Biden: Extreme weather will cost the United States nearly $ 100 billion by 2020

The US president has called for support for his plans to invest billions in infrastructure to better prepare for climate change.

U.S. President Joe Biden said extreme weather events caused record costs in the United States of $ 99 billion (approximately 84 84 billion) last year. “Unfortunately we will break that record this year,” Biden said Monday (local time) during a visit to Sacramento, California. “Scientists have been warning for years that the extreme weather will intensify. We are now experiencing it in real time.”

Biden previously inspected from the air the catastrophic damage known as the Caldor fire on Lake Tahoe, California.

“Think big”

Biden again called for support for his plans to invest billions in infrastructure expansion as the United States prepares better for climate change. “We have to think big,” the president said. Everything else is a “recipe for disaster”. This year, a fire in the United States destroyed about 2.14 million hectares. One-third of the burn area was in California. Biden said the fire was increasing in frequency and intensity, signaling a “red alert for our nation.”

Before heading to California, Biden flew to the southern US state of Louisiana two weeks ago, where Hurricane “Ida” wreaked havoc. The hurricane caused catastrophic flooding in the northeastern United States. Biden visited the disaster area. He has made the fight against global warming one of his main goals. Biden said on Monday, “We will do it. This nation will come together and defeat climate change.”

(ABA / DPA)