Hurricane Damage Costs Will Skyrocket Due to Climate Change, New Report Finds

WASHINGTON, June 2 – Costs from hurricane damages in the United States are expected to increase 39 percent in the coming decades because of the effects of climate change and coastal development, according to a new report prepared by the Congressional Budget Office for Sens. Bernie Sanders and Patty Murray. The 2016 hurricane season began Wednesday.

By 2075, annual expected hurricane damages, as well as federal spending for relief and recovery, will likely increase by a third and could be nearly double what we spend today relative to the size of the economy. Annual expected hurricane damages are currently $28 billion, of which roughly $18 billion is covered by the federal government, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Roughly 45 percent of the increase is attributable to climate change and 55 percent to coastal development. Additionally, 10 million Americans will live in areas at risk for significant loss from hurricanes, more than five times the share of Americans who are at risk today.

“Climate change is real, it is caused by human activity and it is already causing devastating harm. Extreme weather disasters like hurricanes will devastate communities and cost the American taxpayers billions of dollars,” Sanders said. “When it comes to addressing climate change, the most expensive option is to do nothing at all. We have a financial and moral obligation to combat climate change. We must aggressively transition away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.”

“This report echoes what we heard in the 2014 Budget Committee hearing on climate change: if we want to be responsible about tackling our long-term fiscal challenges – we need to take the impacts of climate change seriously,” Murray said. “For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we need to act now to avoid lasting, irreversible damage to our economy, our environment, and our country’s future.”

To read the CBO report, click here.