We Must Respond to Hurricane Helene with a Fair Share NDC

By: Felicia Wang

Asheville was once dubbed a “climate haven,” where many resettled to avoid the worst effects of climate-induced natural disasters, such as wildfires and coastal storms. However, Hurricane Helene shattered that notion. 

Moody’s Analytics preliminary analysis estimates that Hurricane Helene could cost $15-26 billion in property damages and a $5-8 billion reduction in economic output. Accuweather’s estimate of economic losses–which also includes excess loss of life, health care costs, extended power outages, major infrastructure reconstruction, and long-term economic losses– has been raised from $95-110 billion to $225-250 billion as new information is revealed.

The United States has arguably some of the most robust disaster relief in the world, and yet people will be reeling from the hurricanes of 2024 for years. Imagine what needs to happen internationally to manage all the climate related loss and damages that countries face.

Our Share of International Financial Compensation

The entire UN’s Loss and Damage fund stands at $700 million per year, 0.2% of projected needs, with the US contributing just $17.5 million. The United States’ contribution to global loss and damage funds is three orders of magnitude smaller than the property damage costs of a single hurricane. Of course, loss and damage does not only include property damage–while there is no official UN definition, it is generally considered to include damage to infrastructure, economic interruptions, loss of life, migration costs, and loss of culture.

The Fair Share NDC, led by the ShiftUS Campaign, calls for the United States to develop both national reforms and international mechanisms to promote realistic loss and damage financing given our current climate disasters. Domestically, policies might include a climate damages tax proposal, the redirection of fossil subsidies and military spending, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reforms, all guided by a comprehensive National Loss and Damage Plan. The US also needs to develop compensation mechanisms such as disaster relief and recovery funds, insurance subsidies for those in high-risk areas, direct reimbursements for cultural losses, expanded healthcare infrastructure, debt cancellation in under-resourced climate-impacted communities, and a US Environmental Damage Fund to restore the natural environment.

On the international level, the fair share framework calculates that the US is responsible for $340 billion per year in adaptation and loss and damage starting in 2030, due to its historical emissions since 1950. Much of this financing would go to developing nations that lack financial capacity and emissions responsibility. Possible international funding mechanisms include reforming International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights, frequent flier levies, and a global billionaire tax, as proposed by the Brazilian G20 presidency.’’

Rebuilding and Recovery

Given the increased level of climate-induced natural disasters, we must rebuild in a way that adapts, emphasizes resilience, and minimizes emissions. 

In Buncombe County, North Carolina, “a debris removal company estimates it will collect 100,000 cubic yards of trees and limbs” in just one town. To visualize, this quantity of waste would cover a football field “to a depth of up to 56 feet,” according to town manager Jonathan Kanipe — a burden that does not include washing machines, propane taxes, shattered houses, and other debris. Even though President Biden has approved a request from Governor Cooper to “cover all of the costs of debris removal for the next six months,” there is no plan in place to do so. It will be up to each town and county to figure out how to remove, store, and then dispose of all this trash, and many communities do not have such storage or moving capacity. Thus, the Fair Share NDC calls for a National Zero Waste Plan by 2026 so that local, state, and federal governments can coordinate and preempt waste management needs, both in times of crisis and on the daily.

Hurricane Helene also destroyed much critical infrastructure, such as roads, power lines, and bridges. Virginia Tech professor Manoochehr Shirzaei notes that “Legacy systems, including levees, dams, bridges, roads, and electrical grids, were not originally designed to endure the growing severity of hurricanes exacerbated by climate change. As these structures deteriorate with time, their vulnerability to failure during extreme weather events increases.” When we rebuild, we must promote resilience and greener infrastructure.

The Fair Share NDC calls for FEMA and NOAA to create climate resilient design guidelines that can be used by states. In addition, it demands funding to support tree and urban forestry maintenance to reduce flood impacts. New requirements to minimize emissions, such as low carbon construction materials and passive heating and cooling mechanisms, are also necessary. North Carolina’s transportation sector can also be built back better through high speed rail between major cities, increased bus routes and light rail options, and more resilient roads and bridges.

All of this must be coordinated in a National Adaptation Plan by 2027 to ensure that all communities are supported equitably in response to climate impacts. Such a plan must incorporate clear pathways for resilient infrastructure, safeguarded communities, metrics, and identification of protected ecosystems. In addition, the US must contribute its fair share to international adaptation to finance developing nations’ efforts to develop sustainably as well. This is especially true for climate-vulnerable communities in the Global South who have negligible contributions to this crisis.

Climate Mitigation

Finally, any plan to address climate-induced disasters such as Hurricane Helene must address climate mitigation. Our Fair Share NDC mandates a fair, funded, feminist, and equitable fossil fuel phaseout by 2031 to avoid future disasters like Helene. As hurricanes like Helene become the new normal, the US must acknowledge our new reality by writing an NDC that contributes its fair share to mitigating, adapting to, and compensating for the climate crisis.