That big ‘whoompf’ you heard this morning was the arrival of the 700-page report on climate change authored by former World Bank economist Nicholas Stern for British Chancellor Gordon Brown. Titled “The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change,” it will unavoidably be known as the Stern Admonition.
There’s already an additonal entry under Stern’s bio in Wikipedia, not to mention numerous headlines, most prominently in the Globe and Mail: $7-trillion warning on global warming. For more on Stern and the politics of climate change in Britain, check the Guardian: Stern by name, stern by nature.
In my experience, you’ll know the issue is being taken seriously when budget lines and tax policy change. Best line: “In the unusually memorable words of former Tory chancellor Lord Howe the aim now is tax as you burn, rather than tax as you earn.”
