Axios: “Number of the Day: $6.8 Trillion per Year”
A segment in Axios’ Generate newsletter highlights a new issue brief about the economic benefits of meeting the Paris Agreement’s emissions-reduction goals.
Number of the day: $6.8 trillion per year
That's the estimated present value annual benefits — or avoided damages — through 2300 from holding global warming to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels, Ben writes.
The big picture: An analysis from researchers with the think tank Resources For the Future sees Earth currently on track to warm 2.5°C; that would bring a cumulative $918 trillion in societal costs by 2300.
- "Limiting global temperature rise to even 2°C would cut those projected climate damages in half," a summary notes.
The bottom line: 2300 is a mighty long time, to paraphrase Prince, so uncertainties are massive. But it's another analysis that finds tackling global warming is cheaper than the alternative.
