The American Security Project compiled some stats on how climate change may impact our country, our region and our state.
The organization is is chaired by former presidential candidate and Senator Gary Hart and is branding itself as "a nonprofit, bipartisan public policy and research organization dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of a range of national security issues, promoting debate about the appropriate use of American power, and cultivating strategic responses to 21st century challenges."
In the video below, the organization claims energy costs in the Southeast will rise by $60 billion by the end of this century (though it's unclear if they mean per year, per decade, etc).
In a report it calls "Pay Now, Pay Later," it estimates how much climate change will cost North Carolina:
The iconic Outer Banks are visited by thousands of tourists each year, but beginning in 2030, spending by out-of-state tourists will fall 16% each year, dropping by 48% each year as of 2080. The increase in global temperatures will shrink North Carolinas booming $70.8 billion agricultural industry by nearly 23% by the end of the century, a loss of over $1,700 per North Carolinian. North Carolina is poised to receive $4.3 billion in green energy investments, which will create around 51,000 jobs for state residents, providing jobs for over one in 10 unemployed North Carolinians. According to a new study, a failure to mitigate the effects of climate change could begin to cause serious gross domestic product and job losses within the next several decades. Between 2010 and 2050, it could cost North Carolina $63.4 billion in GDP and over 492,000jobs.
Read the entire report here.
Learn more about the the region-by-region cost estimates here:
Props to Grist.org for bringing this video to our attention.