OPPORTUNITIES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
What if we create a better world?
We talk a lot about the negative effects of climate change—the risks, the costs, the dangers (and probably lose some sleep as a result). But what about the opportunities?
Well, you can rest a little easier tonight as there's plenty to suggest the climate fight is, in fact, a good news story. Studies have shown that climate action can offer co-benefits, like "reducing deaths from air pollution and boosting technological innovation," which likely outweigh their costs—and might even lead to a net economic benefit.
According to Canadian environmental economist Kirk Hamilton, when we focus on predicting the costs of climate change and how to prevent it, we often forget to include the potential upsides of action. And by overlooking it, we could be delaying or making bad decisions. "Essentially, we're just leaving dollars on the table by ignoring co-benefits...In some ways, we've been doing the modelling wrong." Meanwhile, our Centre for Dialogue colleague Deborah Harford, executive director of the Adaptation to Climate Change team at Simon Fraser, shares examples of how taking climate change adaptation measures can have co-benefits that reduce emissions and improve quality of life: like using green roofs to control flooding, reduce building temperatures (and the demand for air conditioning) and suck up CO2.
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