With hurricane season about to begin in the East, wildfires already raging in the West and the most important climate and clean energy legislation in U.S. history still stalled in Congress, a new six-figure ad campaign and first-of-its-kind book detail how the economic costs of climate change are hurting the U.S. economy – and why lawmakers need to take action now.
“Climate change is no longer just an environmental issue or social issue – it’s a growing economic issue that’s killing our economy,” said Bob Keefe, executive director of the national nonpartisan business group E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs). “The good news is, with the right policies, we can help blunt these growing economic costs while simultaneously driving economic growth, investments, and good-paying clean energy jobs.”
During a press conference today featuring the lead climate disaster researcher for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); the director of environmental and sustainability policy for the National Association of Realtors and other speakers, E2 detailed its new “Climate Economics” campaign that includes:
- The release of “Climatenomics: Washington, Wall Street and the Economic Battle To Save Our Planet,” a new book by Keefe (forward by Tom Steyer) that details how climate change is now a serious and growing economic issue, and how businesses and policymakers can address it. The book is available anywhere books are sold beginning today from publisher Rowman & Littlefield.
- The launch of a six-figure advertising campaign, including television and digital ads and a national radio tour highlighting the economic costs of climate change and urging lawmakers to pass the $550 billion climate and clean energy spending package currently stalled in Congress.
- Upcoming “Climate Economics” events nationwide, beginning in Virginia, North Carolina, California, Colorado, New Mexico and other states that have been hard-hit by recent climate disasters.
Last year, climate-related disasters inflicted nearly $150 billion in damage to the U.S. economy, according to NOAA. That was up from about $108 billion just a year earlier.
In addition to the direct costs of disasters, climate change is driving up costs for real estate, property insurance, food and energy, as Climatenomics details and speakers during today’s press conference described.
According to Climatenomics, the average homeowners insurance premium is up more than 30 percent from just a decade ago as climate disasters have increased. The cost of corn, wheat, soybeans and other commodities rose nearly 75 percent between 2020-2022, in large part because of drought and flooding. Six of the 10 costliest disasters globally in 2020 were in the United States, with insurers declaring $74 billion in losses that year alone – five times the losses reported just a decade earlier.
“The cost of climate change is running up, while the time to act is running out,” Keefe said.
On the other side of the Climatenomics coin, climate-tech investments are soaring, innovation in clean energy and electric vehicles is remaking our economy, and more than 3 million Americans now work in clean energy, according to E2’s annual Clean Jobs America report and searchable database.
If Congress passes the long-stalled budget reconciliation package, including about $550 billion in clean energy and climate investments proposed by the Biden administration, it could create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and drive billions in investments and economic growth, studies show.
MORE DETAILS:
- For a replay of today’s press conference, see here.
- For more details on the costs of climate change, see here.
- For details on Climatenomics: Washington, Wall Street and the Economic Battle To Save Our Planet, including advance praise from business, environmental and political leaders, see here.
MEDIA CONTACT: For interview requests and more information, contact Alex Frank at afrank@hastingsgroup.com or (703) 276-3264.
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E2 (Environmental Entrepreneurs) is a national, nonpartisan group of business leaders, investors, and professionals from every sector of the economy who advocate for smart policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. Our members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and manage more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital. For more information, see www.e2.org or follow us on Twitter at @e2org.