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What is climate change? Climate change is the change in the average weather patterns in a region over a long period of time. One component of climate change is global warming, the long-term heating of Earth due to greenhouse emissions.
Estimates of how much money it would take to end global climate change range between $300 billion and $50 trillion over the next two decades. Why such a massive range? Because experts disagree about how to stop climate change. While some argue that we need to restore ancient agricultural practices, others believe the answer lies in green technology.
The simple truth is that no single solution can address every cause and effect of global climate change—it will take collective, significant actions at all levels to preserve the planet and protect our future.
The impacts of climate change and global warming have a snowball effect, generating more and more problems as the crisis unfolds. We must consider the environmental and social impacts of climate change to inform solutions that work for everyone. To stop the snowball effect, we can invest in communities fighting the impacts of climate change at the local level. Major reports are concluding that stabilizing greenhouse-gas emissions to avoid catastrophic climate change is possible and can be done at a relatively low cost. But the details of the reports make it clear that when you factor in real-world issues—such as delays in developing and implementing technology and policy—the cost of solving climate change gets much higher. Switching from fossil fuels to low-carbon sources of energy will cost $44 trillion between now and 2050, according to a report released this week by the International Energy Agency. That sounds like a lot of money, but the report also concludes that the switch to low-carbon technologies such as solar power—together with anticipated improvements in efficiency—will bring huge savings from reduced fossil-fuel consumption. As a result, the world actually comes out slightly ahead: the costs of switching will be paid for in fuel savings between now and 2050.Last month a major report from the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said that efforts to stabilize levels of greenhouse-gas emissions would require investments of about $13 trillion through 2030. It also noted that reducing emissions would reduce the rate of economic growth (as a result of such factors as higher energy prices). But it would do so by, on average, less than a tenth of a percentage point per year between now and 2100.
These cost estimates, however, are based on idealized scenarios. They give a sense of what getting away from fossil fuels will cost if we all act now and make smart decisions going forward, and if technologies work out the way we hope they will. One of the biggest factors is how long it takes to start reducing emissions. In 2012, the IEA estimate for the cost of switching to low-carbon energy was only $36 trillion, $8 trillion less than the current estimate. The increase is largely because in the intervening time, emission rates have increased and greenhouse-gas levels in the atmosphere have risen, making the problem harder to solve. The IPCC report showed that continuing to hold off on reducing emissions could increase costs by 40 percent if the delay leaves emissions 50 percent higher in 2030 than they are in ideal scenarios.
Aside from delays in action, many other factors will increase costs. Costs will go up if countries don’t all work together. They’ll also increase if technologies don’t work as expected. The most glaring example has to do with technology for capturing and storing carbon dioxide. According to the IPCC, if this technology can’t be deployed, the cost of stabilizing greenhouse-gas levels will more than double.
--- Atreyee Panja
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