Compared to -19, Green New Deal Is A Bargain

The Green New Deal Is Cheap, Actually; Decarbonizing will cost trillions of dollars, but it’s an investment that will have big return — for the economy and the environment

Tim Dickinson, April 6, 2020 (Rolling Stone)

“Opposition to the Green New Deal is often framed as a matter of cost…But science shows that the costs of unchecked global temperature rise are far higher than transitioning to clean energy — which will, in fact, boost the economy…The coronavirus crisis is changing the world’s comfort levels with massive expenditures. Fresh on the heels of a $2.2 trillion economic rescue package, [a new $2 trillion infrastructure package has been proposed] to create jobs. Across the political spectrum, politicians are anticipating that the economy will need something approximating a New Deal…And climate advocates are making the case that we can use this disaster response to invest in renewable energy, to ward off an even more dangerous crisis down the line.

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The price of not acting on climate change is staggering…[A recent study in Nature shows that settling the Paris climate accord limit of global temperature rise to 2 C] rather than a more ambitious limit of 1.5 C…will cost the world $36 trillion in climate damages…Holding warming to 2 C can limit the negative impact to one percent of global GDP per capita by 2100. But runaway climate change would crater that GDP figure by seven percent worldwide, and by 10.5 percent in the United States…The heart of the Green New Deal is a commitment to largely transition America to renewable energy by 2030, and wholly by 2050. That will require an upfront investment of $7.8 trillion…By 2050, this transition avoids $3.1 trillion a year in climate damages. The green energy itself is also cheaper — saving $1.3 trillion a year for consumers over the fossil-fueled status quo…” click here for more

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