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Economist Nicholas Stern
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The less is invested in climate protection, the more expensive it becomes.
Nicholas Stern from the London School of Economics first formulated what is now a truism in 2006. The “Stern Report” named after him dealt with the costs of climate change on behalf of the British government.
Exactly 15 years later to the day, the star economist presented an update on Tuesday.
"Any reasonable estimate of the costs of inaction would be higher today and the costs of acting lower than then," writes Stern.
What was true back then is all the more true today.
"While greenhouse gas emissions have continued to rise and the effects of climate change have made themselves felt faster and more strongly than expected, the costs of climate-friendly energies have fallen further and faster than expected."
Previous economic models have not adequately addressed the "enormous risks and potential loss of human life" caused by the climate crisis, says Stern.
The speed at which clean technologies such as solar and wind power are developing has also been underestimated.
Investments are now of immense importance in order to transform the economy in a climate-friendly manner.
So far, economists have "undervalued" the consequences of the climate crisis for the lives of young people in the coming decades, Stern told the Guardian a few days before the start of the UN climate conference in Glasgow.
Future generations are most threatened by the effects of climate change.
"That is discrimination based on date of birth."
»Harmful assumption« that climate protection harms the economy
Before the global climate strike in September, an international survey of adolescents and young adults showed that 60 percent are afraid of the future.
56 percent even fear that humanity is "doomed".
When the Federal Constitutional Court obliged the government to set higher climate targets, it also cited the burdens for future generations.
In terms of climate policy, too little has happened in the past 15 years because the "harmful assumption" has persisted that climate protection affects economic growth and is expensive, according to Stern.
The transformation to a climate-neutral economy could be the "great engine for a new form of growth" that is more resource-efficient.
Stern advocates comprehensive CO₂ pricing, new product standards and a reform of the capital markets to enable change.
It is also crucial to make enough money available for investments worldwide, especially in developing countries.
In 2009, the economist was involved in the negotiations on a $ 100 billion package for poorer countries - a promise that the industrialized countries have not kept to this day.
When Stern published his report a decade and a half ago, quite a few colleagues thought it was exaggerating.
“The idea that I am a panic maker is, in retrospect, just ridiculous.
We underestimated the dangers, ”says Stern.
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