Rising Temperatures, Rising Prices: How Climate Drives Inflation 

Climate change means extreme weather, shifting landscapes and generally more instability. More and more, you can feel the impacts of climate disruption in your wallets. Drought is pushing up the cost of candy and leading to shipping delays in the Panama Canal. Globally, researchers say climate could add 1% to inflation every year until 2035. 

The costs of car insurance, health insurance and property insurance are rising. And whether it’s tea in the morning or wine in the evening, disrupted climate patterns and extreme weather are making certain foods more expensive. This week, we unpack how climate change drives inflation.

Nicholas Stern

IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government, London School of Economics

Jeremy Porter

Head of Climate Implications Research, First Street Foundation

Avery Ellfeldt

Reporter, E&E News

Lea Borkenhagen

Senior Vice President, EDF+Business

Monday April 22 - Friday April 26

Climate One will be celebrating SF Climate Week with a series of programs featuring California and the San Francisco Bay Area’s leading voices in policy, climate justice, and business. The week will showcase interviews with California Attorney General Rob Bonta, State Senators Nancy Skinner and Scott Wiener, and California Environmental Justice Association’s Energy Justice Director Mari Rose Taruc, among others, about the challenges and opportunities facing the nation’s innovation capital when it comes to addressing climate change.

On Tuesday, Climate One will also be hosting an Action Lounge, where attendees will be able to join local climate and environmental organizations, apply for green jobs, and receive guidance from climate career coaches.

The week will wrap up on Friday with a sustainable fashion show featuring local emerging designers, along with music performances and cocktails on our rooftop garden with breathtaking views of the Bay Bridge. 

The tragic collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday morning has already significantly impacted the world’s energy markets. After the cargo ship Dali suddenly lost power leaving the Port of Baltimore, it drifted into a support column for the Key Bridge, a 1.6 mile-structure spanning the Patapsco River at the southwestern edge of Baltimore. The impact of the cargo ship, which was carrying 95,000 gross tons, caused much of the four-lane bridge to fall into the river. Six construction workers were killed.

Despite ranking far below international shipping hubs, such as the Ports of Long Beach/Los Angeles and New York/New Jersey, in terms of total traffic, the Port of Baltimore has been either the nation’s largest or second-largest exporter of coal for years. The bridge collapse is expected to block traffic in and out of the port indefinitely, possibly for years, and the disaster has already caused the cost of coal in nations like India to spike. And while crude oil is typically delivered to East Coast terminals via pipeline, Baltimore is a major source of import and export for other fossil fuels, including methane gas. It is also the nation’s busiest destination for automobile shipping.

President Biden immediately pledged federal funds to rebuild the bridge, but original construction of the Key Bridge lasted for nearly five years, and the massive increase in marine traffic in the 50 years since its construction will only complicate the rebuilding process. The Appalachian coal industry, which was already in decline, as well as importing markets around the world, will likely feel the effects of the disaster for years to come.

PLUS:

Abrahm Lustgarten, author of “On the Move: The Overheating Earth and the Uprooting of America” and recent guest on Climate One, reports that unless urgent climate change mitigation measures are taken, millions of Americans will be forced to relocate by 2070 — and Californians may be the most impacted of all.

According to Lustgarten’s research, the Golden State’s unique blend of being one of the nation’s top landing places for immigrants and its susceptibility to extreme drought conditions has the potential to force millions of its residents to relocate due to the climate crisis.

To better understand the potential pending wave of climate migration — and what can be done to prevent it — tune in to Climate One’s interview with Lustgarten and Sonia Shah, now available on all major podcast platforms.

Source: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

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