US to be hit worse than almost any other country by climate change, report says
The US will be hit harder than almost any other country by climate change, according to a new study. For the first time, researchers have calculated the economic damage of carbon emissions – known as the “social cost of carbon (SCC)” – on individual countries, and the results show that considerable damage could be done to some of the world’s greatest powers. The three countries set to lose the most from climate change are the US, India and Saudi Arabia. The study “demonstrates that the argument that the primary beneficiaries of reductions in CO2 emissions would be other countries is a total myth,” said lead author Prof Kate Ricke. “We consistently find, through hundreds of uncertainty scenarios, that the US always has one of the highest country-level SCCs.” The findings also suggest that the damage being done worldwide by emissions is significantly higher than in estimates used by the US government, notes InsideClimate News. The Obama administration set its median SCC at about $42 per tonne for 2020, but the new study puts its estimates at nearly $48 per tonne. The study estimates India’s SCC at around $86 per tonne, Saudi Arabia at $47, and China, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates at $24. The global cost when the economic impact on all nations is added up is around $417 per tonne. In related news, Yale Environment 360 reports on a separate study that finds America’s national parks are warming up and drying out much faster than the rest of the US. The study found that the 417 protected areas in the US national parks system warmed an average 1C between 1885 and 2010 – twice the average US rate – and saw annual rainfall decline by 12%, compared to a 3% average drop across the US. The Mail Online also has the story, and the study’s lead author has a guest article in the Conversation. Andrew Griffin, The Independent
