101-solutions.org

SOLUTION CATEGORIES

KEYWORDS

ALL

We are the world

If global warming is to be halted, the world’s economy will have to undergo a major adjustment, and it will have to happen quickly. From the board rooms of global companies to our own kitchen tables, decisions need to be taken that will involve change. This will not happen without strong political leadership. Never has the need for real statesmanship been stronger.

According to the leader of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, the next four years will determine whether the world will manage to tackle the climate crisis. If we do not succeed, the consequences will be extremely serious for large parts of the earth’s population in generations to come.

It is easy to assume that cuts in emissions are expensive and will threaten the economy, employment and welfare. It will not be cheap, but the alternatives are much more expensive. On behalf of the British government, the well-known economist Lord Nicholas Stern produced the Stern report, the most extensive and most reliable piece of work that has been carried out to establish the costs of global warming. The conclusion is clear. The financial loss caused by not implementing measures would be the equivalent of a 5-20 percent reduction in the gross world product now and for all time. Carrying out work to limit global warming is far cheaper. According to Stern, around two percent of the gross world product must be used annually to ensure that global warming does not exceed 2 – 2.4°C.