Hate to break it to you, baby — but if you were born in the US this year, climate change could wind up costing you around $500,000 over the course of your lifetime. That’s according to a new study commissioned by Consumer Reports and conducted by consulting firm ICF. The study counts up higher bills for climate-related calamities that drive up housing, food, and healthcare costs, for example. On top of that, there’s the prospect of higher taxes and lost income over the years in a warming world.
The US has already seen an increase in the length of power outages nationally over the past decade, primarily because of “major events,” including extreme weather. People also wind up paying more to crank up the air conditioning during heatwaves, which are getting even hotter and more frequent as global temperatures rise. Americans already saw how supply chain disruptions during the covid pandemic drove up prices at the grocery store.