The economics profession have often been accused of coveting economic growth at the expense of the planet. But this caricature is misleading: there has been steady engagement with the environmental consequences of economic activity in the work of economists, both historic and modern. ‘Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate extremes in […]
Category: Energy & climate change
Some economists have been at the forefront of debates about policies to combat global warming. Research over the past three decades has explored issues around the likely effects of climate change; when to take action; and how to achieve efficient reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases – water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, nitrous […]
Carbon efficiency is improving, but far too slowly to offset climate change. Do we need to question our relentless pursuit of growth? When the Club of Rome published Limits to Growth in 1972, the economist Kenneth Boulding remarked to the US Congress that ‘anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite […]
The UK government has set ambitious emissions reduction targets to help tackle climate change. But it is currently falling short, and more funding and policy interventions will be needed to reach the ultimate objective of net zero. In November, the signatories of the Paris Agreement will meet in Glasgow to set out their targets for […]
The prospect of windfall taxes on the profits of oil and gas companies has gained support from the British public. But they are unlikely to solve the cost of living crisis alone, even after the recent expansion announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The underlying principle of windfall taxes is to redistribute profits that […]
Economists should no longer treat the natural world as separate from human activity: indeed, we must embed our reliance on nature into economics. But that doesn’t mean tearing up the rulebook: protecting the environment requires turning the discipline’s tools to new tasks. The way that economists and policy-makers think about the world is shifting. As […]
Europe is likely to remain reliant on Russian gas in the short term. Over a longer period, there is more scope for reshaping Europe’s energy policy, but this would come at a cost. Fine tuning policy to balance climate objectives against security of energy supply will be difficult. Through swift action, sanctions and relaxation of […]
Meeting agreed climate targets requires an unprecedented structural transformation of the global economy over the next two or three decades. Yet conditional on action being taken early, the opportunities from the transition should significantly outweigh the costs. The twenty-first century will not be like the twentieth. Most obviously, the economy of the future will be […]
Human-made climate change is increasing the likelihood or intensity of extreme weather events. The costs of these disasters – and their effects on equality – are being underestimated, and greater urgency is required to implement mitigation policies. Climate change is heating up the world. This year, the cherry trees in the main temple in Kyoto […]
As economic activity slowed dramatically in the wake of Covid-19 and lockdowns, the world inadvertently moved towards meeting its objectives for limiting climate change. In the recovery, this progress is likely to be undone unless policy-makers act decisively. Global energy demand dropped by 4% in 2020 – the largest fall since the Second World War […]