The British government recently issued the most comprehensive study to date of the economic costs and risks of global warming, and of measures that might reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in the hope of averting some of the direst consequences. Written under the leadership of Sir Nicholas Stern of the London School of Economics, who succeeded me as Chief Economist of the World Bank, the report makes clear that the question is no longer whether we can afford to do anything about global warming, but whether we can afford not to.
英国政府最近发布了迄今为止关于全球变暖的经济成本和风险最为全面的研究报告，并提出了可能减少温室气体排放的措施，希望藉此避免一些最可怕的后果。这份报告在继任世界银行首席经济学家的，伦敦经济学院尼古拉斯▪斯特恩爵士的主持下完成。它明确指出问题的关键不在于我们是否能够负担得起应对全球变暖的措施，而在于我们是否能够承受无所作为的后果。