Last Update: 04/05/2026 at 2:50 PM EST
US Emissions Trigger Trillion Dollar Damages
Coverage from National Herald, BBC Science Focus Magazine, and others
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Latest Article
03/31
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Executive Summary
A Nature study links U.S. emissions since 1990 to about $10 trillion in global climate damages and major losses abroad and at home
- U.S. emissions since 1990 are estimated to have caused about $10.2 trillion in global damages
- About 25 percent of the losses tied to U.S. emissions occurred inside the United States
- China is estimated to have caused about $9 trillion in damage since 1990
- U.S. emissions are linked to about $1.4 trillion in European Union losses
- India lost about $500 billion and Brazil about $330 billion from U.S. emissions
- The study uses GDP links to temperature shifts and sector impacts in agriculture and health
- Authors say future damages could grow because carbon remains in the atmosphere for centuries
Quick Facts
- What: Estimated climate damages from historical emissions in dollar terms
- Where: United States, Europe, India, Brazil, and other countries
- Why: To measure loss and damage from warming and assign responsibility
- Who: Stanford led researchers including Marshall Burke
- When: From 1990 through 2020, with future harm still building
Coverage Timeline: 7 Days
Featured Article
Nature published a study led by Marshall Burke in 2020s assessing US emissions as the largest driver of global GDP losses under loss and damage estimates since 1990.
Additional Articles
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Stanford University researchers estimate United States emissions caused $10.2 trillion in global climate damages from 1990-2020 and $16.2 trillion in domestic losses.
Stanford researchers published a Nature study in loss and damage accounting that values economic harms from historical carbon dioxide emissions for countries and major emitters.
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Marshall Burke and colleagues quantified GDP damages from fossil emissions since 1990 in a Nature study, estimating about $10tn in global harms from US emissions.