A missed opportunity: the Stern review on climate change fails to tackle the issue of non-substitutable loss of natural capital

Neumayer, Eric ORCID: 0000-0003-2719-7563 (2007) A missed opportunity: the Stern review on climate change fails to tackle the issue of non-substitutable loss of natural capital. Global Environmental Change, 17 (3/4). ISSN 0959-3780

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Abstract

The Stern Review on The Economics of Climate Change is one of the few cost-benefit analyses of climate change to come out in favour of immediate and decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The choice of a low discount rate is the main reason for the Review’s divergence in conclusions compared to other economic studies. I argue that the Review’s ethical reasons for a low discount rate are defendable, but unlikely to find wider public support. In order to justify spending a large amount of scarce resources for the purpose of limiting climate change it is necessary to move beyond the discounting debate. Unfortunately, the Review did not develop a persuasive argument for why climate change threatens to inflict upon future generations irreversible and non-substitutable damage to and loss of natural capital. This represents a missed opportunity as it would have provided a much more compelling case for drastic action than the Review’s arguments for a low discount rate.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09593...
Additional Information:	© 2007 Elsevier Ltd.
Divisions:	Geography & Environment
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Date Deposited:	31 Jan 2008
Last Modified:	02 Apr 2024 21:09
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/3059

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