The idea that tackling climate change will be costly is a myth

“Far too often green and sustainable living is framed as a ‘sacrifice’ or ‘duty’, even by brands. But it seems the public isn’t buying that, with only 11% feeling that their lives would worsen from doing what’s needed.” 
– Solitaire Townsend, Forbes

When it comes to solving the climate crisis, there’s a persistent narrative that it will require pain, sacrifice, and deep economic cost. But consider that this narrative is false – a fiction spread by the people who don’t want things to change. Those that will be hurt by the adoption of renewable energy or sustainable innovation are obviously going to tell you that adapting is going to hurt you. But the facts say otherwise.

Research indicates that the cost of solving climate change is manageable. As sustainable energy professor Mark Jaccard told the CBC, it will cost “at most, two years of economic growth spread over a 30-year period. It’s a slight difference in economic output over a 30-year period in order to prevent the dramatic crashing in your economy because of wildfires, acidified oceans, rising seas, major storms and pandemics that can happen from climate change.” 

Of course, the cost of some items may rise. But cherry picking a few price bumps not only glosses over the fact that the economic costs are manageable, but fails to consider the other bonuses that come with, oh, you know, maintaining a habitable planet. As Stanford professor Marshall Burke told the New Yorker last year, “it’s a straw man—and terrible economics—to just point out the costs while ignoring the benefits.” 

As Carolyn Kormann writes in the same piece: “(Burke) and two co-authors published a paper in Nature last May that shows that the economic benefits of mitigation are going to be much larger than previously believed. Cooler temperatures would help maintain and grow productivity, and reducing carbon emissions means reducing air pollution—specifically particulate matter, or soot—which brings immediate health benefits.” 

Luckily, the public seems to be increasingly able to see through the ruse of THIS WILL CAUSE YOU GREAT PAIN. According to a recent Futerra poll, a majority of US and UK consumers believe that making lifestyle changes to fight climate change would improve their own quality of life. People seem to intuitively understand the small costs and big rewards. And the need to act when it comes to solving the climate crisis. Enough with the ‘sacrifice for sustainability’ tropes. Let’s do this.

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