Junk science in Stern?

Steve Milloy has written an interesting article on the Fox News website arguing that the British government’s Stern Review on the economics of climate change is based on “junk science”. Milloy contests the catastrophic “tipping point” scenario, on which the Stern Review’s economic conclusions are apparently based, as flawed. For Milloy the junk science embodied in Stern inevitably leads to junk economics.

I take a different view. Even if we are on the verge of a tipping point – which is far from certain – the government’s favoured combination of rationing and behaviour modification is unviable. It is undesirable and unlikely to be accepted by the public. Instead we need to work out how to use more energy and tackle climate change at the same time. A richer society will be better able to handle the challenge of global warming.