You’ve heard it before: Politicians say they’d love to take action
against climate change, but they’re reeling from sticker shock. Today, a
new report from the U.K.’s leading climate change watchdog refutes this
oft-cited argument that climate action will herald economic Armageddon.
The Committee on Climate Change
(CCC) report, with the hairy-sounding title “Statutory Advice on
Inclusion of International Aviation and Shipping,” says that in 2050,
the U.K.’s emissions reductions across the whole economy will cost 1 to 2
percent of the total GDP. This updates, in greater detail, the range
predicted half a decade ago by the watershed Stern Review.
Just how much is that? For a rough comparison, one percent of the
U.K.’s 2011 GDP is a little more than what the country currently spends
on public housing and community amenities, and is nowhere near the
big-ticket public spending items like healthcare.
