Less Carbon, More Money

A recent climate assessment raised red flags about a shrinking economy. But maybe it doesn’t have to play out that way for millennials—we can start demanding with our dollars for a green, just economy.

January 18, 2019

Perrin Ireland

Contributor

Whether or not that’s true, millennials evidently fascinate, horrify, and amuse our predecessors. Sometimes the ridicule is valid.

And sometimes we deserve a little credit. Three-quarters of millennials want national action on climate change, according to a 2018 report by the Alliance for Market Solutions.

The most recent National Climate Assessment estimates that if we don’t make deep cuts in climate-changing pollution, millennials can expect billions of dollars in losses to the economy we will inherit.

That’s tough to hear, especially as a member of an already financially struggling generation.

The average graduate from the class of 2017 has $39,400 in student debt. Total U.S. student loan debt exceeds our total national credit card debt.

The National Climate Assessment breaks out potential economic damages by sector, and it’s billions of dollars of losses if we don’t take climate action.

But the report importantly also notes the financial damages avoided if we DO adopt climate policies. By cutting emissions, we could reduce the projected financial blow to the labor industry from unchecked climate change by 48%.

One example: If U.S. hospitals embrace simple energy efficiency and waste-reduction actions, they could save $15 billion over 10 years.

According to ICF International, if we aim for an 80% reduction in climate-changing pollution by 2050, we’ll generate $800 billion in new investment, nearly 2 million new jobs, and some $290 billion in additional GDP.

Learning how each of your hard-earned pennies connects to this larger economy—and how to keep your daily blood, sweat, and tears from accidentally supporting fossil fuels—is a form of climate activism.

Hadassah Damien, founder of financial coaching business Ride Free Fearless Money, approaches money with a consent framework.

She calls our current economic moment “situational consent.” While our activist minds might be focused on a fossil free future, our bodies are in the present oil-riddled corporate capitalism.

“Situational consent” means we start to consider what within this system we really DO want. What little or big things are a true yes? (“I consent to this cup of fair trade coffee! I consent to budgeting $20/month to support an environmental organization!"

The point is to start taking agency for who and what your money supports with each financial move you make. With each stash in your Roth IRA or student loan payment you closer to freeing up your capital so you can support a just, carbon-neutral future.

In future comics, I’ll do deeper dives into ways you can invest for impact, whatever your income level; how to find a bank that’s not funding fossil fuel projects; and how it’s not necessary for the economy to shrink if we go low carbon.

This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as grammar); you can’t resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you can’t republish our material wholesale or automatically—you need to select stories individually; you can’t republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when you’ve used one of our stories.

Related Issues

Climate Change Sustainable Finance