Saturday, March 03, 2007

 

Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change

You may find this interesting given a class discussion we had a few weeks ago:
It is an in-depth study on the economic costs of global climate change that was conducted by Her Majesty's Treasury (which is essentially the British equivalent to the treasury department).
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/independent_reviews/stern_review_economics_climate_change/sternreview_index.cfm Take a look at the executive summary.

Some of you may have noticed that the debate on global climate change has been turned on its head over the past few years. These days it is the economists who argue for capping greenhouse gas emissions.

At this point--even in America--it is the consensus of virtually all of the scientific community that the planet is warming, the vast majority of the data suggest that an influx in greenhouse gas concentrations have played a significant role in this warming trend, and in all likelihood this warming trend will continue over the next century regardless of its causes.

It is true that carbon dioxide concentrations are higher today than they have been for thousands of years.

It is highly unlikely that this is due to anything other than human activity.

In the past carbon dioxide levels have shown a strong correlation with global temperature--and most would say carbon dioxide levels have a significant effect on global temperatures.

A few, very vocal scientists in the US maintain that today's warming trend is no big deal, while most of the rest of the world sees it as a serious issue.


The fact is, the cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions.

We can avoid an economic and social catastrophe. Therefore we should avoid it.

Comments:
That is a great episode of Scientific American Frontiers.

The nice thing about that show is that it is truthful, but not pessimistic. I think a positive outlook is critical in this case.

Did you see part 3 of the series?

It focuses on the fact that, by changing the way we look at energy and the environment we can not only ensure sustainability, but make our economy more diverse and improve our standard of living at the same time.
 
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