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A report published on 30th October 2006 tells us that global warming can be avoided but is anyone listening? The report, written by the former World Bank chief economist Sir Nicholas Stern, puts a price on the cost of global warming and more crucially, the cost of doing something about it. Two scenarios are pictured. One is total global climate catastrophe, the other is more positive.

The latter scenario suggests that we, as a global community, need to drastically change our lives and we need to do it now. The key question to come out of this report is what can one country do to avert the dire situation predicted by 99% of the scientists studying this problem?

Sir Nicholas’ report analyzes whether, how and at what cost we can avoid the possible consequences of climate change. Its main point is that it can be done and it need not cost the Earth. The question is whether governments around the world have the vision, or indeed, the will to act.

The Stern report concludes that the cost of reducing greenhouse gases so that we avoid the worst effects of climate change will rise to 1% of global GDP by the year 2050. In contrast, he concludes that if we do nothing to address the problem the cost would be, at the bare minimum, 5% of global GDP. The worst predictions have this figure rising to as much as 20% or more.

In response to the publication of the report, the British prime minister Tony Blair stated that this is the most important climate change information to be released during his time in office. Admittedly he doesn’t have much to lose by speaking out at this point in his leadership. He will be handing over the reigns to his successor in the near future but he also may not wish to be remembered as the premier who did nothing while the planet fried!

Mr Blair also agreed that the scientific evidence for the causes of global warming is now “overwhelming”. Massive policy changes will need to be introduced to combat the problem and it’s a message that must be embraced by government across the board and indeed, across the globe.

This is a major advance on the issue of climate change and a big wake up call. The report is refreshingly positive in that it states we are able to do something about the problem but we do need to act now. More worrying is the fact that the whole world needs to come together on this and apply our ingenuity to the solving of this potential global de-stabiliser.

At the time of writing, China is bringing a new coal fired power station online every 5 days. India is taking big steps to change its polluting ways but is still heavily reliant on carbon intensive methods. The USA is characteristically slow to act and the powers that be in America still seem to have their heads buried deep in the sand.

Interestingly there are more and more American cities who’re facing up to the challenge and pledging their own support for green policies independently of the government. It seems the American people are more concerned about the problem than their leaders which is cause for hope.

The most important conclusion in the report states that if we don’t do something now the cost will be sizeable. The global economy would very likely lose 15-20 percent of its value and this point has made the business world sit up and take note. This conclusion is one which will hopefully finally silence the misguided morons who still believe the science is wrong.

There are those arguing that while the Stern report is a good thing it still does not go far enough. Many people believe that we need to do much more and do it much faster than the report suggests. Crucially, we need to take action on a global level and this means getting countries like the USA, China and India on board which is by no means an easy task.

So we can avoid the frightening future predicted by the scientists. The human race has the technology, the money and surely now, the motivation to do it. The rich Western countries will need to help the developing nations and this will mean pumping money into green solutions worldwide.

We in the West have profited handsomely from our carbon intensive activities and now, just as the stock market corrects itself when things get out of hand, so we will see a global correction on a scale never seen before. That is if we are to solve the biggest threat to our existence that we’ve ever seen.

However, we do have the skills and resources to do it!

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