$1.63
INCREASE IN FOOD
PRICES ON A $20
RESTAURANT MEAL
BECAUSE OF
CLIMATE CHANGE.
$0.01
COST OF EPA’S
CLEAN POWER PLAN ON
A $20 RESTAURANT MEAL
$3.50
PER CAR
INCREASED COST ON
PRODUCTION OF A
$30,000 CAR OR TRUCK
CAUSED BY EPA’s
CLEAN POWER PLAN.
$1.25 Million
COST OF ONE HOUR OF DOWNTIME AT AN AUTO ASSEMBLY PLANT CAUSED BY SEVERE WEATHER
More than half of the world’s leading companies are currently managing severe weather, extreme temperatures, and drought costs, or expect to face those costs within the next six years.
Severe weather, extreme temperatures, and changing weather patterns have affected commodity prices, disrupted supply chains, damaged plants and equipment, and hurt consumer demand.
For restaurant owners, farmers, auto suppliers, insurers, real estate developers, and other business leaders, climate change is having a measurable impact on today’s bottom line—and trends suggest those costs will increase.
The good news? Shifting from coal to cleaner sources of energy should have little impact on business’s operating costs. Energy represents less than 1 percent of a typical business’s spending, and shifting to cleaner energy will increase that cost by about 3 percent in the near term. In other words, if it costs Company X $100 to manufacture its product, the Clean Power Plan would increase Company X’s cost by about 3 cents. Over the medium and long term, the CPP will lower utility costs.
Business Leaders on Climate Change
As a chef, I worry that extreme weather, like California’s drought, may become the new normal.
Climate change has cost my software company tens of thousands of dollars in lost productivity. We need stronger clean energy standards to address this crisis before it’s too late.
Any severity in climate that affects farmers and crops will also affect prices for restaurateurs and ultimately the consumers as well.
Climate change has caused unpredictable weather and a lot of business interruption for us. It looks to only be getting worse, and leadership doesn’t seem to understand that.
As we debate how to respond to this new, severe weather, I hope the rest of America will understand just how vulnerable our farms can be.
We hope policy makers will realize the devastating effects that climate change is having on the economy at the local level and act to curb it quickly in order to protect small businesses.
During Hurricane Ike (Houston, Texas), I lost a federal contract because our business had no electricity or phone services and I could not communicate with the contracting officers. Our business operations were totally disabled due to the storm.
Give your business advice on climate change.
