Georgia Backgrounder

Climate Impacts

• In the past decade, Georgia has seen 68 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters that have cost over $521 billion in damages.
• According to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, the Southeast’s economy relies on Georgia’s ports, rivers, rail, air, and road networks, which are at risk from sea level rise, flooding, extreme heat, drought, and other climate-related hazards.
• Albany, GA, is the fourth fastest-warming city in the nation, with temperatures increasing by 5 degrees since 1970. 
• Average summer temperatures have increased in Atlanta, GA, by 3.3 degrees between 1970 and 2022.
• Georgia outdoor workers could lose up to $2.1 billion in earnings yearly due to extreme heat, with the counties of Gwinnett, Cobb, and Fulton being hit hardest.
  • In Georgia, outdoor workers in installation, maintenance, and repair occupations would lose the most at $469.4 million annually, followed by workers in construction and extraction occupations at $447 million annually.
  • The average Georgia outdoor worker would see $2,500 per year lost due to extreme heat, with workers in Charlton, Pierce, and Effingham counties most affected. 
  • Georgia outdoor workers in installation, maintenance, and repair occupations would lose the most annual income at about $3,300, followed by those in protective service occupations at roughly $2,900 annually.
  • Georgia outdoor workers risk seeing 21 workdays lost on average due to extreme heat, with Charlton, Long, Decatur, and Seminole counties hit the hardest. 
  • In Georgia, 188,492 outdoor workers identify as Hispanic or Latino, and 368,271 outdoor workers identify as Black or African American.
• According to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, rapidly growing urban centers in the Southeast, including Georgia, are increasingly vulnerable to drought and the challenges tied to the provision of water for residents and businesses.
• The sea level off Georgia’s coasts has risen 11 inches since 1950. There are already nearly 13,000 properties at risk from frequent tidal flooding in Georgia.
• According to the Fifth National Climate Assessment, Georgia faces some of the highest economic risks related to energy infrastructure damage without proactive adaptation measures in place.
  • Georgia faces $97 million in annual energy infrastructure costs in 2050 under an intermediate scenario (RCP4.5) even with proactive adaptation measures. 
  • Georgia faces $255 million in annual energy infrastructure costs in 2050 under the same scenario with no adaptation measures taken. 

Pollution Impacts 

• In 2023, Augusta-Richmond County ranked 15th for worst for annual particle pollution, and the Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs metropolitan area ranked 37th.
• Georgia has 43 coal ash dumpsites. Coal ash contains hazardous pollutants, including arsenic, boron, cobalt, chromium, lead, lithium, mercury, molybdenum, radium, selenium, and other heavy metals, which have been linked to cancer, heart and thyroid disease, reproductive failure, and neurological harm.
• Approximately 12% of school-aged children in Georgia have asthma.
• In Georgia, although asthma impacts many people, asthma is found more often in boys and in persons who identify as black or African American. Asthma is also found more often among children who live in households with lower incomes.

Clean Energy Economy

• In Georgia, President Biden’s clean energy plan has already spurred the creation of 32,191 jobs and $23.91 billion in new investment in clean energy projects.
• As of June 2024, Georgia has received over $11.1 billion in funding from the clean energy plan – that’s money going to communities all across the state to promote climate resiliency, reduce pollution, and advance climate-smart agriculture. Some projects include:
  • 25 Georgia school districts received over $48 million ​​from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Rebate Program to purchase low- and zero-emission school buses. In addition, seven Georgia school districts received over $87 million in funding through the first Clean School Bus Program Grants Competition. 
  • Georgia received $3 million, and the Atlanta‐Sandy Springs‐Alpharetta Metro Area received an additional $1 million from the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program.
  • As part of the DOT’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, Georgia will receive $134 million over five years to deploy EV charging infrastructure.
  • The EPA selected the Westside Lead and Peach Orchard Road PCE Groundwater Plume superfund sites to receive more than $15 million in cleanup funding.
  • The USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) awarded over $3 million to four Georgia farmers, ranchers, and businesses to invest in renewable energy.
• Investment in clean energy and decreased spending on gasoline are projected to reduce average annual household energy spending by $140 per year in 2030 and a cumulative $11 billion through 2050 across all households in Georgia.
• In Atlanta, GA, the median EV driver could save about $932 per year compared with the cost of driving the average new gasoline vehicle.