Government
Accountability Office report released Monday said the federal government has
spent more than $350 billion over the last decade on disaster assistance
programs and losses from flood and crop insurance.
That tally does
not include the massive toll from this year’s wildfires and three major
hurricanes, expected to be among the most costly in the nation’s history.
The report
predicts these costs will only grow in the future, potentially reaching a
budget busting $35 billion a year by 2050. The report says the federal
government doesn’t effectively plan for these recurring costs, classifying the
financial exposure from climate-related costs as “high risk.”
“The federal
government has not undertaken strategic government-wide planning to manage
climate risks by using information on the potential economic effects of climate
change to identify significant risks and craft appropriate federal responses,”
the study said.
“By using such
information, the federal government could take the initial step in establishing
government-wide priorities to manage such risks.”
GAO undertook
the study following a request from Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources. READ MORE
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