Health Costs from Climate Soar To $820 Billion

A report released at a medical conference last weekend featured one very large sum. According to the synthesis of dozens of published scientific research studies, the price of health care costs attributed to climate change and fossil fuel use is at least $820 billion each year in the United States.  The costs include expenditures associated with doctor visits, prescriptions, emergency room visits, physical therapy, allergy treatments, mental health care, and premature death. They also factor in downstream costs like lost work hours and lost wages. The costs stem either directly or indirectly from burning fossil fuels. - EOS

Two U.S. Air Force B2 Spirit aircraft (so-called Stealth Bombers) soar over Dover, United Kingdom, flanked by Royal Air Force F-35 jets. Although U.S. defense spending is the highest in the world, that amount is smaller than the annual health costs from extreme weather events, air pollution, heat waves, and diseases worsened by climate change. Credit: Royal Air Force