Product Description
In October 2006, Nicholas Stern, one of the greatest economists and public intellectuals of our day, made headlines around the world with his report, which reviewed the costs and benefits of dealing with global warming. The world’s community has learned that it must act to mitigate global climate change, but until the Stern Review, no one knew how much it would cost, and how to do it. Now, Stern has transformed his report into a powerful narrative book for general readers. The Global Deal evaluates the economic future, and the essential steps we must take to protect growth and reduce poverty while managing climate change.The future Stern outlines is optimistic and pragmatic; he believes we have the capacity and creativity to change. But we need the will to inspire our political leaders to drive a new global strategy.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 3.0 based on 8 reviews)

now or never by David Radcliff (Elgin, IL)

4 Stars
August 29, 2009
From the author of the Stern Report chronicling the threat of global warming and the cost of waiting decades to address it comes this well-done analysis of climate change, its causes, the threat it poses, and what we need to be doing--urgently--to address it. Stern calls global warming history's greatest "market failure" as we have failed to build into the price of carbon-based fuels their true cost for the future of our planet. He goes on to show the expected impacts of sea level rise (1 meter rise=displacement of 150 million Asians); the true culprits (China is out-CO2'ing us now, but in the past century the US emitted 50 times more CO2 than China: 290 billion tons v. 5.4 bt); and what we need to do about it (cut back on meat-based diets; stop subsidies for fossil fuels; halt deforestation; pay for the impact of climate change on the world's poor; quintuple spending on R&D for alternative energy options). Call to action: a 4-5 degree increase in global average temperature will lead to a "radical transformation of the world we know," rewriting the physical geography of the planet.

No substance, no direction by S. B. Scott (NY, NY)

1 Stars
July 24, 2009
Mr. Stern frequently uses the word "should". This is less a book of what will happen or how to make it happen so much as a book of what "should" happen. Most of what "should" happen are vague expectations and fantastic goals, the kind of rhetoric one could apply to any problem. Mr. Stern says effective climate change will depend on "clear and strong political leadership", developing "international markets", "credible action plans" on the part of developing countries, "substantial sums", "international collaboration" (which he admits is "unprecedented"), an "analysis of ethics", and finally a "global deal". While one could argue that global warming is the first truly global crisis (discounting nuclear weapons), one is quick to recognize that humanity has a poor track record of reaching consensus on any other vital issue - not on forms of government, economics, race, poverty, religion, ethics, nationalism, or labor. Yet, in order to solve global warming, it will be necessary to approach solutions to all of the above simultaneously. Without realizing it, Mr. Stern has painted a pretty bleak picture of the future. As a read on climate change, this book falls short. There is very little substance here. Having not yet waded through the Stern Report, I had expected a distilled version for mass consumption. Instead, it has been distilled to pure vapor. For all the "should"s in this book, I'll have to add one more: you should not read this book.

Dribble by JD (Australia)

1 Stars
July 09, 2009
The Global Deal: Climate Change and the Creation of a New Era of Progress and Prosperity This book is complete dribble. Its a feel good book to make it look like politicians are doing something about climate change. It totally lacks substance. In the interests of environmentalism the publisher should stop chopping down forests to have this book printed - complete waste of money and resources. It is void of meaningful content.

Well-Structured, Credible, and Important! by Loyd E. Eskildson (Phoenix, AZ.)

5 Stars
June 21, 2009
Successfully confronting climate change is directly related to also reducing America's balance of payments and air pollution; it is also key to progress on helping the world's poor. "The Global Deal" provides an excellent source of information for moving forward. The author's credibility is vouched for by his having been Chief Economist at the World Bank from 2000-2003, first holder of the I. G. Patel Chair at the London School of Economics, Chair of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment (2008- ), his election as an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and his being recruited by Gordon Brown to conduct reviews on the economics of climate change and economic development. The danger from climate change, says Stern, is not primarily in the added heat, but from water - an increase in the number and severity of storms, droughts, floods, and rising seal levels. A 5 degree C increase is estimated to be the limit that could be incurred without extreme damage - yet, it is the same change (opposite direction) that brought the extreme of last ice age 10,000 years ago. Poor countries are the least responsible for the existing stock of greenhouse gases, yet get hit the earliest and hardest by their effects. China has overtaken the U.S. to become the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases; Indonesia and Brazil are third and fourth - mainly the result of deforestation and peat fires. Rich country populations represent about one in six today, by 2050 they will represent only one in nine. Thus, meeting the energy needs of the poor will be more essential than ever. Stern cites estimates that the Amazon forests store about 10X the carbon emitted globally/year; those same forests store about 10X/acre as northern native forests. Retention of Kyoto gases in the atmosphere is increasing at an increasing rate as emissions increase and the 'planet's absorptive capacity decreases. Between 1930-1950, it was about 0.5 ppm/year, doubling from 1950-1970, and doubling again from 1970-1990. The rate has reached 2.5 ppm/year in the last decade, and under business as usual, would reach 3-4 ppm for the first half of this century. At that point, temperature would further increase due to releases from methane escaping from thawing permafrost, etc. Five hundred ppm is seen by many as "the safe limit;" we now are at 430, and adding 2.5/year. If world output grows slightly over 2%/year until 2050 it would be 2.5X the present level. To achieve stability at 500 ppm requires a 80% reduction in emissions/output unit. Major emission sources in 2000 include electricity and heat generation (27%), land use change and forestry - mostly deforestation and peat fires (18%), agriculture (13%), transportation (12%), and manufacturing and construction (11%). About one-third of new power capacity installed in the U.S. 2007 was wind. Coal is attractive because of dependability (eg. night requirements are not a problem), security of supplies, and low costs. The last time the world was 4-5 degrees C warmer was 30-50 million years ago when alligators lived near the North Pole. Marginally sophisticated attempts at obfuscation focus only on the mean expected temperature increases in the short-term, rather than a longer horizon or possibility of higher increases. Some on the right see environmental causes as a Trojan Horse used by those who would like to regulate and control the economy; others on the left see the issue as an elitist one diverting attention from poverty. Regardless, the costs of change implies a large audience for arguing such change is not worth the cost, can be postponed, or is not necessary. Achieving 500 ppm would cost about 2% of the world's GNP over the next half-century, estimates Stern. Seems like a bargain and good investment to me!

A constructive solution to a global crisis by Future Watch Writer (Washington, D.C. Area)

4 Stars
June 15, 2009
Nicholas Stern is not an abstract intellectual. He is the former Chief Economist of the World Bank and was chosen by the British Government to produce the famous 2007 Stern report on global warming. His point is very important. Climate change is more than a science problem. It is a global economic and political problem. The chances of solving this problem are zero if there is not some sort of "global deal" between rich and poor nations. Europe and America put most of the carbon in today's atmosphere, and it's going to be there a long time. They should pay a larger global share than other nations to clean up the mess they made. Furthermore, many poor nations simply cannot afford to pay for the transition from old polluting technologies to new clean energy. Sadly, I am not as optimistic as Stern. I do not see a willingness of the rich to pay what is needed. For a greater perspective on the whole global environmental situation, I would recommend Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization (Substantially Revised). If you want to read the original 2007 Stern report you can get it on Amazon The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review.

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