The report comes at a time when sleeping Republicans have proposed a solution to the national debt crisis they induced that rewards fossil fuel interests. Most of the Republican party at the national and state governing levels have long denied Climate change and continue to do so as the evidence for its harmful effects grows increasing irrefutable.

The peer-reviewed EPA report quantifies projected health effects associated with extreme heat, air quality, changing seasons, flooding, and infectious diseases. Where possible, the analyses consider the extent to which health effects disproportionately fall on children who are Black, Indigenous and people of color [BIPOC], low income, without health insurance, and/or have limited English proficiency.

The report finds several impacts to US children’s health and well-being. For example, at 2°C and 4°C of global warming:
• Climate change is expected to increase the incidence of asthma in children. Specifically, climate-driven changes in air quality are estimated to increase annual cases of asthma by between 4% and 11%, respectively.
• Increases in oak, birch, and grass pollen are projected to increase children’s asthma-related emergency department visits from 17%-30% each year.
• Additional cases of Lyme disease in children are projected to rise 79% to 241%, or an additional 2,600 to 23,400 new cases per year.
• Heat experienced during the school year affects concentration and learning in children. Climate-driven temperature increases are projected to result in 4% to 7% reductions in annual academic achievement per child. These learning losses can affect future income, with potential losses across cohorts of graduating students reaching billions of dollars annually (and in the thousands of dollars per individual).
• If no additional adaptation actions are taken, 1 million to 2 million+ children are estimated to experience temporary home displacement or complete home loss, respectively, from coastal flooding at 50cm to 100cm of global mean sea level.