Climate change and animals

Climate change is already having adverse effects an animal life, and those efffects are likely to prove devastating in the future Nonetheless, the relevant harms to animals have to become a serious Pait of the analysis of climate change polity. Even animals and species are valued solely by reference to human Preferences, consideration of animal welfare dramatically increases the argument for aggressive responses to climate change We estimate that, even under conservative assumptions about valuation, losses to nonhuman life might run into the hundreds of billions of dollars annually. Whatever the precise figure, the general conclusion is clear an appreciation of the likely loss of animal life leads to a massive increase in the assessment of the overall damage and cost of climate change.