PUBLICATIONS

Should we talk about the weather? Using economics to prepare for climate change

Neville Hill, Hybrid Economics, April 2024

Businesses, governments and policymakers have become far more aware of climate change in recent years, but their predominant focus has been on the challenges of reducing carbon emissions to net zero. There has been much less preparation for the consequences and costs of climate change. Significant, serious climate change is almost inevitable in the next few decades, independent of a firm or nation’s success at reducing net carbon emissions to zero Its financial, economic and social costs will be massive. This essay discusses recent developments in climate science and economics that enable economists to estimate and project the impacts of climate change at remarkable levels of detail and so allow them to effectively advise businesses and governments on the risks climate change poses to their economies, assets, revenues.