Dimitri Zenghelis

The London School of Economics and Political Science | LSE · Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment (GRI)

Both the physical and transition-related impacts of climate change pose substantial macroeconomic risks. Yet, markets still lack credible estimates of how climate change will affect debt sustainability, sovereign creditworthiness and the public finances of major economies. We present a taxonomy for tracing the physical and transition impacts of cli...

China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, for the period 2021–25, presents a real opportunity for China to link its long-term climate goals with its short-to medium-term social and economic development plans. China’s recent commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060 has set a clear direction for its economy, but requires ratcheting up ambition on its nea...

Both the physical and transition-related impacts of climate change pose substantial macroeconomic risks. Yet, markets still lack credible estimates of how climate change will affect debt sustainability, sovereign creditworthiness and the public finances of major economies. We present a taxonomy for tracing the physical and transition impacts of cli...

The global economy is facing an unprecedented challenge, with the risk of a protracted depression following the response to COVID-19. In 2014, I argued here that macroeconomic conditions made it a relatively favorable time to kick-start investments in a resource-efficient, low carbon economy. Yet the opportunity was, for the most part, squandered....

The natural science in GEO-6 makes clear that a range and variety of unwelcome outcomes for humanity, with potentially very significant impacts for human health, become increasingly likely if societies maintain their current development paths. This paper assesses what is known about the likely economic implications of either current trends or the t...

A Wealth Economy Project Policy Report for LetterOne

The COVID-19 crisis is likely to have dramatic consequences for progress on climate change. Imminent fiscal recovery packages could entrench or partly displace the current fossil-fuel-intensive economic system. Here, we survey 231 central bank officials, finance ministry officials, and other economic experts from G20 countries on the relative perfo...

The Wealth Economy project is leading a global movement toward a world that looks beyond GDP. By supplementing GDP with complementary measures of natural, social, and human capital, our work provides a deeper assessment of the underlying wealth of nations. Our work is influencing policymakers, statisticians and academics across the world. Measurin...

Executive Summary The need to decarbonise the economy in order to slow the pace of climate change is now recognised as one of the most pressing international policy challenges. While the UK cannot by itself materially affect global climate change, it has an opportunity to play an influential role, both by persuading others of the need for action bu...

Environmental pollution is still a major source of damage to the health of the planet (well established), human health (well established), equity (well established) and economic sustainability (established but incomplete). The risks, however, are systemic and wide-ranging, including climate change, ecosystem and biodiversity loss, wildlife damage,...

As climate change research becomes increasingly applied, the need for actionable information is growing rapidly. A key aspect of this requirement is the representation of uncertainties. The conventional approach to representing uncertainty in physical aspects of climate change is probabilistic, based on ensembles of climate model simulations. In th...

This chapter examines the issue of stranded assets and the likely energy transition from a macro-economic perspective. Given the lack of historical evidence on this issue, it will compare past macro-economy drivers of change and rates of asset stranding with those observable today and forecasted for the future. It will ask what pace of asset strand...

A diverse range of approaches, including contributions based on national interest and local benefits of climate action, is needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Now, research considers how equitable approaches may play a role.

The world will never again build cities as rapidly as it does this century. If we are serious about limiting global warming, tackling air pollution and promoting innovative, resource-efficient growth, there is a narrow window of opportunity

Innovation is required to transform our fossil-fuelled economy into a clean, low-carbon economy. But economic models of climate change have overlooked the role of innovation. By taking innovation fully into account, a whole new set of policy conclusions are drawn. This report finds that the longer governments wait to promote clean energy innovation...

Countries are now seeking to reach a new international agreement on climate change, to be signed in Paris in December 2015. A key element of the international negotiations since the Kyoto Protocol, has been equity, but discussions have focused on narrow and unsatisfactory approaches based on ‘burden-sharing’ and ‘atmospheric rights’. These approach...

The ongoing review of the UK’s Fourth Carbon Budget is closely linked to the debate over the impact that domestic climate change policies can have on the competitiveness of businesses. Notably, there are concerns that, if the UK implements more ambitious climate policies than its trading partners, carbon-intensive producers might relocate. This cou...

An article published on April 2 by The Conversation by Professor Richard Tol, under the headline ‘IPCC report shows Stern inflated climate change costs’, contains a number of significant errors and misrepresentations.

Macroeconomic conditions make this a relatively favorable time to kick-start investments necessary to transition to a resource-efficient economy. There is no lack of private money, just a perceived lack of opportunity. Resource costs are low and the potential to crowd out alternative investment and employment is greatly reduced. It is often argued...

Dimitri Zenghelis argues the case for economics to play a central role in climate policy

Dimitri Zenghelis explains the complex limitations faced by economic models that can serve to slow down the transition to a sustainable economy

In an increasingly urban world, getting the city economy right for a low carbon, resource efficient future will enable us to deal with climate change as well as realise economic benefits

Is the global recession an opportunity for countries to start investing in a resource-efficient future?

The current period of low confidence and sluggish private investment presents a golden opportunity for UK to boost employment and stimulate economic growth, while encouraging competition and innovation. At the same time, we can cost-effectively meet tough emissions targets and leave a long-lasting legacy in the transition to a resource-efficient gr...

Most advanced economies need to stimulate economic growth to reduce deficits and debt, but growth requires investment, and investment levels have slumped to record lows relative to output. The longer recovery is delayed and capital sits idle, the more skills are lost and the higher the misallocation of resources, making it harder to restore growth....

Considering the Case for ActionThe Policy FrameworkSummary and Conclusion AcknowledgmentsNotes

A unique opportunity has arisen for policy-makers to create viable new markets, boost private investment and innovation, and stimulate the economy without requiring large public expenditure. By sending a credible market signal in the form of clearly identified market-based policy instruments — involving long-term carbon pricing, standards and regul...

The Urban Age Programme is an investigation into the future of cities organized by the London School of Economics and Political Science with Deutsche Bank’s Alfred Herrhausen Society. This investigation extends across the continents with an international and interdisciplinary network of national and local policy makers, academic experts and urban p...

Dmitri Zenghelis contends that, with the right policies and incentives in place and commitments respected, environmental targets are achievable. Developed countries, he says, should demonstrate the advantages of green growth in advance of implementation by developing countries. He places emphasis on good governance and institutions, a competitive m...

Cost-effectiveness analysis, which ranks projects by quality adjusted life years gained per dollar spent, is widely used in the evaluation of health interventions. We show that cost effectiveness analysis can be derived from two axioms: society prefers Pareto improvements and society values discounted life years, lived in perfect health, equally fo...

¿Cómo enfrentar el calentamiento global? ¿Qué opciones de política se están proponiendo? ¿Cuáles son sus pros y contras desde el punto de vista de la generación actual y qué tensiones surgen cuando se considera el bienestar de las generaciones futuras? En las páginas que siguen se recogen distintas opiniones. Para comenzar se reproduce el ensayo de...

Those who deny the importance of strong and urgent action on climate change essentially offer one of, or a combination of, the following arguments. First, there are those who deny the scientific link between human activities and global warming; most people, and the vast majority of scientists, would find that untenable given the weight of evidence....

Four authors of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, and Dennis Anderson who provided advice and background papers for the Review, make a final rejoinder on the debate about the Review that has occupied recent issues of this journal. They respond to comments in the present issue by Carter et al., by Henderson, and by Tol and Yohe. C...

Four authors of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, and Dennis Anderson who provided advice and background papers for the Review, make a final rejoinder on the debate about the Review that has occupied recent issues of this journal. They respond to comments in the present issue by Carter et al., by Henderson, and by Tol and Yohe. C...