Kofi Annan’s Global Humanitarian Forum released a report last month claiming that each year climate change disasters already kill over 300,000 and cost $125 billion. Theoretically, every city by the sea could have to shell out billions to deal with rising sea levels. Since the problem affects everyone, some of the costs will be distributed to all. For example, insurance companies could double their rates over the next ten years to account for climate risks.
If climate change is the greatest threat to humanity, as Mexican President Felipe Calderon recently said, than those players that emit the most greenhouse gases could be held responsible for damages. The United States Congress is debating a cap and trade bill that could cost companies in the S&P 500 $92.8 billion in 2012. Developing countries like China and India are now demanding that wealthy nations pay them up to $140 billion for the costs associated with climate change. According to that view, countries that became rich on fossil fuels are now responsible for moving the world into a low-carbon economy.
It makes sense for pollutors to chip in towards low-carbon solutions but it could be a dangerous precedent if a country or company is held liable for climate disasters. An editorial in the Wall Street Journal shredded the methodology of the Annan study, arguing that its damage calculations didn’t distinguish between disasters caused by human activity. It’s impossible to say whether a hurricane was natural or caused by a utility company. Nevertheless, climate change lawsuits could be in the forecast soon.
Image by Flickr user “suburbanbloke,” CC 2.0.
