by GRAHAM GALUSHA
We’ve all heard the warnings. Whether it’s a distressing news headline or a concerned friend, we are constantly confronted by the growing threat of climate change.
In the past year, record-breaking atmospheric storms have caused widespread flooding in California, and wildfires created alarmingly high levels of air pollution across the Northeast.
The least-fortunate among us have even experienced the climate crisis head on; climate-related disasters hit one in 10 homes just last year.
Things only seem to be getting worse. Our world’s leading experts in environmental science predict a bleak future, with even more frequent and severe extreme weather events.
They warn that droughts, flooding and rising sea levels will force millions to flee their homes and migrate to more hospitable regions.
Take it from Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. “We are in the fight of our lives and we are losing. … We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator.”
The “story” of climate change is generally one of catastrophe, especially for those most vulnerable; however, it doesn’t all have to be doom and gloom.
With a bit of rewriting, we can shift the narrative to one of progress and economic opportunity.
Despite the existential threat of disaster, the climate crisis can also present an unprecedented economic opportunity.
Changes to industrial development, transportation and manufacturing can allow for new industries to prosper and provide new job opportunities for everyone.
In the transportation sector, for instance, we have all observed the shift to electric vehicles.
According to some projections, cars, trucks and public transportation will all become electric-powered in the next decade. Gas stations at every street corner, and annoying stops to refill your car tank, will quickly become a relic of the past. Carbon-capture companies that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere also have significant opportunities to expand.
Even companies working to transition the world’s food industry away from red meat, such as Beyond Burger, are projected to grow.
Hope for the business leaders of today remains strong, too. In fact, of the world’s 500 largest businesses, more than 225 reported climate change will likely improve their economic prospects and can generate $2.1 trillion in new business, according to the Columbia Climate School.
If we take action to combat climate change now, the World Economic Forum predicts more than $43 trillion in value can be added to the global economy between now and 2070.
Comparatively, if we ignore the climate crisis, we can expect to experience almost $178 trillion in economic losses in the same time period.
Combating climate change may also present new job opportunities for all.
A green economy has the potential to provide new jobs for all kinds of workers, regardless of education or skill set.
That means it won’t just be the Wall Street elites and big business owners reaping the benefits.
Construction workers will be needed to build new green infrastructure, laborers to shift our energy reliance to renewables, and scientists to develop solutions to new climate-related challenges.
The green economy could produce some 24 million new jobs across the globe by 2030, according to the United Nations.
As a teen, my calls for climate action are often met by resistance from older critics, citing financial concerns.
What many don’t realize, though, is that in the United States, investing money into clean energy rather than fossil fuels will produce significantly more jobs.
In fact, the World Resources Institute found that $1 million invested into clean energy created more than twice as many jobs than investing the same amount in the fossil fuel industry.
That’s because renewable energies are generally less capital intensive and more labor intensive than fossil fuels.
The climate crisis is an existential threat to our way of life, and bold action is needed.
Climate legislation doesn’t need to be solely reactionary; it can present an opportunity to grow the economy, create new opportunities for the workforce, and promote progress.
The Mainsheet 