--- description: Obama administration sees cost savings, health benefits from climate action. title: Here’s How Much Money Climate Action Could Save Us image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta9d01f887f490e78/698855a9cd1bbaeea06fbee1/453035846.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [climate change](/tag/climate-change/) ## climate change Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here’s How Much Money Climate Action Could Save Us by [Claire Groden / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Claire Groden / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2015 6:43 PM CUT  Emissions rise from the American Electric Power Co. Inc. coal-fired John E. Amos Power Plant in Winfield, West Virginia, U.S., on Thursday, July 31, 2014\. Power plant coal burning by 2020 must decline by 204 million tons, or 24 percent, to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse gas targets announced June 2, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analysts led by Hugh Wynne estimated in a July 23 note to clients. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images Emissions rise from the American Electric Power Co. Inc. coal-fired John E. Amos Power Plant in Winfield, West Virginia, U.S., on Thursday, July 31, 2014\. Power plant coal burning by 2020 must decline by 204 million tons, or 24 percent, to meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) greenhouse gas targets announced June 2, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analysts led by Hugh Wynne estimated in a July 23 note to clients. Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images by [Claire Groden / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Claire Groden / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2015 6:43 PM CUT If the United States doesn’t mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution will worsen, labor hours will decrease, and crop prices will be higher, a new [report](http://www2.epa.gov/cira/climate-action-benefits-key-findings#national-highlights "undefined") from the EPA warns. The comprehensive survey estimates the potential economic damage from global warming, tallying up billions of dollars that could be saved through aggressive climate policies. By surveying six sectors — health, infrastructure, electricity, water resources, agriculture and forestry, and ecosystems — the EPA report found that global warming’s associated extreme temperatures and increased incidence of natural disasters could lead to a variety of unforeseen consequences. In the health sector, the EPA estimated that more than 69,000 lives could be at risk by 2100 due to worsening air quality and extreme temperatures. Plus, more than 1.2 billion labor hours could be lost in the same period due to extreme temperatures. The report also forecasted that mitigation efforts taken now could prevent the loss of more than a third of the U.S. oyster and scallop supplies and more than a quarter of the clam supply by 2100\. The damage to resulting from water shortages could range as high as $180 billion. The EPA report comes at a time when House Republicans are preparing to vote this week to weaken or kill the Obama administration’s limits on power plant emissions, [The Hill](http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/245706-epa-report-big-us-benefits-from-global-climate-policies "undefined") reports. ### See the World's Largest Solar Plants From Above  Desert Sunlight Solar Farm produces 550 megawatts of energy, equal to the output of a conventional power plant, near Palm Springs, Calif., where 8 million photovoltaic (PV) panels convert sunlight into electricity. Jamey Stillings for TIME  Desert Sunlight Solar Farm where 8 million solar panels power 160,000 California homes, in the Mojave Desert, California. Jamey Stillings for TIME  The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, a 110-megawatt solar thermal power project, near Tonopah, Nev. Jamey Stillings  The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, near Tonopah, Nev. Jamey Stillings  The Crescent Dunes Solar Plant, near Tonopah, Nev. Jamey Stillings  The Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, near Tonopah, Nev. Jamey Stillings  Mirrored heliostats dot the landscape at the Ivanpah solar plant in the Mojave Desert, California. Jamey Stillings  Construction of Ivanpah Solar Field One in the Mojave Desert, California. Jamey Stillings  Heliostat installation at the Ivanpah thermal solar plant in the Mojave Desert, California. Jamey Stillings  Mirrored heliostats at the Ivanpah solar plant in the Mojave Desert in California. Jamey Stillings  Mirrored heliostats that reflect and concentrate desert sunshine surround a tower at the Ivanpah solar power station in the Mojave Desert, California. Jamey Stillings  350, 000 mirrored heliostats reflect light onto boilers generating 392 megawatts of energy at the Ivanpah solar power station in the Mojave Desert, California. Jamey Stillings  The Ivanpah solar power station in the Mojave Desert, California. 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