An Appropriately Titled Warning on Climate Change

October 29, 2006 – Vol.11 No.32

AN APPROPRIATELY TITLED WARNING ON CLIMATE CHANGE.

The Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change, commissioned by the UK government and authored by British economist Sir Nicholas Stern, sent a shudder through the world this week. (At least to those who were paying attention.) We can spend one percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) through 2050 to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent, or we can expect a 20 percent drop in global GDP afterwards.

In other words, expect a global economic depression if we don’t act soon. Bad weather, rising oceans, poor harvests, more diseases will do us in. There’ll be no place to hide.

But from this editor’s point of view, after more than ten years of writing this publication, not only can we reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we can reverse the trend: bring greenhouse gas concentrations back to pre-industrial revolution levels if we want to. We have or could have the technology to do it and savvy industries would make money at it.

The problem is that the world is still in a state of denial and it doesn’t like disruption. There is no massive global effort to do anything. Special interests, such as the fossil fuel industries, car companies and utilities are more concerned about today’s profits than tomorrow’s new business opportunities, let alone the health and welfare of future generations. Where are the people, the political and business leaders to make the tough forward looking decisions needed to determine the future of the planet? Some, many in fact, actually are concerned and are doing what they can. The others, I suppose, are waiting to retire, then die, leaving the hard work for their children and grandchildren. Shame on them.

For an Executive Summary of the Stern Review click

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/30_10_06_exec_sum.pdf