Look how quickly yesterday's alarmism becomes today's comic relief:

$9 trillion the cost of global warming: Stern Report

The World Today - Monday, 30 October , 2006 12:24:00
Reporter: Sarah Clarke

ELEANOR HALL: The most comprehensive review ever carried out on the
financial cost of global warming has found that climate change could not
only devastate the environment and cause mass migration but could cut the
world's annual economic growth by 20 per cent.

The report by UK economist, Sir Nicholas Stern, and commissioned by the
British Government is to be released in London tonight.

It calculates that the total global cost of climate change could run to $9
trillion and it warns there is only a small window of 10 to 15 years to
address the problem, as Environment Reporter Sarah Clarke reports.

SARAH CLARKE: The review was commissioned by the British Government in July
last year.

Today, the author and former chief economist of the World Bank, Sir Nicholas
Stern, is expected to warn the world has underestimated the cost of climate
change, and a failure to address it could slash global economic growth by up
to 20 per cent.

Nick Rowley was part of the team that initiated the review and was a senior
adviser on climate change to British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at the
time.

NICK ROWLEY: One of the key things that Tony Blair wanted to achieve through
his G8 presidency when he made climate change one of his two priorities was
to make it absolutely clear that yes climate change is an environmental
problem but it is not solely an environmental issue.

Really what we learn from the work that Sir Nicholas Stern has done is that
the world does not need to choose between averting climate change and
promoting growth and development.

Indeed the world can do both and indeed must do both if it's going to
achieve growth and development because there are going to be significant
impacts if we don't move very quickly in the next 10 years to seriously
tackling climate change.

SARAH CLARKE: Professor Michael Grubb is the head of the global Carbon
Trust.

He's been briefed on the review's findings and says it will turn economic
argument about global warming on its head.

MICHAEL GRUBB: It's as though we've been kind of sleep walking. With a lot
of powerful players sort of hoping this wasn't a real problem or hoping it
would go away.

And the report is simply saying, you know, that is just not tenable and the
longer those kind of fantasies are maintained the more costly and damaging
this problem will be.

SARAH CLARKE: The 700 page report does give a financial solution and builds
a case for global action.

It's expected to support a global carbon-trading scheme and increased
regulation of carbon emitting products.

It also gives a window of 10 to 15 years for countries to act. After that,
it warns it could be too late.

Professor Michael Grubb again.

MICHAEL GRUBB: Well I think obviously every country has to work out what
this analysis implies for itself. But I think the most central message, I
mean, other than the general Australian context and concern about impacts
here, is that the world community is going to be accelerating its efforts to
get to grips with this.

It is looking for major industrialised countries to play their part. The
Kyoto system is there, global trading markets are emerging, there's a lot of
international investment going through the Kyoto system.

Personally I would question whether it makes sense for Australia to continue
to shut itself out of that.

SARAH CLARKE: Australia and the United States have both refused to sign the
Kyoto Protocol on the grounds that ratifying would hurt the economy.

Green groups will be hoping that this economic report card may be enough to
convince both countries to come around.

ELEANOR HALL: Environment reporter Sarah Clarke.