A new report from the UC-Berkeley puts a price tag on the potential damage to the state's economy from climate change. The study says at least $4 trillion in state assets are at risk. KPBS Environmental Reporter Ed Joyce has details.
The report says more than half of the state's property is at risk from extreme weather events, sea level rise, and wildfires.
The study's lead author is UC-Berkeley Adjunct Professor David Roland-Holst.
He says the potential costs of climate risk are staggering.
Roland-Holst: With an annual projected damage price tag of $300 million to $3.9 billion over this century, depending upon how warm the world gets. Insurance exposure for near-shore property in California could approach half a trillion dollars.
Roland-Holst says if no action is taken, other areas of the state's economy would suffer, including agriculture and tourism.
He says the most expensive thing California can do about climate change is nothing.
The study recommends the state expand the assessment of climate change risk and figure out ways to reduce it.
Ed Joyce, KPBS News.
