On November 23, the Fourth National Climate Assessment was released to the public. One of the conclusions made by leading scientists was that the impact of climate change could harm the U.S. economy. However, according to an article from National Public Radio, the Trump Administration responded in criticism to the finding in the report.

The National Climate Assessment (NCA) a government mandated document that is released to the public. Its goal is to inform people of  the present and future impacts of climate change in the United States. It is a collaboration with over 300 leading scientist and worked on for over a the course of several years. According to NPR, it is “the most detailed and blunt assessment yet of the dangers of unchecked global warming.”

In the NCA summary on the economy, climate change is expected to affect many aspects of all lives in the U.S.. One of the most concerning perspectives is how climate change will impact the economy. According to NPR, “Some parts of the U.S. economy could suffer hundreds of billions of dollars in annual losses by the end of the century…” This type of impact could bring disruption to the lives of many people.

Some people are urging for change. According to an article on CNN News website, environmental scientist at Southern Texas University, Robert Bullard said ” it’s time to address climate as the threat multiplier we know it is before more lives are lost[.]” However, the article in NPR shows that the Trump Administration does not view the summaries from the report as much of a problem through emphasizing their response,”‘most extreme scenario’ for emissions of greenhouse gases to the report”.

Students were asked how they felt about the administration’s response. One student, Senior Jamie Kraske, said “I think he’s [President Trump] being ignorant towards the issue… It’s annoying.” Another student, Freshman, Kendal Thompson, said “He is stupid to not believe information that his own administration is telling him.”

As more information is found, the administration will need to decide the importance of this global growing problem of climate change.