Contents Notes |
1. The Status Quo is Not an Option -- 2. Your Grandchildren's Lives are Important -- 3. We Need to Buy Insurance for the Planet -- 4. Climate Damages are too Valuable to Have Prices -- 5. Some Costs are Better than Others -- 6. Hot, it's Not : Climate Economics According to Lomberg -- 7. Much Less Wrong : The Stern Review vs its Critics -- 8. Climate, Equity and Development -- 9. What is to be Done? "In this book, Frank Ackerman offers a refreshing look at the economics of climate change, explaining how the arbitrary assumptions of conventional theories get in the way of understanding this urgent problem. The benefits of climate protection are vital but priceless, and hence often devalued in cost-benefit calculations. Preparation for the most predictable outcomes of global warming is less important than protection against the growing risk of catastrophic change; massive investment in new, low-carbon technologies and industries should be thought of as life insurance for the planet." "Ackerman makes an impassioned plea to construct a better economics, arguing that the solutions are affordable and the alternative is unthinkable. If we can't afford the future, what are we saving our money for?" "Can We Afford the Future? is part of The New Economics series, which uses the ideas behind a new, more human economics to provide a fresh way of looking at major contemporary issues."--Page [4] cover. |