Economic development, climate and values: making policy

Stern, Nicholas (2015) Economic development, climate and values: making policy. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282 (1812). p. 20150820. ISSN 0962-8452

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Abstract

The two defining challenges of this century are overcoming poverty and managing the risks of climate change. Over the past 10 years, we have learned much about how to tackle them together from ideas on economic development and public policy. My own work in these areas over four decades as an academic and as a policy adviser in universities and international financial institutions has focused on how the investment environment and the empowerment of people can change lives and livelihoods. The application of insights from economic development and public policy to climate change requires rigorous analysis of issues such as discounting, modelling the risks of unmanaged climate change, climate policy targets and estimates of the costs of mitigation. The latest research and results show that the case for avoiding the risks of dangerous climate change through the transition to low-carbon economic development and growth is still stronger than when the Stern Review was published. This is partly because of evidence that some of the impacts of climate change are happening more quickly than originally expected, and because of remarkable advances in technologies, such as solar power. Nevertheless, significant hurdles remain in securing the international cooperation required to avoid dangerous climate change, not least because of disagreements and misunderstandings about key issues, such as ethics and equity.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/
Additional Information:	© 2015 The Authors
Divisions:	Economics
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GF Human ecology. Anthropogeography H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Date Deposited:	13 Apr 2016 10:35
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 01:00
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/66065

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