White House warns of dire fallout from climate change
WASHINGTON — Failure to act on climate change could cause an estimated 57,000 deaths in the United States from poor air quality by 2100, the Obama administration argued in a new report Monday that warns of dire effects of global warming.
The report comes as Republicans in Congress seek to undo the administration’s environmental policies, including an expected plan by the Environmental Protection Agency to target coal-fired power plants, and days after Pope Francis issued a stern warning about global warming’s consequences, especially for poor and underdeveloped nations.
The report says actions to slow climate change could save about $3.1 billion in expected costs from sea-level rise and storm surge in 2100, while the power sector could save as much as $34 billion by 2050 in avoided costs for additional electricity for air conditioning and other uses.
The Republican-controlled House is expected to vote this week on a bill to scale back the plan on coal-fired power plants, the centerpiece of Obama’s second-term push to act on climate change as a key part of his environmental legacy.