Urgent Need for Strong Action to Curb Global Warming

The document asserts that the United States must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent below 2000 levels by 2050 to avoid severe climate impacts. It argues that the cost of action is small relative to the global and national economy, while the cost of inaction is significantly higher, citing potential losses of over 3.6% of U.S. GDP annually by 2100. The text advocates for a policy mix of market-based cap-and-trade systems and sector-specific incentives, warning that 'safety valves' or price caps would undermine investment in new energy technologies.

• To address global warming, the United States needs to lower its greenhouse gas emissions by a minimum of 80 percent compared to 2000 levels by the year 2050, regardless of the actions taken by other industrialized or developing nations.
• The economic burden of stabilizing emissions is relatively low; the 2007 IPCC report estimated that such actions would result in a reduction of the average annual global GDP growth rate by less than 0.12 percent by 2050.
• The financial consequences of failing to act on climate change far exceed the costs of mitigation. The Stern Review (2006) estimates international costs of unabated climate change at least 5 percent of global per capita GDP, while a Tufts University report suggests the U.S. economy could lose more than 3.6% of GDP, or $3.8 trillion, annually by 2100.
• Unabated global warming is projected to cause severe regional economic damage across the United States, including a 70 percent decline in soybean productivity in the Great Plains, a 36 percent reduction in California's agricultural land value, and costs between $300 million and $8 billion for sea wall protection in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
• An effective climate policy should combine sector-specific incentives for renewable energy and efficiency with a comprehensive cap-and-trade program. Such a program should avoid 'safety valves' or carbon price caps, as these would reduce the market certainty required for businesses to invest in new energy technologies.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2009). Urgent Need for Strong Action to Curb Global Warming. https://www.ucs.org/resources/economic-facts-support-united-states-action-curb-global-warming

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Urgent Need for Strong Action to Curb Global Warming. 2009. https://www.ucs.org/resources/economic-facts-support-united-states-action-curb-global-warming.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Urgent Need for Strong Action to Curb Global Warming |date=20 February 2009 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/economic-facts-support-united-states-action-curb-global-warming |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2009urgent, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Urgent Need for Strong Action to Curb Global Warming}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2009}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/economic-facts-support-united-states-action-curb-global-warming}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }