Doing something about climate change is a bargain; doing NOTHING is expensive

Comment by Dr. Frank Ackerman, Economist, Tufts University & Stockholm Environment Institute

As the Lieberman-Warner bill comes up for a vote, critics are telling us that we can't afford to do anything about climate change. They've got it backwards: we can't afford to do NOTHING.

I directed a recent study of the costs of inaction for the U.S. If we do nothing to control climate change, just four categories of costs - damages from more intense hurricanes, sea level rise, increased energy costs, and increased water supply costs - will reach almost $2 trillion per year by the end of this century. And that's just for four areas. A standard economic model of climate costs estimates total U.S. damages at twice that high, almost $4 trillion per year. (For the study, see http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/cost/contents.asp )

In contrast, the costs of doing something to control climate change are often exaggerated. Many studies find that the first rounds of reduction in emissions will have no net costs: we can get rid of inefficiency, saving money by adopting more energy-efficient lighting, appliances, and vehicles. The next rounds of emission reduction will cost only a little bit more than they save.

Best of all, these new technologies will create new jobs and industries, and new opportunities for economic growth. Change is a constant in our economy; the rise of the personal computer was a terrible blow to the typewriter industry. If we only counted the costs to typewriter producers, we could "prove" that personal computers were hopelessly expensive. That's no way to calculate the real economic impact of computers - or of new energy technologies.

Should we compensate the workers who lose their jobs as climate policies change? Absolutely. Coal miners will be the hardest hit; the nation owes them retraining, or retirement with dignity, as climate policy reduces our use of coal. But this is a big country, with only a small number of coal miners. We can afford to do the right thing for coal miners, AND for the environment.

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