{"id":427,"date":"2008-03-17T16:45:38","date_gmt":"2008-03-17T21:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2008\/03\/17\/how-much-will-it-cost-to-save-the-world\/"},"modified":"2008-03-18T17:39:13","modified_gmt":"2008-03-18T22:39:13","slug":"how-much-will-it-cost-to-save-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2008\/03\/17\/how-much-will-it-cost-to-save-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Will It Cost to Save the World?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"TonyThis post is by Tony Kreindler, Media Director for the National Climate Campaign at Environmental Defense Fund.<\/em><\/p>\n

Last week, two reports came out that look at how much it will cost to drastically reduce the pollution that causes global warming. Both used economic models to project how the growth rate would change. One used a realistic set of assumptions, and the other stacked the deck with extreme assumptions.<\/p>\n

But both of them look at only one half of the real question. They ask \u201cHow much will it cost?\u201d (Answer: Surprisingly little). But we also have to ask, \u201cWhat do we get in return for that investment?\u201d<\/p>\n

The first report was put out by the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Council for Capital Formation. Their numbers show some scary costs because of the assumptions they plugged in. As I said in this Miami Herald<\/em> article<\/a>, they figured in small use of renewable energy and other artificial constraints.<\/p>\n

A more realistic analysis came out Friday from the EPA. The Wall Street Journal<\/em> sums it up<\/a> this way (subscription required, free version<\/a> from Dow Jones news service):<\/p>\n

The leading congressional proposal to control greenhouse-gas emissions could be implemented without significantly harming the nation’s economic growth<\/strong> over the next two decades, according to an analysis published Friday by the Bush administration.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So the investment is manageable. But what do we get for it? A more stable climate, for one. Lisa Moore discussed this most recently in her post about Earth systems that could be pushed past critical tipping points<\/a> if we do nothing.<\/p>\n

Or, put another way, if we don\u2019t make this investment, what will we end up paying? We reviewed studies that looked at the price of climate disruptions in an earlier post, \u201cMost Expensive Solution: Do Nothing<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

To summarize: If we invest in reducing pollution, we get cleaner air, more diverse sources of energy and lower risk of catastrophic climate changes \u2013 all at a price we can handle. We should jump at a bargain when we see one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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