No. of Recommendations: 1
I think the "little people" are incorrectly intuiting, primarily because a huge lobby is lined-up to shovel propaganda their way (similar to the tobacco industry for decades).
There are numerous costs. Here's just one example from a few years ago:
https://espp.fas.harvard.edu/news/managing-climate...The Navy is moving bases so that as sea level rises, they don't get flooded. That alone is going to cost billions, and is not borne by the rest of the world (i.e. Americans will have to pay for it).
Yes, poorer countries, low-lying countries, will take the brunt of it. Islands will disappear. Bangladesh will lose a lot of territory (it's a very low elevation country). There will be an international costs associated with all those displaced persons (and I have no idea how much it will be). Wars are almost inevitable as displaced persons try to find someplace they can continue existing. Plus, the more intense storms and droughts that are predicted. Those won't be free, either.
Plus, the costs of climate change will be born in the far- and intermediate-future, while the costs of trying to prevent climate change will be born primarily in the immediate present and the near-term.That is true. Though, I suspect, those costs will be less now (prevention) than in the future (remediation). This may be academic. Several scientific entities say we're already past the point of no return.
I, also, was trying to make the point -perhaps poorly- that we were canceling the wrong subsidies. Continue to subsidize EVs, and remove the subsidies on oil. People like and want EVs (I see a lot of them on the road these days), but it's still a young technology, and so a bit expensive. A baseline EV is maybe $5K more than a baseline ICE. That will come down eventually as the tech matures and evolves. And, per your argument, that won't cost the "shlubs" anything since they don't pay that much in taxes. It also won't cost the fat cats anything, because they'll just pile it onto the deficit. As Leona said "only little people pay taxes".
