In the U.S., Pew Environment Group claimed rapid melting of the Arctic could carry a minimum price tag of USD2.4 trillion by 2050. It calculated the “climate cooling value” lost by retreating Arctic sea ice and snow and thawing permafrost. It claimed in 2010, Arctic melting may warm the Earth an amount equivalent to pumping three billion metric tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, or 40% of all U.S. industrial emissions.
