Warmer temperatures could cost Alaska up to $700 million

ANCHORAGE — The effects of climate change could cost Alaska hundreds of millions of dollars per year in the coming decades, according to a new study.

The Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage has projected that the warmer climate could cause the state a net loss of $340 million to $700 million per year, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday.

The report published by the institute in November focuses on the net costs of five widely reported effects over the next 30 to 50 years. The projections are based on the state’s annual average temperatures rising by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius by 2050.

The economic effects would not be distributed evenly across the state “as rural communities face large projected costs while more southerly urban residents experience net gain,” the report states.

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