Global warming to carry big costs for California, COP 15
Release Date: 2009-03-13
Almost half a million people will be affected by flooding, and agricultural losses and devastation wrought by wildfires will mean significant costs to California's economy, according to a new report.
Global warming could translate into annual costs and revenue losses throughout the economy of between $2.5 billion and $15 billion by 2050, according to a summary of cost analyses of America's most populous state, which is also the eighth-largest economy in the world.
Property damage caused by more devastating wildfires and sea level rise — estimated $100 billion in property loss by the end of the century — could push the costs far higher.
The projected financial toll comes from a compilation of 40 studies commissioned by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Climate Action Team. The final reports, which will be released at the end of March, are intended to provide a comprehensive snapshot of global warming's potential costs to property owners, businesses and state government.
"The numbers indicate that we have a lot at stake," said Michael Hanemann, a professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California. "Californians need to pay serious attention to control our greenhouse gas emissions, and they need to start thinking about adaptation."
The studies are written by scientists from various disciplines and include a range of costs from agriculture, wildfires, water supply, flooding and electricity demand.
If nothing is done globally to reduce emissions, hotter temperatures will lead to rising sea levels that will flood property in the San Francisco Bay area, lead to lower crop yields and water shortages, produce more intense wildfires and cause more demand for electricity to cool homes.
Hanemann, who reviewed the studies, says the annual cost estimate of $2.5 billion to $15 billion is conservative.
The report states that flooding would affect almost half a million people who live in areas at risk. It also estimates that 3,500 miles (5,600 kilometers) of roads, 30 power plants, 29 wastewater treatment plants and two international airports are all at risk of being under water.
The reports come as California regulators are implementing a 2006 state law that requires greenhouse gas emissions to be cut to 1990 levels by 2020.
Linda Adams, Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, says the research shows why the state needs to cut carbon emissions aggressively over the next 40 years.
"It will cost significantly less to combat climate change than it will to maintain a business-as-usual approach," Adams says.
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | COP 15 |
| Country: | Denmark |
| Url: | http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=869 |