May 29, 2008

The cost of cutting greenhouse gas emissions would certainly have a serious negative effect on human health, says the Fraser Institute's Philip Stevens.  A new global treaty that would stabilize the climate at today's temperatures, assuming restricting human emissions could stabilize the climate, would cost a total of $18-20 trillion (U.S.) -- or 45 percent of the world's current annual economic output.

Such a treaty would create a massive drag on economic growth, which brings with it the resources that can be used to tackle the most significant causes of death in developing countries. These causes include chest infections caused by using smoky wood and biomass fuels for indoor cooking and heating; diarrhea caused by poor sanitation; and malnutrition, all a direct result of poverty.




Source: Philip Stevens, "Doctors on Climate Change," Fraser Institute, April 2008.


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