Climate spending costs the world more than climate change does

Across the world, public finances are stretched dangerously thin. Per person growth continues dropping while costs are climbing for pensions, education, healthcare, and defense. These urgent priorities could easily require an additional 3-6 percent of GDP. Yet green campaigners are loudly calling for governments to spend up to 25 percent of our GDP choking growth in the name of climate change.

Two major new scientific meta-studies on the total global cost of climate change show why political demands of de-growth in the name of climate change are such a misguided idea.

The studies suggest that a 3 degree Celsius temperature increase by the end of the century — slightly pessimistic based on current trends — will have a global cost equivalent to between 1.9% and 3.1% of global GDP.  To put this into context, the United Nations estimates that by the end of the century, the average person will be 450% as rich as he or she is today. Because of climate change, they will feel “only” 435%-440% as rich as today.