Sir Nicholas Stern, the man whose recent report on the grim economic realities of climate change has rung alarm bells around the world, is to brief the South African government on his findings early next year.
”[He] has accepted an invitation … to present the findings of his review to the inter-ministerial committee on climate change … in January 2007,” the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism said in a statement on Tuesday.
Stern is the chief economist for the British government. His report, released on Monday, warns that global warming may cost the world trillions of dollars over the next few decades through the effects of rising sea levels, extreme weather events and famine.
Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk, reacting to the report, said in the statement it was a clarion call to all world leaders to acknowledge urgent action was needed.
”The scientific case and economic motivation for the strongest possible international cooperation and action in addressing climate change is now abundantly clear. The economic cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of taking action,” he said. — Sapa