Climate Change Will Be Deadlier, More Destructive and Costlier for California Than Previously Believed, State Warns

August 28, 2018

A new California assessment of the potential impact of climate change draws on more than 40 peer-reviewed studies to project how rising greenhouse gases will affect the state's weather, ecosytems, water, and people, with suggestions of how public policy could help the state cope. ARE Professor Max Auffhammer is one of the report's contributing authors. Analyzing the state's household utility bills, he found one potential positive -- that milder winters and decreased use of natural gas for heating will compensate for the increased air-conditioning demand for electricity. "Electricity consumption is going to go up in the summer," he says. "But it looks like climate change is going to save many California consumers a bunch of money on their heating bills in the winter." Numerous other Berkeley researchers contributed to the report. More