22 July 2015: An article released ten years after the ‘Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change’ reaffirms that the cost of inaction on climate change is still greater than the cost of action. Authored by Nicholas Stern, who authored the original Review, the article, titled ‘Economic Development, Climate and Values: Making Policy,’ finds that the case for climate action is even stronger today than at the time of the Stern Review’s publication a decade ago.

In the article, published by the journal Proceedings B, the Royal Society’s flagship biological research journal, Stern explains that some of the impacts of climate change are happening more quickly than previously expected. That fact, combined with the rapidly falling costs of renewable energies, solar photovoltaic (PV) in particular, presents a considerable economic argument for tackling climate change, according to the article.

Drawing on his experience working in public policy, Stern examines the relationship between fighting climate change and tackling global poverty, stating, “if we fail on one, we will fail on the other.” He argues that climate change presents an opportunity to be approached with collaboration and dynamism, saying the “the transition to the low-carbon economy can be full of innovation, creativity and rising living standards on all relevant dimensions.”

Stern acknowledges the contentious issues, such as equity and ethics, that remain as obstacles to an international agreement on climate change. However, on the economic and environmental aspects of climate change, he urges readers not to see them as trade-offs, but to view the “transition to a low-carbon economy” as “a path of development and growth that is very attractive in its own right: cleaner, quieter, more efficient, less congested, less polluted, more bio-diverse and so on.” [Publication: Economic Development, Climate and Values: Making Policy] [The Climate Group Press Release]