There have been no increases in economic costs because of "global warming" events for decades, according to testimony given, recently, to a Senate sub-committee

<<<   Dr. Roger Pielke Jr - head of CIRES' Center for Science and Technology Policy. 

“It is misleading and just plain incorrect to claim that disasters associated with hurricanes, tornadoes, floods or droughts have increased on climate timescales either in the United States or globally. It is further incorrect to associate the increasing costs of disasters with the emission of greenhouse gases.”

“Hurricanes have not increased in the U.S. in frequency, intensity or normalized damage since at least 1900.  The same holds for tropical cyclones globally since at least 1970.”

(Testimony taken from video cam recordings of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, here). 

Pielke's testimony,  based on a review of climate data,  stands in stark contrast to the committee's chairman,  Barbara Boxer,  whose "evidence" for global warming goes like this:  "In a few short years,  we can just look out the window and see evidence of climate change all around us."

Add to this rhetorical nonsense, the words of the unread Barack Obama,  in his 2013 State of the Union speech,  in which he said:  “Heat waves, droughts, wildfires and floods — all are now more frequent and intense."  

In contrast to this rhetorical  "evidence,"  we have these conclusions given to the committee in the July hearing:  

1.  Insured catastrophe losses have not increased as a proportion of GDP since 1960.

2.  Globally, weather related losses ($) have not increased since 1990 as a proportion of GDP

(they have actually decreased by about 25%).

3.  Hurricanes have not increased in the US in frequency, intensity or normalized damage since

at least 1900. The same holds for tropical cyclones globally since at least 1970   (when data

allows for a global perspective).

4. Floods have not increased in the US in frequency or intensity since at least 1950. Flood losses

as a percentage of US GDP have dropped by about 75% since 1940.

5. Tornadoes have not increased in frequency, intensity or normalized damage since 1950, and

there is some evidence to suggest that they have actually declined.

6.  Drought has “for the most part, become shorter, less frequent, and cover a smaller portion of

the U. S. over the last century.    ”Globally, “there has been little change in drought over the past 60 years."

The absolute costs of disasters will increase significantly in coming years due to greater wealth and populations in locations exposed to extremes.   

Consequent, disasters will continue to be an important focus of policy irrespective of the exact future course of climate changer

Editor's notes:  The 6 talking points and brief conclusion were taken from testimony recorded here.  While Dr. Pielke allows for the possibility of global warming,  he does not see any evidence for such,  in current geo-trends.  To date,  there are no economic "consequences" for supposed [regional] "global warming" occurences.