The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review, first published in 2006, has a simple conclusion – that when it comes to environmental protection, “the benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economic costs of not acting”. The UK government-commissioned study was a landmark one because it made the business case for spending large sums of money and enacting green policies to fight the climate crisis – explaining that this need not limit economic growth; that delay will mean higher costs in the long term; that climate change itself will limit growth and development unless mitigated; and that an international response with shared goals is required. Doing nothing may cost less in the immediate term, but this, the author shows, is a false economy.
further reading…
The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review, first published in 2006, has a simple conclusion – that when it comes to environmental protection, “the benefits of strong and early action far outweigh the economic costs of not acting”. The UK government-commissioned study was a landmark one because it made the business case for spending large sums of money and enacting green policies to fight the climate crisis – explaining that this need not limit economic growth; that delay will mean higher costs in the long term; that climate change itself will limit growth and development unless mitigated; and that an international response with shared goals is required. Doing nothing may cost less in the immediate term, but this, the author shows, is a false economy.