Lord Nicholas Stern to call for stronger political leadership on climate change
Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science and author of the landmark 2006 report on ‘The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review’, will call today (Thursday 9 November 2023) for governments to act with “purposive and sustained political leadership” to tackle climate change.
In his acceptance speech for an international award for sustainability, Lord Stern will say: “Overall, I am very optimistic about what we can do. We really can see a path to a world with much stronger mitigation and adaptation and to a new much more attractive model of growth and development; sustainable, resilient, and inclusive.
“However, I am deeply worried about what we will do. The scale and pace of structural, technological and social change must be large and rapid. That will require changes in behaviour and institutions. It will require purposive and sustained political leadership, and strong political pressure from society as a whole on decision-makers to deliver change.”
He will also criticise world leaders who are failing to act strongly on climate change. He will say: “But we must be clear that all too many politicians are unwilling to take strong action for sustainability and see short-term political returns in resisting change, playing to vested interests, and fostering climate scepticism. Many fossil-fuel companies are vigorous in their fight back, including using misguided security arguments to suggest we prolong fossil fuel use. That is profoundly wrong; insecurity has come from depending on fossil fuels, often from unstable or less-than-benevolent sources.”
Lord Stern will be recognised for ‘Leadership in Implementation’ at The Sustainability Awards, supported by the Nobel Sustainability Trust (NST) and Technical University of Munich (TUM). The winner was selected by a a panel of international experts as well as TUM professors, organised by the TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS).
At the ceremony, Lord Stern will also raise his concerns about the wider political landscape and call on political leaders to increase the “scale and pace of structural, technological and social change that is needed to reach net zero.”
Lord Nicholas Stern, Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science, will say:
“So what are our prospects and how must we work? I am often asked how my perspectives have changed since the Stern Review was published in 2006. In summary my answer would be, first, the science is still more worrying. Second, technology has moved far more quickly than we imagined. Third, the politics have moved across space and time, not always forward, but they now embody climate at centre stage. Fourth, we now see a new growth story much more clearly than then. Fifth, there is increasing realisation of just how big change must be, and not always willingness to take on the difficulties of that change.
“Overall, I am very optimistic about what we can do. We really can see a path to a world with much stronger mitigation and adaptation and to a new much more attractive model of growth and development; sustainable, resilient, and inclusive.
“However, I am deeply worried about what we will do. The scale and pace of structural, technological and social change must be large and rapid. That will require changes in behaviour and institutions. It will require purposive and sustained political leadership, and strong political pressure from society as a whole on decision-makers to deliver change. It will require a willingness of individuals, communities and enterprises to change their behaviours. Reasons to hope include that young people recognise the necessity and the opportunity. And they are increasingly knowledgeable about what we have to do. Much, not all, of the private sector recognises the risks of business as usual and is committed to the new opportunities and directions.
“But we must be clear that all too many politicians are unwilling to take strong action for sustainability and see short-term political returns in resisting change, playing to vested interests, and fostering climate scepticism. Many fossil-fuel companies are vigorous in their fight back, including using misguided security arguments to suggest we prolong fossil fuel use. That is profoundly wrong; insecurity has come from depending on fossil fuels, often from unstable or less-than-benevolent sources.
“The task of those of us working and researching in this area is to show what can be done, why it is feasible, why it is attractive and why it is essential if we are to avoid catastrophe for our children and grandchildren.”
ENDS