Trump Says He Doesn't Believe Government Climate Report Finding in a New Low

President Donald Trump on Monday rejected a central conclusion of a dire report on the economic costs of climate change released by his own administration. Associated Press reports: But economists said the National Climate Assessment's warning of hundreds of billions of dollars a year in global warming costs is pretty much on the money. Just look at last year with Hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma, they said. Those three 2017 storms caused at least $265 billion in damage, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The climate report, quietly unveiled Friday, warned that natural disasters are worsening in the United States because of global warming. It said warming-charged extremes 'have already become more frequent, intense, widespread or of long duration.' The report noted the last few years have smashed U.S. records for damaging weather, costing nearly $400 billion since 2015.

'The potential for losses in some sectors could reach hundreds of billions of dollars per year by the end of this century,' the report said. It added that if emissions of heat-trapping gases continue at current levels, labor costs in outdoor industries during heat waves could cost $155 billion in lost wages per year by 2090. The president said he read some of the report and 'it's fine' but not the part about the devastating economic impact. 'I don't believe it,' Trump said, adding that if 'every other place on Earth is dirty, that's not so good.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.