Introduction to the United States

The United States of America is a country in North America. It has a population of 333,297,557,1 with 19.3% of the population living in rural areas,2 and 80.0% living in urban areas.3 Economic inequality is a pervasive issue in the country: 11.6% of the population lives in poverty;4 and 45.5% of income in the U.S. is held by the top 20% of earners.5 The largest industries in the U.S. are finance, insurance, and real estate, professional and business services, government, and manufacturing.6 While most of the largest industries in the U.S. are based in urban areas, manufacturing is an important source of higher-wage jobs for rural workers living in areas that are historically not invested in.7 Agriculture, mining, and other nature-related productions are based in rural areas as well, but these industries are less lucrative for their workers.8 Overall, public schools employ the highest portion of the U.S. population (about 7 million people), followed by hospitals (5.7 million) and fast food restaurants (5.2 million).9 Since the United States encompasses such a large swatch of land, the country holds numerous diverse climates within its various regions: Florida and Hawaii have tropical climates, Alaska and the Rockies have arctic climates, and northern areas of the U.S. tend to be colder than southern areas. The U.S. experiences a range of extreme weather events across these regions. Tornadoes hit the central plains, hurricanes devastate the Southern and Eastern coasts, and drought affects the country’s western region.10 The impact of the climate crisis on the U.S. is exacerbated by extreme income inequality and longstanding racial and ethnic inequality, and experienced unevenly across rural and urban communities, and geographic regions of the country.

Mapping Major Climate Events and Climate-Induced Displacement

The U.S. saw 675,00 internal displacements prompted by disasters in 2022, and the country has seen over 9 million internal displacements in the last decade. Most of these displacements are due to storms and wildfires.11 The impact of such ordeals leaves people vulnerable to homelessness, financial hardship, and loss of employment.12  Socially vulnerable groups, such as people of color, indigenous people, older people, and people with disabilities have higher levels of health issues and less access to reliable infrastructure, meaning they are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than the rest of the U.S.13 Black people are 40% more likely than non-Black people to live in areas projected to have the highest mortalities due to climate change induced extreme temperatures,13 meaning that black people will be forced to move from their homes in greater numbers than non-Black people as climate change worsens. Communities in the Gulf Coast are considered highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change due how frequently floods and hurricanes hit these areas that are already weakened by their steep inequities and extreme poverty.14 In 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast and devastated black and brown communities, whom the government did not sufficiently assist in the aftermath.15 More than 1 million people were displaced due to Katrina, and the population of New Orleans fell by 47% in the aftermath.16 Undoubtedly, there will be more disasters like Hurricane Katrina that displace and harm large amounts of the U.S. population while revealing the country’s unchecked history of racism and inequality. 

Mapping the Costs of the Climate Crisis

The GDP of the U.S. is $25.46 trillion as of 2022.17 Climate change related impacts are projected to cost the U.S. 0.7% of GDP per 1 degree increase in temperature. By the end of this century, the U.S. may experience summer temperatures similar to those found in contemporary Egypt of India,18 calling into question whether our infrastructure, economy, and energy practices are ready to handle such a development. The U.S. could even lose 1 to 4% of its GDP each year through the end of this century. The poorest counties are projected to lose between 2 and 20% of their incomes under extreme circumstances.18 In 2022, climate disasters in the U.S. cost $177.3 billion, making 2022 the third most expensive year on record. The most expensive years have been 2017 due to extreme temperatures and 2005 due to the impact of Hurricane Katrina. Tropical cyclones did the most expensive damage in 2022 (such as Hurricane Ian which hit the southeast U.S. and Cuba and did $112 billion in damage),19 followed by drought (namely the western and central heat wave and drought that cost $22.1 billion),20 severe storms, and flooding.21 Climate change also renders the United States population vulnerable to adverse health effects (due to bad air quality, extreme temperature, food supply problems, insect-borne illness, etc.), as well as coastal and inland flooding (posing a threat to both property and more importantly lives).22 The monetary costs as well as the threat to human life and dignity posed by climate change must be considered when climate mitigation strategies are framed as too expensive or impractical. 

Mapping Resilience and Mitigation Pathways

The United States was responsible for producing 14% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the world in 2021,23 while being home to only 4.23% of the entire global population.24  The country aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% below 2005 levels by 2030, while creating more green jobs and looking out for those who might be left behind economically in a transition out of fossil fuels.25  Climate Action Tracker rates the U.S.’s efforts to mitigate and take accountability for climate change as “insufficient.” The U.S. Congress allocated a billion dollars to international climate change finance for 2022, which is not nearly enough money to adequately deal with both climate impacts and the role the U.S. has played in exacerbating climate change worldwide.26 The U.S. intends to address climate change by investing in clean energy, decarbonizing the economy and eventually reaching a net-zero emissions economy by 2050, and allocating 40% of climate and clean energy investment to vulnerable communities.27 The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 has some promising stipulations regarding climate change, such as a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and invest in clean energy through subsidies to businesses, households, and local governments.28 The IRA also aims to transition away from fossil fuels by allocating more funding to green energy projects. The fossil fuel industry experienced its lowest ever number of workers with 110,700 in 2021, half of its 1982 peak.29 The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that “green” jobs will grow by the thousands in the coming decade, with environmental scientists and specialists growing by 7,300 and solar photovoltaic installers growing by 6,100.30 Supporting green jobs is a crucial shift towards both mitigating climate change and ensuring the people have safe and  good-paying jobs. 

Necessary Changes

The U.S. has affirmed its commitment to mitigating climate change through reducing its emissions and investing in clean energy technologies. A lack of political cohesion in the U.S. may limit climate goals. The U.S. is quite polarized, with only 54% of Americans believing that climate change is a major threat and most of that 54% leaning liberal. Fossil fuels also remain a major industry in the country, generating $138 billion annually in profit.31 Consumption habits in the U.S. will need to change in order for climate change to be adequately addressed. The whole world could not afford to have the same consumption habits as U.S. households, which have the highest per capita energy use of any major economy.32 U.S. legislative leaders need to act with more urgency on both climate issues and poverty and labor issues, as we only have until 2050 to stave off the worst effects of climate change by reaching net zero carbon emissions.33 From an international perspective, the U.S. should play a larger role in calling for other wealthy nations and dominant international institutions to stop engaging in neocolonialism by exploiting poor countries for their resources.