BLOG: Addressing Climate Change Doesn't Have To Be Bad For The Economy

A common argument among climate change skeptics is that changing the way we live to deal with a warming planet will be bad for the economy. As we shift away from fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, these skeptics claim that we will be inflicting economic pain on those working in these fields.

It's true that in the shift to renewable energy, some will lose their jobs. But this doesn't mean that addressing climate change is bad for the economy overall.

According to government estimates, in the next decade, the number of jobs in solar panel installation will more than double. In addition, a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that a standard requiring the U.S. to produce a quarter of electricity via renewable energy sources by 2025 would create almost 300,000 new jobs.

For those concerned about economic growth, addressing climate change seems to be one of the best ways to create new jobs. However, while emphasizing the economic benefit that pro-climate policies would have, it's also important to point out the disastrous economic consequences of doing nothing about the earth's warming temperatures. A few of these consequences include:

• If warming continues at its current rate, it could reduce the country's gross domestic product by 3 to 6 percent by the end of the century

• As climate change increases, so too will violent storms. These storms cost a lot to recover from. For example, the cleanup for Hurricane Irma and Harvey alone will be in the billions.

What all this points to is the fact that it makes economic sense to address climate change and that not doing so would wreak havoc on our economic systems.

Photo courtesy of NASA

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