Low Carbon - The Economics Of Climate Change

The Earth is warming, oil reserves are running out, our way of life is unsustainable. For years, environmentalists have been lecturing us to reduce our carbon footprint or suffer the consequences. A survey commissioned by the British government concluded that climate change will account for a 5 to 20% loss in Gross World Product within the next 30 years.But reducing our use of carbon doesn't have to mean a rejection of capitalism or turning our backs on the niceties of modern life. From driving electric cars to producing ethanol from waste products, controlling carbon change is in fact creating new economic opportunities. In the words of Jeremy Rifkin, author of "The Hydrogen Economy", a move to a low carbon economy is ﾑthe biggest extension of capitalism in history, empowering people'.