White House defends ‘health benefits’ of climate change

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The White House on Thursday defended its prediction that climate change would bring some “health benefits” to humans, a forecast unlikely to endear it to critics of the US environmental record.

But a document cited to buttress the claim also warned that the advantages would be “outweighed by the negative health effects of rising temperatures worldwide, especially in developing countries.”


On Wednesday, spokeswoman Dana Perino told reporters that US experts were trying to determine “what are going to be the health benefits and the health concerns of climate change, of which there are many.”

Asked to detail what the benefits would be, Perino replied: “Look, this is an issue where I’m sure lots of people would love to ridicule me when I say this.

“But it is true that many people die from cold-related deaths every winter. And there are studies that say that climate change in certain areas of the world would help those individuals,” she added. “I’m not an expert.”

AFP