AFTER global markets were hit by what may be the worst financial crisis of our times, environmental groups pointed out that an “eco-crunch” would hit even harder. Just how hard is the subject of a new report.
Estimating the cost of environmental crises is difficult. In 2006, economist Nicholas Stern rocked the world by putting a £2.3 trillion price tag on the consequences of ignoring climate change. “He may have been right – who knows? – but Stern had a huge effect” in communicating the scale of the problem, says Nick Johnstone, an economist at the OECD, which produced the new report: …
