“This report is highly significant because it puts action on climate change squarely within an economic framework and demonstrates that the benefits of strong action today far outweigh the costs of tomorrow” - Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General, Ransford Smith
Commonwealth welcomes call for action on climate change
31 October 2006
Commonwealth welcomes the call for urgent action on climate change contained in the Stern Report.
Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith has welcomed the call for urgent action on climate change contained in the Stern Report on the Economics of Climate Change.
Observing that the report has implications for all 53 members of the Commonwealth, Mr Smith said: “This report is highly significant because it puts action on climate change squarely within an economic framework and demonstrates that the benefits of strong action today far outweigh the costs of tomorrow.”
The report by Sir Nicholas Stern, a former chief economist at the World Bank, makes it clear that the responsibility of finding ways to deal with the problem must lie primarily with the big polluters in industrialised countries.
It points out that the impact of climate change will be felt most heavily on the African continent, in countries that are least able to respond and least responsible for causing the problem. The same is true for other vulnerable Commonwealth members like the 26 small island developing states.
Most of these states have agriculture-based economies and are working hard to compete in today’s globalised markets.
The Deputy Secretary-General observed that “they already suffer from unfair trade rules and the impact of climate change on agriculture threatens to make matters worse. They need financial and technological help to prepare for and adapt to global warming”.
The Commonwealth Secretariat is working to address concerns and help member states adapt to the impacts of climate change.
The Commonwealth Foundation, which promotes civil society co-operation, is looking at how more than 80 professional networks in the Commonwealth can help. Its director, Mark Collins, said: “It is time to mobilise engineers, foresters, architects, doctors and other professionals to help people adapt to the rapidly changing environment.
“Increased aid spending must take this problem into account if disasters are to be averted and local communities are to adopt diverse livelihoods, resilient in the face of climate change.”
‘The Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change’ was published in London on 30 October 2006. It was commissioned by the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer to assess the evidence and build understanding of the economics of climate change.
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