The Sustainability Blog

In December, I hosted a session at the Ecological Society of Australia Conference, to be held at the University of Sydney, on how economists may productively collaborate with ecologists and other natural scientists on some of the major issues of the day (be they water, climate, biodiversity, etc.). Some of the notes I used, as well as some examples from colleagues, follow.

How and why should scientists and economists collaborate in research on the issues of the day? Some preliminary and half-formed thoughts on the matter follow. These come partly in the context of me being asked to organise and host a session at the Ecological Society of Australia Conference, held at the University of Sydney, on how economists may productively collaborate with ecologists and other natural scientists on some of the major issues of the day (be they water, climate, biodiversity, etc.). More detail on what was presented in that session to be posted in another separate entry or two.

Nicholas Stern’s review into climate change is one of the most significant pieces of economic policy analysis to make its way into the public realm, possibly ever. It generated a huge amount of controversy, and was both praised and attacked by fellow economists and other academics, scientists, environmentalists and policy commentators. Here, I will outline for a lay audience the major issues that were disputed amongst economists. (I’ll keep it as short as I can, which is still long, but I’ve done my best.)