Climate Change is Killing Our Economy.
It wasn’t built to handle this. We can’t afford to delay any longer.
Get the latest numbers on how much climate disasters are costing American businesses, workers, and your state’s economy across the U.S.
- Climate-related weather disasters cost our economy more than $165 billion in 2021 – a nearly 50% increase from last year (NOAA; link)
- Weather disasters have cost America $750 billion in the last five years. (NOAA; link)
- By 2050, 10% of U.S. GDP could be wiped out by climate disasters every year. (Swiss Re; link)
- Rising temperatures and extreme heat are projected to decrease worker productivity by $221 billion a year by 2090. (NCA; link)
- By the end of the century, climate-related weather disasters are projected to cost the U.S. $500 billion every year – almost double the economic blow America suffered during the Great Recession. (NCA; link)
Climate Change is Driving up Costs for Americans.
The trends are clear. The time to act is now.
- More than 40% of Americans live in counties directly impacted by climate disasters in 2021. (Washington Post; link)
- Average U.S. homeowners insurance premiums have risen more than 40 percent since 2009. (Bankratemonitor; link)
- Wildfire suppression cost taxpayers $2.3 billion in 2021 alone – up nearly 200 percent from a decade earlier. (NIFC: link)
- Climate-related disasters were some of the biggest inflationary forces in 2021, driving up prices for corn, soybeans, lumber and other commodities to multi-year highs. (Wall Street Journal; link)
- 97% of businesses say they have been negatively impacted by climate change. 75% of Americans say climate change is an economic threat. (Deloitte; link | Data for Progress; link)
The Cost of Climate Change | 2017-2021
Percentage of state’s total historic losses from weather and climate disasters in last 5 years. Total losses shown in text)(data source: NOAA, 2022)
