It's climate crisis' damage we don't see that costs most
By Mark Gongloff / Bloomberg Opinion
When we think about the economic damage of climate change, most of us probably think about the physical destruction wrought by mammoth disasters like hurricanes, wildfires and droughts: Bungalows tumbling into the sea. Houses turned to ash. Acres of dead crops. That sort of thing. But the quieter, longer-term effects of global warming cut even deeper.
Consider western North Carolina. It’s just beginning to repair the heavy physical damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure caused by Hurricane Helene nearly a month ago. The state’s tab for that could be $53 billion, Gov. Roy Cooper has said. But all of that physical wreckage also means businesses are closed, tourists aren’t visiting, people aren’t working, and few are splurging on luxury goods when many are still struggling just to get drinking water. That adds up to financial damage that dwarfs the physical one.
The total short- and long-term economic impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton could amount to roughly $400 billion, the private forecasting firm AccuWeather has estimated. That’s more than twice most assessments of the direct physical damage done by these storms.
Clearing away wreckage could take months. Rebuilding homes, businesses and infrastructure could take years. During that time, the economic losses will pile up, AccuWeather’s chief meteorologist, Jon Porter, noted in an interview. Businesses will close. People will move away forever.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-its-climate-crisis-damage-we-dont-see-that-costs-most/
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