NEW: President’s Council Releases Climate Change Report

-THE COST OF DELAYING ACTION TO STEM CLIMATE CHANGE

Washington – The White House today announced the release of a report from the Council of Economic Advisers that examines the economic consequences of delaying action on climate change.

According to the release, “the report finds that delaying policy actions by a decade increases total mitigation costs by approximately 40 percent, and failing to take any action would risk substantial economic damage. These findings emphasize the need for policy action today.

Delay action, increase costs

The 32-page climate change action report highlights the long-term costs and effects of delaying action, recommending a more proactive stance on dealing with the negative effects of carbon emissions and pollutants.

“Delay that causes a climate target to be missed creates large estimated economic damages,” said the report.

Among the recommendations was implementation of a climate policy for dealing with future severe and abrupt impacts including the consequences of sea level rise, decrease in ocean oxygen, rapid changed in ecosystems and increases in the extinction of marine and terrestrial species.

The report went on to say,

“An implication of the theory of decision-making under uncertainty is that the risks posed by
irreversible catastrophic events can be substantial enough to influence or even dominate
decisions. An important determinant of costs is the role of technological progress and the availability of mitigation technologies.” – Executive Summary

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, (D-RI), released a statement applauding the council’s report.

“The Council’s report reminds us that the American people will pay a price if we fail to act on climate change—pay in storm-damaged homes, lost crops, failing fisheries, and other costs. Many of us in Congress are committed to getting our Republican colleagues to wake up and stop denying the changes happening now. We literally cannot afford to wait.”

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