How climate change may impact Americans’ wallets
From CNBC: 2024-07-16 09:00:01
Climate change is having a negative impact on household finances in America, affecting everyone from homeowners to grocery shoppers. A recent study found that Americans born in 2024 can expect to pay about $500,000 in their lifetime due to climate change. Economic effects are expected to worsen with each additional degree of warming.
Weather-related disasters cost the U.S. at least $150 billion a year in direct damage, according to the National Climate Assessment. Economic harm is projected to double with each degree of warming. Climate-related factors like extreme heat are causing worker productivity to decline, leading to lower earnings for workers in various sectors.
Research shows that extreme heat from climate change is causing labor productivity to plummet in sectors like manufacturing and healthcare. In fact, workers can lose about 2% of their weekly pay for each day over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Climate change also exacerbates inflation, raising global inflation by 0.3 to 1.2 percentage points annually by 2035. This phenomenon, known as “climate-flation,” can be attributed to factors like extreme weather impacting crop prices.