In a Summer of Extreme Weather, Climate Costs Remain Mysterious
The economics of climate attribution are lagging behind the impacts of dangerous weather.
A flooded Houston neighborhood in the wake of Hurricane Harvey on August 29, 2017.
Photographer: Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times via Getty ImagesHow much does climate change actually cost? It’s one of the more important questions, and also one of the more difficult ones. The reason often hinges on one word: attribution.
It’s one thing for science to conclude that global warming generally leads to more intense hurricanes, droughts, wildfires, and all sorts of other extreme weather events. There’s no doubt climate change will fuel the upcoming wildfire season in California and a busy summer for Atlantic hurricanes. But it’s another thing to link any single storm to climate change and calculate the cost as a direct consequence.