MAXINE JOSELOW / WASHINGTON POST – As Democrats in Congress face pressure to lower the price tag of their $3.5 trillion tax-and-spending package, economists are sounding the alarm over climate spending that might be scaled back.

Prominent economists say climate change will impose astronomical costs on the United States in the coming years through natural disasters, lost labor productivity, energy costs, migration and other impacts. And they argue that spending more money to address climate change today is a smart investment that will pay off later …