By John Podesta, advisory board member, Climate Power 2020

We’re already living the economic consequences of climate change. The number of billion-dollar disasters over the last years has been historically large: 3 extreme weather events cost the U.S. more than $800 billion. In 2019 alone, weather and climate disasters cost the United States more than $45 billion.

Economists say if we don’t act, climate change could cut the U.S. economy by up to percent, kill millions of jobs and cost Americans tens of trillions of dollars in the coming decades.

Eliminating enviornmental protection regulations

And make no mistake, Trump is making the climate crisis worse. The fossil fuel lobbyists whom Trump has appointed to lead the agencies charged with protecting our public health and environment have rolled back more than 0 regulations during his tenure — including the bedrock National Environmental Protection Act.

During the middle of this pandemic, the administration allowed more than 3,000 polluters to have free rein to pollute our air and water the guise of loosening regulations. They gave waivers to oil and gas companies, allowing them to curb environmental monitoring standards and skip testing altogether for some refineries and gas stations.

In August, the Trump administration even approved oil and gas leasing in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — one of the country’s last wild places.

It's not the first time. Even in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in 20, as Houston and other cities saw polluted and toxic water flood their neighborhoods, Trump rolled back the “chemical disaster rule,” which sets requirements for chemical plants to plan for emergencies, like hurricanes and extreme weather.

We will see the consequences of all of those decisions play out in the coming days and weeks as Texas and Louisiana contend with the damage from Hurricane Laura. In Lake Charles, Louisiana, a chemical plant damaged by the hurricane has already caught fire, releasing poisonous chlorine gas into the atmosphere. Gov. John Bel Edwards ordered residents to seal their homes and shelter in place.

This is one reason that thoughts and prayers are not enough when it comes to natural disasters driven by climate change. We need real solutions that understand the severity and importance of the moment and will rise to it — not simply bear witness to the catastrophic course of destruction laid out by Trump administration policies and willing political denialism.