Documents Taylor, Charlotte 5 results

"Designing policy for climate change requires analyses which integrate the interrelationship between the economy and the environment. We argue that, despite their dominance in the economics literature and influence in public discussion and policymaking, the methodology employed by Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) rests on flawed foundations, which become particularly relevant in relation to the realities of the immense risks and challenges of climate change, and the radical changes in our economies that a sound and effective response require. We identify a set of critical methodological problems with the IAMs which limit their usefulness and discuss the analytic foundations of an alternative approach that is more capable of providing insights into how best to manage the transition to net-zero emissions."

"Green jobs should be at the heart of the Covid-19 recovery to ensure long-term growth, according to a new report from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Investing in jobs that will help the UK meet its net-zero carbon emissions target for 2050 will also help to deliver the government's "levelling-up" agenda, creating work across the country in the near term and setting the groundwork for sustainable and resilient longer-term economic growth, the authors say.

The report - Jobs for a strong and sustainable recovery from Covid-19 - which is published today by the CEP and the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment – suggests that tens of thousands of jobs could be created this way"

"The UK's future economic, social and environmental prosperity will be shaped by how it deals with, and recovers from, the impact of Covid-19. This paper sets out coordinated net-zero-aligned investments which the UK can place at the heart of its recovery plan including: energy efficiency in buildings; natural capital projects; active travel equipment and infrastructure; renewable power generation and distribution; electric vehicle production and charging infrastructure; and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen production. We summarise evidence from a range of sources including ex-post evaluations and more forward-looking forecast-based studies; looking at short-run and long-run job creation and broader benefits. We also present new analysis on where these economic opportunities might lie. Together, these analyses can inform UK decisions on where to focus investment in the recovery from Covid-19."

"A large discrepancy exists between the dire impacts that most natural scientists project we could face from climate change and the modest estimates of damages calculated by mainstream economists. Economic assessments of climate change risks are intended to be comprehensive, covering the full range of physical impacts and their associated market and non-market costs, considering the greater vulnerability of poor people and the challenges of adaptation. Available estimates still fall significantly short of this goal, but alternative approaches that have been proposed attempt to address these gaps. This review seeks to provide a common basis for natural scientists, social scientists, and modellers to understand the research challenges involved in evaluating the economic risks of climate change. Focusing on the estimation processes embedded in economic integrated assessment models and the concerns raised in the literature, we summarise the frontiers of research relevant to improving quantitative damage estimates, representing the full complexity of the associated systems, and evaluating the impact of the various economic assumptions used to manage this complexity."

"The macroeconomic environment has shifted rapidly in the past year. This has posed serious challenges for policymakers seeking to avoid recession and inflation but also to boost productivity growth and prevent dangerous climate change and environmental degradation. The purpose of this paper is to set out a stable and prudent course for macroeconomic policy in this environment.

Although fiscal and macroeconomic pressures will differ from country to country, common patterns can be discerned. The authors argue that a policy approach that encourages an acceleration in clean investment is best placed to address issues of slow productivity growth, boost competitiveness and account for the risks and opportunities associated with rapid technological, environmental and social change."