The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review
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Product Description
There is now clear scientific evidence that emissions from economic activity, particularly the burning of fossil fuels for energy, are causing changes to the Earth's climate. A sound understanding of the economics of climate change is needed in order to underpin an effective global response to this challenge. The Stern Review is an independent, rigourous and comprehensive analysis of the economic aspects of this crucial issue. It has been conducted by Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the UK Government Economic Service, and a former Chief Economist of the World Bank. The Economics of Climate Change will be invaluable for all students of the economics and policy implications of climate change, and economists, scientists and policy makers involved in all aspects of climate change.
Spotlight Customer Reviews:
Summary:
A very important and useful report on climate change
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Comment:
This is a very important document on climate change and has won the respect of experts around the world. It was commissioned by the British government in 2005. It took two years to complete and was headed by Nicholas Stern, the former Chief Economist of the World Bank. You may or may not agree with all its findings but it remains one of the most professional studies of whole climate change situation, integrating global economic realities with science. Stern has written a less expensive book of his views that came out in 2009 The Global Deal: Climate Change and the Creation of a New Era of Progress and Prosperity. I would also recommend Lester Brown's Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (Substantially Revised).
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Summary:
Unconvincing
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Comment:
Dr Nicholas Stern was formerly the World Bank's chief economist, so he has huge experience of faulty forecasts. His 2006 review has become the most influential global warming report, embraced by the Blair and Brown governments. He appeared to bring hard-sounding economic calculations into the world of scientific predictions and guesses.
Yet his report is now wholly discredited. Dr. Richard Tol, Principal Researcher at the Institute for Environmental Studies at Vrije Universiteit, and Adjunct Professor at the Center for Integrated Study of the Human Dimensions of Global Change, at Carnegie Mellon University, called it `preposterous'.
Crucially, Stern estimated the cost of additional carbon emissions as $29 a ton, as against Tol's conclusion that the costs were `likely to be substantially smaller' than $14 a ton. Tol said, "In sum, the Stern Review is very selective in the studies it quotes on the impacts of climate change. The selection bias is not random, but emphasises the most pessimistic studies ... Results are occasionally misinterpreted. The report claims that a cost-benefit analysis was done, but none was carried out. The Stern Review can therefore be dismissed as alarmist and incompetent."
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