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By some perspectives, the planet owes Lord Nicholas Stern a big thank you - for transforming the debate on climate change into frightening economic terms.
The author of the groundbreaking Stern Review has warned that if action is not taken on climate change, we face an economic crisis ten times worse than the one we are experiencing now.
This week George Negus asks the former World Bank chief economist about Australia’s role in tackling climate change, and what he thinks of the Rudd government’s handling of the issue of late.
As Australia’s politicians ponder delaying any decision until the Copenhagen Summit in December, Lord Stern calls for “a sense of urgency” in the Australian debate.
“There’s no way that Australia could be interpreted as going it alone by moving forward now and that is absolutely fundamental,” he says.
While the primacy of the climate issue seems to have cooled in the midst of the global financial crisis, the world is “still warming” says Stern. Powers like Australia cannot afford to wait if they hope to lead in a new global order.
“I think the world will ask if Australia with all its advantages can’t cut back strongly then how can anybody expect us to cut back strongly? If that were the general attitude, then the planet would be in an extremely difficult state and we would be living very dangerously indeed.”
Find out more this Sunday, 8:30pm on Dateline.
On air: 15th November 2009
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