Ivan Rudik

Associate Professor of Applied Economics and Policy

Ivan Rudik is as associate professor of applied economics and policy at Cornell University and a former Chief Environmental Economist in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during the Biden administration. He studies adaptation to environmental change and the role of hurricane forecasts.

Rudik says:

“The recent cuts to NOAA staff and weather monitoring will substantially harm the U.S. We are now understaffed in key roles for forecasting and are more limited in terms of data collection that informs weather forecasts and how these forecasts are communicated to the public. Our ability to predict and prepare for things like heat waves, cold snaps, hurricanes, and wildfires will be degraded.

“The elimination of NOAA research offices, especially the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research will limit US hurricane forecasting for years to come and lead to greater destruction and loss of lives. The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research is responsible for major improvements in US hurricane forecasting over the last two decades. Our research shows that these improvements have saved the US tens of billions of dollars in damage and many lives at a fraction of the cost.

“Cuts to NOAA budgets, research and data may also have broader effects since their data and input are used widely in risk modeling. Without the services that NOAA provides, risk models used in the insurance and mortgage industries will worsen, leading to higher premia or withdrawals from the market as we've seen happen in fire insurance markets in California.”