Some people think climate change is the future’s problem because the adverse effects of climate change are years away and will not affect them if they are dead. Those people are dead wrong because climate change hurts everyone right now by hitting people where it often hurts the most: their wallets.
Most people care very much about their wallets. However, those same people might not realize the various, indirect ways that climate change reduces the amount of money that remains in their wallets over time.
Many of those monetary reductions result from the catastrophic weather events that are caused by climate change. For example, a severe drought caused by climate change might result in severe shortages of particular crops, such as wheat and corn. Once the basic principles of supply and demand kick in, food prices increase. In turn, the funds in your wallet decrease.
Other extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, can also be linked to climate change. Those weather events interrupt supply chains and create scarcity. Scarcity of in-demand goods, such as electronics, automotive parts and gasoline, instantaneously increases the costs of those goods. And, once scarcity surfaces, more money must leave your wallet to pay for the everyday necessities of life.
However, some necessities of life become more expensive as a result of climate change even though they are readily available to all consumers and no shortages exist at all. Take electricity, for example. Lengthier heat waves during the summer months trigger an increase in the use of air conditioners. And, warmer spring and warmer fall months cause air conditioners to be turned on earlier in the year and turned off later in the year. These increases in air conditioner usage increase your utility bill, which then decreases the amount of money left in your wallet at the end of each month.
Climate change also causes other housing costs to increase as well. Over the past several years, as a direct result of climate change, both the frequency and the intensity of dangerous ocean storms have significantly increased. And, in the wake of those more intense storms comes tremendous damage and destruction to the unfortunate homes and structures that are in the paths of those storms. Repairing those homes and structures is extremely expensive, especially when updated building codes require the use of modernized technologies and materials that are specifically designed to increase safety during similar weather events in the future. These repair costs will certainly hit your wallet very hard, possibly even emptying it entirely in a worst-case scenario.
Similarly, for people looking to purchase newly constructed homes, builders now have to build stronger homes that are capable of withstanding the catastrophic weather events that climate change will be bringing our way in the very near future. Those stronger homes are extremely expensive to build and will be accompanied by extremely high purchase prices. The end result is higher mortgage payments for potential buyers. And, nobody’s wallet enjoys a higher mortgage payment each month.
Nor is there enjoyment in paying higher insurance premiums for those expensive homes. Climate change has already had a significant impact on property insurance premiums because more potential storms create more potential claims. More potential claims create more potential payouts. More potential payouts create higher premiums to property owners. And, where a property is a rental property, higher premiums to the landlord create higher rent payments for the tenant. No matter how you look at it, regardless of whether you own or you rent, everyone’s wallet gets a bit thinner once property insurance premiums rise.
These are just a few examples of the hits to your wallet that directly result from climate change.
Maybe you will pay more for food or gas after a severe hurricane hits your area. Maybe you will pay a higher utility bill because you used your air conditioner more during an unusually lengthy heat wave. Maybe you will pay more to repair, to purchase or to insure your home because you need increased protection from the more intense weather events that are headed your way in the near future.
Maybe you will do all the above.
And, though you may be able to minimally mitigate some of the costs that result from climate change, it will be quite difficult, if not impossible, to completely eliminate those costs.
So, climate change is not just the future’s problem. It is also today’s problem!
Just ask your wallet: it has quite a bit to say!