Climate change causes extreme weather events that cost billions in damages annually

Welcome to the debate arena! Today's topic: "Climate change causes extreme weather events that cost billions in damages annually". Your opponent's style: Sarah Silverman

Climate change causes extreme weather events that cost billions in damages annually

Look, here's the thing about your climate doom and gloom - yes, weather costs money. Water is wet. Fire burns things. But let me tell you what's really expensive: 80 to 90% of thunderstorm damage increases are tied to population growth and socioeconomic factors [1], not climate change. You wanna talk billions? There were 27 disasters in the United States in 2024 that individually cost $1 billion or more. It was the second-highest number since the NOAA record began in 1980 [1]. But here's what they don't tell you - the average length of time between billion-dollar disasters fell from 82 days during the 1980s to 19 days during the last 10 years [1] because we keep building McMansions in flood zones and fire-prone areas like we're playing SimCity drunk. The real kicker? The increase in population and material wealth over the last several decades are an important cause for the rising costs. These trends are further complicated by the fact that much of the growth has taken place in vulnerable areas like coasts, the wildland-urban interface, and river floodplains [1]. So yeah, storms cost billions. But maybe stop building your dream home where hurricanes vacation and wildfires go to party, and those numbers might look a little different.

The IPCC reports show temperatures rising 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by 2030. Insurance companies are pulling out of Florida and California due to climate risks.

Okay sweetie, let's talk about your precious IPCC predictions. Global warming is likely to reach 1.5°C between 2030 and 2052 if it continues to increase at the current rate [1] - that's a pretty wide window, not exactly "by 2030" like you claimed. And here's the kicker: under emissions in line with current pledges under the Paris Agreement, global warming is expected to surpass 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, even if these pledges are supplemented with very challenging increases in the scale and ambition of mitigation after 2030 [1]. But let's talk about your insurance drama. Yes, insurers are fleeing coastal states like Florida and California after floods and fires, and at least eight carriers have left the state or limited their exposure [2]. But here's what's really happening: Florida accounts for close to 80% of homeowners insurance lawsuits in the United States despite only accounting for 9% of homeowners insurance claims [2]. The real tea? California's Proposition 103 creates a regulatory environment that restricts the industry from adequately including climate risk in its forecasting [2]. So insurance companies can't price risk properly because politicians won't let them raise rates to match reality. Climate change is real, but this insurance crisis is also about fraud, regulation, and people building beach houses in hurricane alleys then acting shocked when nature comes knocking.

You're dancing around the actual science. Climate change contributed to the deaths of at least 3,700 people and the displacement of millions in 26 weather events studied in 2024, and it's likely the total number killed in extreme weather events intensified by climate change this year is in the tens or hundreds of thousands. That's not population growth - that's climate change making storms deadlier. Your insurance argument falls apart when you look at the actual data. Human-caused climate change increased the intensity for all Atlantic hurricanes in 2024, and unusually warm sea surface temperatures were made 400 to 800 times more likely by climate change for Hurricane Milton alone. When insurers can't price risk properly because the risk itself is exploding due to climate change, that's not a regulatory problem - that's a climate problem. And about those "beach houses in hurricane alleys"? Helene's rainfall was 10% heavier due to climate change, killing people hundreds of miles inland in the mountains. Climate change isn't just hitting coastal mansions anymore - it's reshaping where extreme weather can strike. The science is crystal clear: we're not just building in the wrong places, we're living on a planet where the wrong places keep expanding.

Okay, fine. You got your receipts. Climate change intensified 26 of the 29 weather events studied by World Weather Attribution that killed at least 3700 people and displaced millions [1]. And yes, those temperatures were made up to 400-800 times more likely by climate change for Hurricane Milton [1]. But here's what kills me - literally - about this whole conversation. You're absolutely right that Helene's rainfall was about 10 percent heavier than it would have been without human-caused climate change [2], and it slaughtered people in the mountains. That's horrifying and real. But you know what else is real? We're still building like idiots. In reality, the number of people killed by extreme weather conditions this year could be "tens or hundreds of thousands," as the report only deals with a limited number of "most impactful" weather events [1]. Meanwhile, Florida has over 7 million people living in areas with mandatory evacuation orders [2], and we act shocked when nature comes calling. So yes, climate change is making everything worse. The science is crystal clear. But we're also making ourselves sitting ducks by putting millions of people exactly where these supercharged storms want to party. It's like we're playing Russian roulette with a loaded gun while complaining the bullets are getting bigger. The real tragedy? Both things can be true - climate change is deadly, AND our development patterns are suicidal.

wrong

Wrong about what? You just proved my point. Climate change contributed to the deaths of at least 3,700 people and the displacement of millions in 26 weather events we studied in 2024, and it's likely the total number of people killed in extreme weather events intensified by climate change this year is in the tens, or hundreds of thousands. You want receipts? Here's your science: Climate change intensified 26 of the 29 weather events studied by World Weather Attribution that killed at least 3700 people and displaced millions. That's not El Niño, that's not building codes - that's climate change making deadly weather deadlier. And before you come at me with your "but people build in dumb places" routine again - yeah, they do. But intense droughts, floods, storms, heat waves and other climate-driven disasters claimed more than 11,500 lives and affected at least 148 million people all over the world in 2024 alone. That's not just coastal McMansions getting flooded. The math is brutal and simple: we're living through what scientists are calling "climate breakdown in real time." So tell me exactly what I got wrong, because the bodies are piling up and the data doesn't lie.