New Lab to Assess the Real-World Costs of Climate Change

The Climate Impact Lab, an unprecedented collaboration of economists, climate scientists, and computational experts from several institutions—led by EPIC, the Rhodium Group, Rutgers University and the University of California, Berkeley—rolled out its first research results today in the New York Times.

The Lab is building the world’s most comprehensive body of research quantifying the impacts of climate change and connecting those impacts to communities across the globe, allowing decision-makers to assess risks, plan and adapt. This research will also produce the world’s first empirically-derived estimate of the social cost of carbon—the cost to society from each ton of carbon dioxide emitted. This critical figure can serve as the basis for energy and climate policies around the world.

“The Climate Impact Lab is redefining the way the world will measure, manage and communicate the costs and risks of climate change,” says EPIC Director Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Professor in Economics, the College and Harris Public Policy. “In doing so, we are providing decision-makers with the information they need to both craft policies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and manage the risks of an already changing climate.”

The Climate Impact Lab launched today the first window into the results of its comprehensive effort: the Climate Impact Map. The interactive map allows users to explore the future of extreme temperatures in 25,000 regions globally. You can view the map on the Lab’s website.

In the weeks and months ahead, the map will be updated to include additional insights into the social and economic impacts of climate change. For example, users will be able to see the link between temperatures and public health where they live, the change in labor productivity because of extreme heat, the need for new land use choices to mitigate damages from droughts or flooding based on changes in agricultural productivity, and the costs of infrastructure damage due to storms and sea level rise along their coastline.

• You can read more about the Impact Lab’s work thus far in the New York Times.
• Learn more about the Impact Lab on its website.
• Follow the Impact Lab on Twitter at @impact_lab.
• Sign up to receive news from the Impact Lab. 

This article originally appeared on the EPIC website.

NY Times: 95-Degree Days: How Extreme Heat Could Spread Across the World
By: Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich
June 22, 2017

Extremely hot days, when temperatures soar to 95 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, can be miserable. Crops wilt in the fields. Electric grids strain to keep pace with demand. People are at greater risk of dying. And those hot temperatures are expected to be much more frequent in the coming decades.

Continue reading at the New York Times...