Even With Climate Change, The World Isn’t Doomed
Humanity has overcome far greater problems before and can do so again. Young people across the world are terrified of climate change, according to a forthcoming Lancet study.
More than 45 percent of people 16 to 25 in the 10 countries surveyed are so worried that it affects their daily life and functioning.
Almost half of young Americans believe “humanity is doomed,” and two-thirds think “the future is frightening.” But while climate change is a ‘problem’, panic is unwarranted.
The data shows that humanity has overcome much larger threats over the past century.
In 1900, if humanity had gotten rid of air pollution—mostly indoor pollution caused by smoky fuels like wood and dung—the benefit would have been equivalent to global gross domestic product rising 23 percent.
To a young audience, that might look like an insufficient measure of well-being, but higher GDP means better health, lower mortality, greater access to education, and in general a better standard of living.
By 2050, the problem of air pollution will be mostly solved. And that’s only one of the many issues humanity has shorn down over the last 100 years, according to data 21 top economists and I gathered.
The challenge climate change poses, both to the environment and society, looks rather small compared to those humanity has already met.
Noble Prize-winning climate economist William Nordhaus has shown that a 6.3-degree Fahrenheit (3.5C) rise in world temperatures by 2100—which is possible according to the most extreme RCP8.5 calculation, and which assumes the so-called ‘greenhouse effect’ is real, would cost only 2.8 percent of global GDP a year.
The United Nations’ latest estimate puts it even lower at 2.6 percent of GDP for a 6.6-degree Fahrenheit increase.
Moreover, the U.N. expects the average person to be 450 percent as rich in 2100 as today, absent the cost of climate change.
Following current temperature projections, global warming would knock that down to only 434 percent as rich. That’s a problem, but it isn’t the end of the world.
Caring about the environment and human well-being doesn’t mean we should terrify young people about climate change.
Instead, we should encourage them to pursue innovation. That’s what saved humanity from much greater dangers in the past and what will help us now.
See more here: climatechangedispatch.com
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Geraint Hughes
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“But while climate change is a ‘problem’, panic is unwarranted.”
You need to be more precise with your wording, the above is drivvle.
“But as man made CO2 induced climate change is a non-existant problem, therefore panic is entirely unwarranted.” Is how you should have wrote it.
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Burns Matkin
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I think we can dismiss the Lancet as having any truth left in it. It has been corrupted by politics the same as almost every other institution. Occasionally, they may get something right. It is not worth the time to try to glean something from this rag.
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A Reasonable Man
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There has never been more access to information thanks to the internet ;Even with all the bias and censorship. And yet so many people have not evolved much past a pre renaissance dark age thought process. That’s the real threat to humanity.
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James
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Which is worse, climate change or greenery? Problem is, we have both, so have to tax to support both. But with limited funds, where will government send the cash? As usual, which means buy votes? Maybe govs should be reminded who their majority is.
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