Finally, the economists’ weigh in

This from Sir Nick Stern, formerly chief economist at the World Bank and current advisor to Tony Blair:

The science tells us that GHG emissions are an externality; in other words, our emissions affect the lives of others. When people do not pay for the consequences of their actions we have market failure. This is the greatest market failure the world has seen.

followed by

[Business as usual] involves very high risks; it is likely to imply a rise of 4-5°C or more above pre-industrial levels within the next 100 or 150 years. This is way outside human experience. At high levels of warming, less is known about how the climate will respond – very large events might happen….
                What are the costs and benefits of taking action? The costs of removing most of that risk, getting to 550 or below, are around 1% of [global] GDP per year. The cost could be above or below 1% depending on policies, technological progress and ambitions but would be in this region. This is equivalent to paying on average 1% more for what we buy - the price rise for carbon intensive goods would be higher and for low carbon intensive goods would be lower – it is like a one-off increase by 1% in the price level. That is manageable; we can grow and be green.

 and UK politicians listen. This from Tony Blair

The consequences for our planet are literally disastrous. This disaster is not set to happen in some science-fiction future, many years ahead, but in our lifetime. What is more, unless we act now, not some time distant but now, these consequences, disastrous as they are, will be irreversible.

 

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