New Scientist reports this:
Is it too good to be true? Top economists this week
lay out an audacious argument for transforming the world's economy into a
low-carbon one. Even if you forget climate change, they say, it is
worth doing on its own. That's because a low-carbon economy is an
efficient economy that will deliver faster economic growth, better lives
and a greener environment. Forget the costs, feel the benefits.
The report is published today, a week before world leaders gather at the United Nations in New York City for the
UN Climate Summit 2014,
which will discuss how to share out the cost of fighting climate
change. But its optimistic message is that there is no cost to share.
Nations should be cutting their carbon emissions out of self-interest.
"We can combine economic growth and
climate responsibility," Stern said at a pre-publication press briefing.
"The key is fostering the right investment, making it profitable to the
private sector."
They
also link to another (pretty wildly) optimistic sounding report:
"
You can go green and continue to prosper and develop,"
said Ed Davey, the UK secretary for energy and climate, yesterday. And
the evidence is on his side. Economists say that, despite the expense,
drastic cuts in the UK's carbon dioxide emissions will boost the
country's economy.
The finding should encourage action to reduce CO
2 levels, which
reached a new high in 2013,
according to a report by the World Meteorological Organization. The
growth from 2012 was the biggest jump since 1984, and may be partly down
to plants and other organisms taking in less CO
2.
If climate change isn't incentive enough
to cut emissions, try this: if the UK cut its carbon emissions by 60 per
cent from 1990 levels by 2030, as it has promised, its GDP would be 1.1
per cent bigger than if it stuck with fossil fuels, says a
study by consultants at
Cambridge Econometrics.
About half the gain would come from cheap
running costs for fuel-efficient cars, with 190,000 new green jobs and
higher wages also helping. The average household would be £565 a year
better off.
Maybe it's just me, but I do feel that even things like
China deciding to be pickier about what coal it burns, and the Abbott government discovering that the
Australian public actually loves renewable energy does make it seem that what Greenies have been saying for a long time may turn out right - the world is going to go cleaner and it's stupid to not take steps to encourage that in Australia too.
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