Climate change expert calls for strong decisions in 2010
Posted on 8 March 2010
Nicholas Stern will use the annual Ken Dixon Lecture to set out the challenges facing world leaders before the next major international conference on climate change in Mexico in December.
He will urge countries to quickly implement plans agreed at the recent Copenhagen summit to halt deforestation and to cut emissions to levels that offer a reasonable chance of avoiding global warming of more than 2˚C, as outlined in the Copenhagen Accord.
We know what we have to do as a world: action is urgent
Lord Stern
Lord Stern will also highlight the importance of the work of an Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing, announced last month by the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, to identify additional sources of funding to support action in developing countries.
In his lecture, on Tuesday 9 March, he will say: “We should all understand the magnitude of the risk from business as usual. If we continue as we are, concentrations of greenhouse gases are likely to reach levels at the end of the century that imply a significant probability of reaching 5˚C above the pre-industrial global average temperature. Such temperatures have not been seen on this planet for more than 30 million years, and homo sapiens has been here for only about 200,000 years. The lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people would be affected.
“On the other hand, if we foster the new technologies and investments which can reduce emissions, we are likely to embark on the most creative and innovative period of growth in our history. We are at a crossroads.”
Lord Stern led a major review of the economics of climate change for the UK Government, published in 2006, whose findings have been hugely influential in the international debate on the issue.
He is now Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he also holds the position of IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government.
He will say: “The meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009 was in many ways disappointing, but the Copenhagen Accord does provide a platform for going forward because it contains, in essence, most of the key points for a global deal.
“The challenge now is to build quickly and strongly on that platform.
“We know what we have to do as a world: action is urgent; 2010 must be the year of strong decisions.”
The Ken Dixon Lecture is an annual event promoting debate on economic issues of the day hosted by the Department for Economics and Related Studies. The lecture is named after the chair of University Council from 1990 to 2001 who is a long time supporter of the University.
Admission to the lecture is by ticket only and all have now been taken.
Notes to editors:
- Find out more about the Department of Economics and Related Studies at www.york.ac.uk/economics.
- University of York academics across a range of disciplines are conducting research that has an impact on our understanding of climate change and ways it can be addressed. Information about the University’s research activity can be found at http://www.york.ac.uk/np/research/.
- More information about Lord Stern and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment can be found at http://www.lse.ac.uk/Grantham.
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