Costs of Climate Change, State-by-State: $Billions

Climate change will carry a price tag of billions of dollars for a number of U.S. states, says a new series of reports from the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative Environmental Research (CIER). The researchers conclude that the costs have already begun to accrue and are likely to endure.

Combining existing data with new analysis, the eight studies project the long term economic impact of climate change on Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey and Ohio. Studies on additional states are in the works.

“We don’t have a crystal ball and can’t predict specific bottom lines, but the trend is very clear for these eight states and the nation as a whole: climate change will cost billions in the long run and the bottom line will be red,” says Matthias Ruth, who coordinated the research and directs the Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University of Maryland. “Inaction or delayed action will make the ink run redder.”

…”State and local communities would do well to prepare for a cascade of impacts on many of their most basic systems and services,” says Matthias Ruth, principal investigator and director of the Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University of Maryland. “From sewers to aquifers, highways and health systems, climate change will rewrite communities’ infrastructure needs. Quick action will be expensive, but delayed action will cost even more.”

The eight new studies are being released today at the legislative summit of the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) convening in New Orleans. The NCSL collaborated with CIER to develop summaries for the thousands of officials participating in the convention.

Newsdesk