GAO report welcomed

The GAO’s report, commissioned by the Senate Committee for Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, chaired by Sens. Joe Lieberman, an Independent (ex-Democrat) from Connecticut, and Susan Collins (R-Maine), has garnered generally favorable reviews.

Collins, the committee’s ranking Republican, indicated that the GAO’s conclusions support the rapidly mounting evidence that climate change is a reality and a threat to the environment. She also noted that it places a potential burden on consumers and taxpayers that could add “billions of dollars” in costs, “as insured losses from floods and storms cause increases in federal spending and insurance premiums.” While Collins praised private insurers for “paying serious attention” to the increased risks presented by climate changes, she chided federal programs for their failure to do so.

Claire Wilkinson, the International Insurance Institute’s vice-president-Global, thinks the GAO report will be felt. “The report will increase U.S. attention [on the problems posed by climate change],” and will “have an impact on the current scientific debate,” she said in an interview.

She strongly agreed with the GAO’s conclusions that a lot more attention should be paid to where and how buildings are constructed in risk-prone areas. “The insurance industry has been involved for many years in strengthening building codes,” Wilkinson said, “especially in areas like Florida and Louisiana.” She acknowledged, however, that enforcing those codes is equally important.

However, Wilkinson said, “the many variables surrounding climate change make it difficult to relate increased losses directly to the weather, the links are too uncertain.” She pointed out that each private insurer is different, and that, while practically all of them are aware of the potential dangers posed by climate change, each would most likely seek its own solutions to deal with the risks.

The federal agencies came in for some harsh comments from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an environmental group. “We commend Senators Lieberman and Collins for exposing the inadequacies of federal insurance programs to protect taxpayers from catastrophic losses due to global warming,” stated David Tuft, campaign director of the NRDC’s Climate Center on the Group’s Web site (www.nrdc.org).

“Not only has our federal government thus far failed to take action to prevent the worst consequences of unchecked global warming pollution, but it has failed fundamentally to take reasonable precautions against global warming-induced storms and drought, and the high costs that will be borne by families, businesses and ultimately, taxpayers.” He called the government “woefully ill-prepared to protect its citizens against catastrophic losses,” and, citing the GAO, said it has “blown the whistle on how ill-prepared we are as a nation for further destruction.”