United States Could Gain Trillions From Global Climate Change Action, According To Economic Analysis

A recent report revealed that the United States could get $10 trillion by 2050 if all the countries in the world will take action to fight climate change by cutting down carbon emissions, Counsel Heal noted Nov. 6.

The economic analysis that was released by the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University of Law Thursday stated that the financial benefit alone is a major driver for the US to take the lead on the conservation campaign to reduce carbon emissions.

Huffington Post reported Nov. 5 that the US has to propose for carbon reduction undertakings from other foreign countries, including China and India.

"There's a really strong economic self-interest for the United States to try to lead this effort and build a global coalition around [climate] action," said Jason Schwartz, co-author of the report.

He went on, "A lot of the arguments that advocates use to push the United States to lead are based on moral responsibilities to solve a global problem, and that's certainly a valid perspective - but there's also an economic perspective."

According to the report, the US has already gained $200 billion from the actions of other foreign countries to lessen carbon emissions.

In addition, it also revealed that the US would benefit $10 trillion by year 2050 if global actions to reduce carbon emissions in order to stabilize the earth's temperature will be achieved.

Further reports revealed that those expansions were estimated by studying the "social cost of carbon" or SCC, which was defined as "a framework for estimating the monetized, global damages caused by releasing an additional ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere."

It added that these global damages include "lost agricultural and labor productivity, trade and energy supply disruptions, negative public health consequences, ocean acidification, extreme weather events, flooding, wildfires, increased pests and pathogens, water shortages, migration, regional conflicts, and loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, among others."

The researchers of the recent economic analysis concluded that the leadership of the US to take action on the issue of climate change is "persuasive."

"Should the United States fail to mitigate its emissions, it is our country that risks looking like a free-rider and undermining an international climate agreement. With recent, ambitious pledges from China and India, trillions of dollars in direct benefits to the United States from foreign efforts are on the line at the UN meeting in December 2015."

"With our economy, public health, environment, and national security at stake, the United States simply cannot afford not to act."