According to Bishop Hill “Sir John Beddington is seeking feedback on the climate impacts report I blogged about yesterday.”
My question is of a technical nature. Given that the Stern Review of 2006 received worldwide acclamation for its novel conclusions, I would have thought Sir John Beddington would have utilised this work. Apart from a footnote or two, the only reference is in a box on page 63.
Dear Sir John,
I am a humble beancounter, who spends his time in analysing complex project costs and application forms for capital expenditures. In this vein, on page 63 of your report you claim that the Stern Review had a social discount rate of 1.4%, whilst
- The Economist (http://www.economist.com/node/14994731?story_id=14994731),
- Prof William Nordhaus (http://nordhaus.econ.yale.edu/stern_050307.pdf)
- and Tol & Yohe (WORLD ECONOMICS • Vol. 7 • No. 4• October–December 2006)
- along with my search through the archived report – especially Part II (http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/stern_review_report.htm )
conclude that the Lord Stern used a discount rate of 0.1%. Have we all misread the report?
ManicBeancounter 