As climate change evolves and becomes reality, so will its associated economic costs. New reports have suggested that these costs could exceed the scope previously imagined. Researchers have claimed that the United Nations IPCC, which is responsible for dealing with environmental issues and climate change, has grossly underestimated the economic ramifications of climate change.

"Without substantial and sustained global mitigation and regional adaptation efforts, climate change is expected to cause growing losses to American infrastructure and property and impede the rate of economic growth over this century," stated the authors of the Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II.

By the end of the century, it's now estimated that global damage from climate change will total $535 trillion. Each of the 301 major cities across the world stands to lose more than $1.5 trillion in GDP. Human pandemics are projected to add around $2.2 trillion to this cost by 2025. Current projections do not take into account the harmful side effects of melting ice sheets, such as flooding, additional contributions of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and damage to both land and marine life on a huge scale.

2017 had the second-highest temperatures ever recorded globally and the third-warmest in U.S. history. Costs associated with dealing with uninsured damages from just natural disasters themselves stood at $330 billion last year, according to a recent report.

Climate change has caused high infrastructure reparations and medical costs in the U.S. before. Superstorm Sandy caused $68 billion in damages in 2012 alone. Puerto Rico is still reeling from 2017's Hurricane Maria, and 2018's Hurricane Florence was merely the costliest of several strong storms this year.

Global warming will impact individual finances as well as government spending and international market performance. "The physical problems are going to affect relatively few people in America - a much broader number are going to experience these problems financially," said David Stookey, author of the book Climate-Proof Your Personal Finances. "The physical risks are nothing compared with the financial risks." Without proper insurance and storm-proofing of property, fiscal damages could be irreparable.

Despite these alarming reports, governments seem unlikely to take proactive action. In light of the recently released National Climate Assessment (NCA) - which predicts a 10% blow to American GDP by the end of the century - Trump has issued a statement effectively undermining the legitimacy of the climate change threat, stating: "One of the problems that a lot of people like myself, we have very high levels of intelligence, but we're not necessarily such believers," he said. "You look at our air and our water and it's right now at a record clean."