Top ten policies to tackle climate change

Two leading Oxford University economists will today warn the government of the urgent need to tackle climate change at a conference in Oxford to launch a new book.

Professor Jonathan Michie has drawn up a list of top ten policy proposals, stressing there can be no 'pick and mix' option but 'a whole range of policy measures needs to be pursued as a coherent package'.

Professor Michie will argue that instead of relying on market measures, governments need to introduce tougher regulation, including legal restrictions on pollution, accompanied by collaborative work with scientific experts and company decision-makers to 'combat the culture that otherwise supports non-compliance'.

He said, "The credit crunch in 2008 showed that economic policy was inadequate – 'light touch" regulation turned out to be 'soft touch' regulation.

The chairman of the US Federal Reserve blamed this on a 'flaw' within mainstream economic thinking. In truth there were many flaws and these are leading to equally inadequate policies on the environment.'

The 'top ten' policy proposals advocated in the book The Political Economy of the Environment, to be presented at the conference, include:

Governments need to promote research and development, market development policies and financial incentives for renewable energy technologies; carbon capture and storage technologies; energy efficiency at home, in business and by government; and reducing deforestation.