A Blueprint for a Safer Planet

Description

* Further substantial global warming is unavoidable and the risks to the natural world, the economy and our everyday lives are immense. The way we live in the next thirty years how we invest, use energy, organise transport and treat forests will determine whether these risks become realities. * Stern s central theme is the economic management of investment and growth from the perspective of both adaptation and mitigation. * Although poor countries the least responsible for climate change - will be hit earliest and hardest, all countries must adapt to the effects- hurricanes and storms hit New Orleans and Mumbai; flooding causes devastation in England and Mozambique; droughts occur in Australia and Darfur; and sea level rise will affect Florida and Bangladesh. * Action on Climate Change will require the greatest international collaboration the world has ever seen. * Accessible and clearly structured- What is the problem? What are the dangers? What can be done to reduce emissions, at what cost? How can the world adapt? What does all this mean for individuals, corporations, governments?

Nicholas Stern was Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank from 2000 to 2003. He is currently the I.G. Patel Chair at the London School of Economics, heading the new India Observatory within the Asia Research Centre. He also chairs the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. He has served as the Second Permanent Secretary to Her Majesty's Treasury, the Director of Policy and Research for the Prime Minister's Commission for Africa, and the head of the Government Economic Service in the UK.

"The Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next December will be one of the most important international gatherings since the Second World War. Nicholas Stern gives a compelling account of why the meeting matters so much to the world, and outlines a global deal that would provide the ground rules for a safer planet. His book reinforces the arguments of the original Stern Review, and provides a forceful response to its critics" -- Richard Lambert, head of CBI and Chancellor of Warwick University "The Stern Review led the way in explaining the economic theory of climate change. His Blueprint sets out in practical terms why the world needs to act, what we need to do, and how, if we take action, we can build a new era of prosperity and growth." -- Adair Turner, Chairman of the FSA and Chairman of the Climate Change Committee "The book is written for a wider audience than the official report and incorporates some more recent (and worrying) findings from climate science." -- Economist Economist "Despite his gloomy predictions Lord Stern's overall argument is one of optimism" -- Louise Gray Telegraph "If this year's climate crucial climate change negotiations are successful, this book will be required reading ... Lord Stern, like Al Gore, could be seen as one of the rock stars of global warming." -- Fiona Harvey Financial Times