ShareThisThe global recession presents a golden opportunity to go green, says a British economist known for his clear-eyed analysis of the costs and benefits of tackling global warming.
Now is the time to invest in technology and make deep cuts in carbon emissions, amid a growing body of scientific evidence pointing to dire consequences without urgent action, says Nicholas Stern, head of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change at the London School of Economics. "The arrival of the recession actually strengthens the argument," Stern said. "At times of recession, it's cheaper to invest, because there's less pressure on resources."
Also, low-carbon technologies will be the growth story of the next few decades, so it makes sense to focus infrastructure and other spending now on a "green recovery."
Any attempt "to rekindle high-carbon growth would be a big mistake. Essentially, it would be trying to invest in something which has a really limited future," he said.
Stern said he is encouraged by rapid technological progress, which should lower the price tag on reducing carbon emissions, and he is more than ever convinced that the economic benefits of a strong global response now far outweigh the likely fallout.
This optimistic tone infuses his new book, The Global Deal, in which he lays out his blueprint for a lower-carbon future that depends on governments reaching a post-Kyoto accord on climate change at a critical conference in Copenhagen at the end of this year.
"I'm optimistic if we're sensible," Stern said. "We can move pretty quickly to control emissions, to develop the new technologies, to put in the economic policies that are going to hold the costs down. And I do think that it would help pull us out of recession."
Much depends on whether the United States and China take the necessary lead. But the attitude of such countries as Canada and Australia also matters. "In per capita terms, they are amongst the highest emitters and amongst the countries with the best technologies. So people will look to them and say if they're not involved, why should we (be)."
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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