Economic Risks of Climate Change

Climate change threatens the economy of the United States in myriad ways, including increased flooding and storm damage, altered crop yields, lost labor productivity, higher crime, reshaped public-health patterns, and strained energy systems, among many other effects. Combining the latest climate models, state-of-the-art econometric research on human responses to climate, and cutting-edge private-sector risk-assessment tools, Economic Risks of Climate Change: An American Prospectus crafts a game-changing profile of the economic risks of climate change in the United States.

This prospectus is based on a critically acclaimed independent assessment of the economic risks posed by climate change commissioned by the Risky Business Project. With new contributions from Karen Fisher-Vanden, Michael Greenstone, Geoffrey Heal, Michael Oppenheimer, and Nicholas Stern and Bob Ward, as well as a foreword from Risky Business cochairs Michael Bloomberg, Henry Paulson, and Thomas Steyer, the book speaks to scientists, researchers, scholars, activists, and policy makers. It depicts the distribution of escalating climate-change risk across the country and assesses its effects on aspects of the economy as varied as hurricane damages and violent crime. Beautifully illustrated and accessibly written, this book is an essential tool for helping businesses and governments prepare for the future.

Foreword, by Michael R. Bloomberg, Henry M. Paulson Jr., and Thomas F. Steyer
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
Part 1. America's Climate Future
Opening Commentary, by Michael Oppenheimer
2. What We Know
3. What Comes Next
4. U.S. Climate Projections
Part 2. Assessing the Impact of America's Changing Climate
Opening Commentary, by Michael Greenstone
5. An Evidence-Based Approach
6. Agriculture
7. Labor
8. Health
9. Crime
10. Energy
11. Coastal Communities
Part 3. Pricing Climate Risk
Opening Commentary, by Geoffrey Heal
12. From Impacts to Economics
13. Direct Costs and Benefits
14. Macroeconomic Effects
15. Valuing Risk and Inequality
Part 4. Unquantified Impacts
Opening Commentary, by Nicholas Stern and Bob Ward
16. What We Miss
17. Water
18. Forests
19. Tourism
20. National Security
Part 5. Insights for Climate-Risk Management
Opening Commentary, by Karen Fisher-Vanden
21. Mitigation
22. Adaptation
Technical Appendixes
Appendix A. Physical Climate Projections
Appendix B. Climate Impacts
Appendix C. Detailed Sectoral Models
Appendix D. Integrated Economic Analysis
Appendix E. Valuing Risk and Unequal Impacts
References
About the Authors
Index