Human societies will soon start to experience adverse effects from man’made climate change, a prominent economist has warned.
Prof Richard Tol predicts the downsides of warming will outweigh the advantages with a global warming of 1.1C – which has nearly been reached already. Prof Tol is regarded by many campaigners as a climate “sceptic”. He has previously highlighted the positive effects of CO2 in fertilising crops and forests.
His work is widely cited by climate contrarians.
“Most people would argue that slight warming is probably beneficial for human welfare on net, if you measure it in dollars, but more pronounced warming is probably a net negative,” Prof Tol told the BBC Radio 4 series Changing Climate. Asked whether societies were at the point where the benefits start to be outweighed by consequences, he replied: “Yes. In academic circles, this is actually an uncontroversial finding.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34800829
So there we are. Climate change is a real problem so why are we not addressing the underlying factors? Population increases and lifestyles? Actions are needed on both in Cornwall (and elsewhere) and building 52,500 houses is not the answer!
