Climate crisis costing $16m an hour in extreme weather damage, study estimates
Analysis shows at least $2.8tn in damage from 2000 to 2019 through worsened storms, floods and heatwaves
The damage caused by the climate crisis through extreme weather has cost $16m (£13m) an hour for the past 20 years, according to a new estimate.
Storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts have taken many lives and destroyed swathes of property in recent decades, with global heating making the events more frequent and intense. The study is the first to calculate a global figure for the increased costs directly attributable to human-caused global heating.
It found average costs of $140bn (£115bn) a year from 2000 to 2019, although the figure varies significantly from year to year. The latest data shows $280bn in costs in 2022. The researchers said lack of data, particularly in low-income countries, meant the figures were likely to be seriously underestimated. Additional climate costs, such as from crop yield declines and sea level rise, were also not included.
This is how we go after the oil corporations. Litigation by states and municipalities over real damages knowingly caused by their products.
Just like is being done now against the pharma execs over the opioid crisis.
If you’re too lazy to calculate: that’s $140.16B per year (so far).
So a fraction of oil profits, i.e. the (socialized) cost of doing business.
Send the bill to the corporations and billionares
Not the point of the post, but I was part of evacuating a camp that burned in that fire pictured above. All the infrastructure is just toast. It's all gone. We were sitting underneath the huge plume of smoke. We had to evacuate North through Vernon and it was crazy coming back South into Kelowna in the night and seeing the extent of the flames across the lake.
That is $5,8 billion per year.I misread $16m per day. It's $16m per HOUR. $140.2 billion/year.
If there was only one hour in a day, yes. Multiply by 24 because there are 24 hours in a day. $140 billion per year.
You're right. I read $16m per day and grossly miscalculated. It's even worse.
The math does not check out