Deadly silence: The world can’t afford to ignore climate change much longer

Our government could do something about climate change, but it refuses. In fact, most elected leaders and political candidates don’t even talk about it.

As the fossil-fuel industry increasingly allied itself with Republicans to block climate action over the decades, Democrats became the party more willing to address it. But now, even many Democrats have gone quiet. As the November midterms approach, think tanks and consultants are advising them to avoid the topic global warming because “it is not a priority for voters.”

The silence is called “ climate hushing, ” the strategic choice to avoid talking about global warming to avoid political backlash, polarization or economic anxiety. In other words, our elected leaders should avoid mentioning the huge elephant in the room, even as it gets more dangerous.

Hardly an evening newscast goes by today without reports of major weather disasters and millions of Americans under threat of fire, flood, killer heat or other calamity. Community after community is turned to ash by wildfires, blown into rubble by tornadoes or washed away in flash floods.

Last year, major weather disasters struck the U.S. every 10 days , on average. Billion-dollar disasters have occurred every 16 days on average over the last decade, compared to every 82 days in the 1980s. And those figures count only the most destructive disasters — thousands of smaller floods, fires, storms and other extreme-weather events never make the billion-dollar list, although they can be catastrophic to the families and communities they strike.

The numbers don’t convey the profound human costs: injury and death, lost homes, emotional trauma, economic calamity, lifetime treasures lost forever. There are no true climate havens . Risks differ from place to place, but no region is immune.

The numbers also don’t convey the distress and anxiety children and young adults feel as they face a future of even worse global warming and climate disasters.

This is the irony of climate hushing: Consultants advise candidates to talk about affordability instead of climate change, when climate change is increasingly an affordability issue. It reduces property values, damages public health, raises taxes, increases the federal deficit, and more.

A year-old Brookings study , based on only a few types of climate-related impacts, found that U.S. households pay as much as $900 per year on average because of climate change, and more than $1,300 in hardest-hit counties.

The average premium for homeowners insurance increased 8.7 percent faster than inflation from 2018 through 2022. Homeowners in the highest-risk ZIP codes paid 82 percent more on average than those in the lowest-risk areas — and were substantially more likely to lose their coverage altogether.

On the other hand, policies that reduce fossil-fuel pollution can save significant money. As much as 80 percent of America’s air pollution comes from fossil fuels. A 2021 synthesis of scientific research estimated the pollution and climate-related health impacts impose more than $820 billion a year in health damages in the U.S., including premature deaths, illness, hospitalizations and lost wages.

A study late last year by the Center for American Progress reported that “climate-accelerated shocks are contributing to some of the largest food price increases American families have faced in recent years.” Beef is an example — as prolonged drought reduced cattle herds, the Department of Agriculture projected a 12 percent increase in beef and veal prices.

Yet through 11 presidents and 31 Congresses over the last 60 years, our national government has failed to act in a manner commensurate with the scale and duration of the crisis. That failure is not only a dereliction of duty; it’s increasingly recognized as a crime against humanity , present and future.

The American people don’t need silence from political leaders who fear retribution. They need facts. Political consultants ask what voters want politicians to talk about. Leaders must also ask what voters need to know. Polls seem to contradict the advice that climate-hushing is a good campaign strategy. Six in 10 voters prefer candidates who support climate action, while only 14 percent oppose it. More than four in 10 voters want politicians to talk about it more.

We need leaders today, like those of the past, who inspire the country to take on big challenges. Franklin Roosevelt called on America to be the “great arsenal of democracy” in World War II. John F. Kennedy wanted America to put the first man on the moon. He said it would be difficult, but it would “ organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. ” That is the case with climate action, too.

To be fair, not all leaders are hushing. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) has made the case for climate action in 308 speeches on the Senate floor . But our leaders need to make the case directly to the people and inspire them with the benefits of acting.

Sixty years of inaction in Washington have not made climate change go away. Hushing won’t either. In the meantime, the American people, present and future, are paying an increasingly intolerable price.

William S. Becker is a former regional director at the U.S. Department of Energy and author of several books on climate change and national disaster policies.