Group items tagged

"A new report released by the United Nations calls on world governments to change the way they do business, end fossil fuel subsidies and factor in social and environmental costs into the measurement of economic activity. It notes that the standard method of calculating economic growth through measures such as GDP ignores the impacts on the planet and food and water resources."

"As a result, British Columbia's greenhouse gas emissions fell 10 percent between 2008 and 2011, as compared to a 1.1 percent decline for the rest of Canada. The carbon tax was introduced right before the recession hit in 2008, so while Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell slightly between 2008 and 2011 in British Columbia, that change was on par with the small decline in Canada's GDP. Thus while it's inconclusive whether the carbon tax is helping or hurting British Columbia's economy, it's certainly not having the seriously damaging economic effect that alarmist opponents claim that carbon taxes will have."

"With careful design, the same development projects that improve communities, save lives, and increase GDP can also fight climate change. A new study examines the multiple benefits for a series of policy scenarios addressing transportation and energy efficiency in buildings and industry in five countries and the European Union. It provides concrete data to help policymakers understand the broader potential of climate-smart development investments."

"Over 2012 and 2013, parts of New Zealand experienced their worst drought in nearly 70 years. Drought is the costliest climate extreme in New Zealand; the 2012-2013 event depressed the country's GDP by 0.7-0.9%. The drought of 1988-1989 affected 5,500 farms, pushing some farmers to the wall. But what does a climate-changed future hold? Recent evidence confirms that New Zealand on the whole is getting dryer. And we're beginning to understand why - increasing greenhouse and ozone-depleting gases are driving changes in the atmosphere, with impacts far beyond New Zealand."