Evaluating Texas’ Economic Future In A Warmer Climate

An interdisciplinary study estimates that economies in the Southern U.S. will be hit harder by climate change.

By Jill AmentJuly 4, 2017 11:26 am,

The future of the booming Texas economy could be in danger if the state doesn’t stem the rise of greenhouse gas emissions.

A new study by a group of climate scientists and economists takes a close look at how climate change could damage the state’s economy. It indicates that Texas’ gross domestic product – the monetary value of all goods and services produced in the state — could be hardest hit.

Amir Jina, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Chicago’s Energy Policy Institute who helped conduct this study, says the research shows that climate change will have more of an impact on the Southern U.S.

“The inequality of the impacts was quite surprising,”Jina says. “So, it’s the southern parts of the United States get hit with much worse damages than the northern parts.”

What you’ll hear in this segment:

— Estimated economic damages in Texas based on climate predictions

— The connection between mortality rates and heat thresholds

— Local government’s role in the Paris climate accord

Written by Caroline Covington.

Written by Caroline Covington