A plan for equitable climate policy in the United States

Leah C. Stokes and Matto Mildenberger, Washington Center for Equitable Growth, February 2020.

This climate crisis will dramatically exacerbate economic inequality in the United States. Low- and middle-income Americans have minimal safety net protections from the impact of climate change. Already, insurers are declining coverage for housing against growing climate risks such as flooding and wildfires. Without equitable climate policies in place, low-income Americans will have to face a double threat. They will be more likely to die in heatwaves, struggle to recover from hurricanes and wildfires, and, without health insurance, face greater burdens from diseases pushing into new ranges as the planet warms. At the same time, they will struggle the most to pay for the costs associated with preventing even worse climate change impacts.

In this essay, we make the case that equitable climate policy is both good economic policy and good politics.

Overview

One year ago, the town of Paradise, California burned to the ground, killing 85 people. Before the fire, it was a poor community with a median annual income of less than $50,000, below the national average.1 In Paradise, climate change combined with economic disadvantage to create a deadly situation.

Unfortunately, this kind of scenario will be increasingly common as the climate crisis accelerates. Across the western United States, wildfires fueled by climate change are putting rural communities at risk. Scientists estimate that climate change has increased wildfire risk by 500 percent, compared to historic risk levels in the 20th century. In addition, twice as much land area in the western United States burned between 1984 and 2015 than would have without climate change.2

Climate change also is making heatwaves hotter, hurricanes stronger, and droughts longer.3 Humankind has already warmed the planet by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit), or about halfway to the 2 degrees Celsius level that world leaders agreed to limit warming under the Paris Agreement on climate change. Meanwhile, the crisis is claiming American lives—in California wildfires, New Orleans and Houston flooding, and in heatwaves and storm surges across the country—with many more in danger as climate change accelerates.

This crisis will increasingly and dramatically exacerbate economic inequality in the United States. Low- and middle-income Americans have minimal safety net protections from the impact of climate change. These communities are more vulnerable to health-related risks, don’t have the financial resources to recover from climate disasters, and are more vulnerable to climate-related hazards in the first instance. And U.S. workers and communities who may face economic costs from the energy transition to a more clean economy don’t have guaranteed access to healthcare, pensions, and the necessary assistance to maintain their dignity and quality of life.

Already, insurers are declining coverage for housing against growing climate risks such as flooding and wildfires. Without equitable climate policies in place, low-income Americans will have to face a double threat. They will be more likely to die in heatwaves, struggle to recover from hurricanes and wildfires, and, without health insurance, face greater burdens from diseases pushing into new ranges as the planet warms. At the same time, they will struggle the most to pay for the costs associated with preventing even worse climate change impacts.

In this essay, we make the case that equitable climate policy is both good economic policy and good politics. We then present specific policy proposals to support the decarbonization of the U.S. economy by 2050, in line with what climate scientists tell us is necessary to limit warming. We follow with a number of economic and social policies that need to be part of equitable climate policy, such as:

• Community Benefits Agreements for clean energy projects that ensure communities and firms share the profits from wind and solar farms

• Subsidies for clean transportation targeted at low-income Americans

• Retirement with dignity or retraining for fossil fuel industry workers into good-paying clean energy jobs

These and other energy transition investments presented in this essay can be structured to support equitable growth in the United States.

Key Takeaways

The evidence:

• Climate change is claiming American lives due to wildfires, flooding, heatwaves, and storm surges across the country, with many more in danger should the crisis continue to escalate.

• This crisis will dramatically exacerbate economic inequality because low- and middle-income Americans have minimal safety net protections from the impact of climate change, are more vulnerable to health-related risks, don’t have the financial resources to recover from climate disasters, are more vulnerable to climate-related hazards in the first place, and will struggle the most to navigate the costs associated with climate change policies.

The solutions:

• To avert a climate and economic disaster, the United States must completely decarbonize by 2050. Doing so will require a number of economic and social policies that ensure communities and firms share the profits from the production of clean energy, provide equitable access to clean transportation, and enable retraining for fossil-fuel industry workers into good-paying clean energy jobs.

To learn more, you can read the full report here, or read the essay in the book Vision 2020: Evidence for a stronger economy.