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<H3><FONT face=Verdana size=2>see previews and whatnot from the Nov 17 release
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<DIV><A
href="http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061030/global_warming_061030/20061030?hub=CTVNewsAt11">http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20061030/global_warming_061030/20061030?hub=CTVNewsAt11</A></DIV>
<H3>Global warming will devastate economy: report</H3>
<P class=timeStamp>Updated Mon. Oct. 30 2006 12:26 PM ET</P>
<P class=storyAttributes>CTV.ca News Staff</P>
<P>Global warming could devastate the world economy on a scale we haven't seen
since the world wars and the Great Depression, a major report by a British
economist says. </P>
<P>Sir Nicholas Stern, the report's author and a senior government economist,
said unchecked global warming could shrink the global economy by 20 per cent --
and cost a whopping $7 trillion in lost output. </P>
<P>However, taking action now would cost just one per cent of global gross
domestic product, Sterns says in his 700-page study. </P>
<P>British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who introduced the report today, called
for "bold and decisive action" to cut carbon emissions and stem the worst of
temperature rise. </P>
<P>He said the Stern Review showed scientific evidence that global warming was
"overwhelming" and its consequences "disastrous." </P>
<P>British Treasury chief Gordon Brown, who commissioned the report, said the
U.K. would lead international efforts to tackle climate change and establish "an
economy that is both pro-growth and pro-green." </P>
<P>Stern's report is seen as the first major effort to quantify the economic
cost of climate change -- and the first major contribution to the global
warming debate by an economist, rather than a scientist. </P>
<P>"Our actions over the coming decades could create risks of major disruption
to economic and social activity, later in this century and in the next, on a
scale similar to those associated with the great wars and the economic
depression of the first half of the 20th century," he writes. </P>
<P><STRONG>Consequences</STRONG> </P>
<P>If no action is taken, says Stern, up to 200 million people could become
refugees as their homes are hit by drought or flood from rising sea levels. </P>
<P>Further, up to 40 per cent of wildlife species could become extinct, and
melting glaciers could cause water shortages for one sixth of the world's
population, the report says. </P>
<P>"It is not in doubt that, if the science is right, the consequences for our
planet are literally disastrous,'' said Blair. </P>
<P>"This disaster is not set to happen in some science fiction future many years
ahead, but in our lifetime. </P>
<P>"Unless we act now ... these consequences, disastrous as they are, will be
irreversible.'' </P>
<P><STRONG>Stern's solution</STRONG> </P>
<P>Despite the gloomy forecast, Stern said he is "optimistic" that if the world
powers act "strongly and urgently," the effects can be minimized. </P>
<P>"Whilst there is much more we need to understand -- both in science and
economics -- we know enough now to be clear about the magnitude of the risks,
the timescale for action and how to act effectively," he said. </P>
<P>Stern said the world must shift to a "low-carbon global economy'' through
measures including taxation, regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon
trading. </P>
<P>Brown said former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who has emerged as a powerful
environmental activist and spokesperson, would advise the government on climate
change. </P>
<P>Brown called for Europe to cut its carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2020;
and 60 per cent by 2050. </P>
<P>He also said the British government is considering new "green taxes" on cheap
airline flights, fuel and high-emission vehicles. </P>
<P>The "green" initiatives, he said, provide an opportunity "for new markets,
for new jobs, new technologies, new exports where companies, universities and
social enterprises in Britain can lead the world". </P>
<P>Stern's report is expected to increase pressure on the administration of U.S.
President George W. Bush to step up its efforts to fight global warming. The
Bush administration never approved the Kyoto climate-change accord. </P>
<P>Stern is a former chief economist of the World Bank. </P>
<P><EM>With files from The Associated Press</EM></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>