What consequences does climate change has for our economy? And are we fully aware of these consequences and their accompanied risks? During the radio programme 'Met het Oog Op Morgen' on NPO Radio 1, Sandra Phlippen, Assistant Professor at Erasmus School of Economics and Head for the Netherlands at ABN Amro’s Group Economics, discusses this.
According to Assistant Professor Sandra Phlippen, we tend to look at the risks of climate change on our economy in an one-sided fashion. All our attention is given to the costs associated with complying with the climate agreement: what does it cost to make sure that we keep the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees? However, as a result, we tend to overlook the other side of the medal. How high would the costs be if we would do nothing? This is a question that should receive more attention, because if you want to make sound economic policy, you should look at both sides: the costs of complying with the policy and the costs of doing nothing. When we do nothing, the weather will become more extreme. We have witnessed that already this year. But what we are not yet aware of, is that such extreme weather also has economic consequences. This is not only important for financial investors, but also for the government, that tends to neglect these costs.
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Listen to the entire podcast on NPO Radio 1, 15 August 2019