Stopping Climate Change Is Doable

http://thinkprogress.org/romm/2012/04/05/458670/stopping-climate-change-would-cost-consumers-pennies-per-day/

By Stephen Lacey on Apr 5, 2012 at 8:32 am

You’ve heard it before: politicians say they’d love to take action against climate change, but they’re reeling from the sticker shock. Today, a new report from the UK’s leading climate change watchdog refutes the oft-cited argument that climate action will herald economic Armageddon.

The Committee on Climate Change report, with the hairy-sounding title “Statutory Advice on Inclusion of International Aviation and Shipping,” says that in 2050, the UK’s emissions reductions across the whole economy will cost 1-2 percent of the total GDP. This updates, in greater detail, the range predicted half a decade ago by the watershed Stern Review….

The cost in GDP terms in the UK report accords with US studies. The Congressional Budget Office reported similar reductions would reduce the GDP here by 1-3 1⁄2 percent in 2050. One of the co-sponsors of the 2009 cap-and-trade bill, Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), said the scheme would cost the average family the equivalent of “about a postage stamp a day,” far less than critics claimed.

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