Climate Change Could Cost Young Americans $500,000
It is always absurd to forecast the effects of climate change more than a few years into the future. Scientists collect new data and publish results almost daily. Global warming targets get missed, and public policy changes. However, climate change could cost a person born this year a total of nearly $500,000 throughout their lifetimes.
The Future Of Energy –Fossil Fuels?
Consumer Reports commissioned a survey which showed, “The costs from climate change could add up to nearly $500,000 for a baby born in the U.S. in 2024 over their lifetime, when you consider the impact on their cost of living and income, if climate change continues to increase at its current pace.” Much of these costs are energy, food, and healthcare.
The study’s areas for improvement include that it is much too early to say whether climate change will cause inflation. The costs of some things, such as real estate, could fall in some of America’s most famous cities and regions. In theory, energy prices could fall if alternative energy ounces become a low-cost reality.
Technology And Costs
Technology usually drops the costs of most production over time. Particularly with AI, software is built to improve efficiency. It is easy to assume that healthcare costs will increase as climate change does. However, AI’s effects on medicine may cause these to fall.
How much will climate change add to the lifetime costs of people born this year? Perhaps nothing.
