Trumps climate rollback could cost taxpayers billions
Natasha Geiling
Reporter at ThinkProgress.
Mar 28
Trump’s climate rollback could cost taxpayers billions
Climate change will harm more than just the environment — it will be an economic disaster.
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Aerial photo shows storm damage from 2012’s Superstorm Sandy over the Atlantic Coast. CREDIT: AP Photo/Doug Mills, Pool, File
Climate change is not just an environmental problem; it’s an economic problem, as well. The consequences of climate change — more intense precipitation events, longer and more destructive wildfire seasons, increased risk of drought or flooding, sea level rise — will harm plants and wildlife, but they will also damage crops, reduce availability of natural resources, and destroy infrastructure. Economic studies that seek to quantify the cost of climate change have found figures ranging from $180 billion for just the United States to $400 trillion globally by the end of the century.
It’s entirely possible, then, that efforts begun by the executive order President Donald Trump released on Tuesday — which began the process of rolling back U.S. climate policies in favor of fewer regulations for the fossil fuel industry — will end up costing American taxpayers in the long run. One analysis from the Center for American Progress estimated that, based on preliminary figures associated with the order, actions directed by the Trump administration could cost taxpayers more than $58 billion by 2030.
Trump just gutted U.S. policies to fight climate change
It won’t do what the administration is saying it will, and what they aren’t saying about it is terrifying.
thinkprogress.org
The largest cost to American taxpayers, according to the CAP analysis, would come from rolling back the Clean Power Plan, President Obama’s signature piece of domestic climate regulation aimed at limiting greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector. The Environmental Protection Agency’s own numbers from 2015 found that the public health and climate benefits of the Clean Power Plan would equal $54 billion per year by 2030 — far outweighing the $8.4 billion cost of implementation. A different study, released earlier this year by researchers at Harvard, found that carbon rules similar to the Clean Power Plan would produce economic benefits of $38 billion a year.
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https://thinkprogress.org/trump-energy-independence-climate-order-economic-consequences-37230076f442
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