The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released several documents on the federal budget outlook and potential effects of climate change on U.S. output.
The 2020 Long-Term Budget Outlook provides projections on federal deficits, debt, spending, and revenues for the next 30 years. The outlook projects that deficits will increase in the coming decades, federal debt held by the public will continue to climb, spending will rise, and revenues will increase. The outlook notes that projected spending drives much of the projected deficit and that revenue increases after 2025 are largely due to scheduled changes in tax rules.
CBO Director Phillip Swagel released a statement on the outlook, highlighting that federal debt is projected to rise substantially and that long-term actions are needed to address the nation’s fiscal challenges.
The CBO Projection of the Effect of Climate Change on U.S. Economic Output projects that climate change will reduce average annual real GDP growth by 0.03 percentage points from 2020 to 2050, leading to a 1.0 percent reduction in the projected level of real GDP in 2050.