Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change

Author: Sir Nicholas Stern, Head of the Government Economic Service and Adviser to the UK Government on the economics of climate change and development. Published in 2006

The Stern Review of the Economics of Climate Change is a very influential report on the public and political climate change agenda, produced for the British government. It underscores the challenges that climate change imposes on Nature, Economics and Human Life. The report states that climate change is basically an economic problem caused by unsustainable economic activity. And most importantly, the report underlines the need for urgent action by reiterating the economic view that the benefits of strong and early action to counter climate change by far outweigh the economic costs of not acting.

Sir Nichoas Stern has since then on October 27 2008 stated that the climate crisis is very likely to be far more costly to the economies of the world than the financial crisis: "The risk consequences of ignoring climate change will be very much bigger than the consequences of ignoring risks in the financial system".