As climate change costs mount, Biden seeks to price damages

By MATTHEW BROWN
Associated Press

HARDIN, Mont. (AP) — Economists say the costs of climate change are growing as global warming happens more quickly than expected and its impacts become better understood — from crop losses due to drought, to lessened worker productivity because of the heat. The Biden administration wants to put a price tag on those damages to justify its climate policies. Republicans and business groups say the emphasis on future climate damages will hobble the economy, especially the energy industry. A Louisiana federal judge has blocked the administration from using an interim cost estimate of $51 in damages per ton of greenhouse gas emitted. Administration officials say that could delay dozens of pending rules and are appealing.