Your excellency, Dear Sir / Madam,

We have just published our ninth set of papers, this time focused on Climate Change.
 
What’s the smartest target to combat Climate Change?
 
As reported on Forbes.com investing 0.5% of GDP into green energy research and development funded by a low and slowly rising carbon tax will return $11 for every dollar spent.
 
Why is this important?
 
Isabel Galiana, the lead author on our climate paper, argues that the failure to implement and achieve emissions reductions targets is not simply a matter of lack of political will. Rather, the problem is one of energy technology: current technology is not ready to provide reliable, cheap non-polluting energy for the needs of a modern society.
 
At the same time, emissions reduction targets, for example keeping temperatures 2°C below pre-industrial levels, are too costly under current technology, returning less than a dollar for every dollar spent.
 
This is why investing more in energy RD&D is the best strategy to combat climate change. By innovating more reliable and cheaper green energy, we ensure emissions reduction targets can be effectively met. The author suggests that we can fund the RD&D with a low and slowly rising carbon tax.

Climate Change Targets									Benefit for Every Dollar Spent
Invest 0.5% of GDP in energy technology RD&D									$11
Invest 0.05% of GDP in adaptation									>$1 but region specific
Global annual carbon emission reduction targets for 2°C reduction, 450ppm									<$1
Emission intensity targets									Uncertain

 
You can read the all the reports at www.post2015consensus.com/climatechange

Here, Copenhagen Consensus Center has just released its latest research on Climate Change targets for the Post-2015 development agenda. Isabel Galiana, Lecturer in the Department of Economics at McGill University writes the main report, peer-reviewed in perspective papers by Carolyn Fischer, Senior Fellow and Associate Director of the Center for Climate and Electricity Policy at Resources for the Future, and by Robert Mendelsohn, Edwin Weyerhaeuser Davis Professor of Forest Policy and of Economics at Yale University. Additionally, experts from NGOs and stakeholders such as ForumCC and the Overseas Development Institute present viewpoint papers concerning Galiana’s analysis.
 

 

Bjorn Lomborg

PhD and Adjunct Professor

President of Copenhagen Consensus Center

PS. The Post-2015 Consensus  project brings together 62 teams of economists with NGOs, international agencies and businesses to identify the targets with the greatest benefit-to-cost ratio for the UN's post-2015 development goals.  If you have questions about the project, send an email to Research Project Manager Brad Wong by replying to this email.