This week’s question from the Georgia Climate Project Roadmap has to do with how researchers can communicate what the impacts of climate change on health will cost the state. We know that there will be impacts due to increases in mosquit0-borne disease, heat-related illness, and other health-related impacts, but what is the best way to communicate the cost of those impacts to state legislators and others who make decisions related to health once they are quantified? You can read all of the Roadmap questions at https://roadmap.georgiaclimateproject.org/.

28. How can the economic implications of the health impacts of climate change in Georgia best be quantified and communicated to decision makers?

Why this question is important: The economic implications of climate-related health impacts may be considered from the perspective of health damage costs (Haines et al. 2006), impacts on healthcare infrastructure (Bell et al. 2016), or costs and benefits of adaptation strategies designed to mitigate the adverse health impacts (Martinez et al. 2015). Such economic estimates are critical for decision-makers trying to prioritize resource allocation decisions across a range of climate adaptation and mitigation choices. The inclusion of economic estimates in framing climate risks for effective decision-making is part of ongoing research (Stern 2007).

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