The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change is a report published in 2006 by a team led by the economist Lord Stern for the British Government.
The purpose of the report was to provide an overview of the economic challenges posed by climate change.
The main conclusion was that the costs of acting now to avoid the worst impacts of climate change are far less than the future costs of not acting.
The Stern Review estimates that reducing the greenhouse gas emissions to avoid the worst effects of climate change can be done for approximately 1 percent of the global gross domestic product (this has since been updated to 2 percent).
On the other hand, the report estimates that by not acting, the world could end up losing as much as 20 percent of the global gross domestic product every year because of climate change.
A cut in greenhouse gas emissions of 25 percent by year 2050 is recommended to stabilize the greenhouse gases at a level that would prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
To achieve the reduction in emissions a range of options are recommended. Among other things this include investing in more clean energy sources, using renewable energy, higher taxes on carbon fuels, and educating the public on how to respond to climate change.
Finally the report calls for an international response instead of each country trying to deal with climate change individually.
Some critics argue that it underestimates the cost of acting now. However, other critics claim that the estimated costs of damage by climate change are too low.