Global Warming Environment

Updating a study it conducted two years ago, it calls on leaders of the Group of Eight leading economies, particularly the United States – the world’s largest per capita polluter – to commit themselves to firm timetables for emissions reductions at next week’s summit in Tokyo.

It now estimates the cost of a 50% reduction in global carbon emissions by 2050 at around 3% of global economic growth, at the top of the 2-3% range it estimated in 2006.

“This is broadly equivalent to sacrificing around a year of global GDP growth between now and 2050,” says John Hawksworth, head of macroeconomics at PwC.

PwC has raised its projections for the amount of carbon that would be released between now and 2050 because it now expects stronger economic growth in China and India over the next four decades.

It says the G7 countries (G8 minus Russia) need to cut their carbon emissions by 80% by 2050 to make their contribution to the 50% cut in global emissions.

It says the “E7″ group of countries – China, India, Brazil, Russia Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey – can be allowed to continue increasing emissions, albeit at a slower rate, between now and 2020 and cut them beyond that date.

But they say politicians need to take action very soon. Hawksworth said: “We’ve heard a lot of talking but we are at the point when politicians need to be specific about a number of concrete actions and hopefully something will emerge this year.”

Richard Gledhill, head of climate change services at PwC, said: “Governments in all major economies must demonstrate their political will to establish a well functioning global carbon market that puts a price on carbon emissions. That will send the right economic signals to investors and consumers to deliver the new technologies and changes in behavior required to combat global warming.”

Hawksworth said the carbon price that would be needed to be set to encourage the switch away from carbon towards cleaner energy sources was around $40 (?0) a tonne, close to where it is now.

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