Sustainability & climate change
Apr 2022
How can we achieve a sustainable economy?
No other topic shows the interrelation of our own environment with global developments as clearly as climate change. Economists of all disciplines agree that climate change is having unprecedented effects on economic and social development and should be one of our top priorities. If we want to sustainably reduce CO2 emissions, globally coordinated measures are needed. The question is, how do we do that? What are the costs of climate change and what are sensible measures in the fight against global warming? Answers to these and other important questions are provided by numerous experts in lectures, interviews, and papers made possible by the UBS Center.
No other topic shows the interrelation of our own environment with global developments as clearly as climate change. Economists of all disciplines agree that climate change is having unprecedented effects on economic and social development and should be one of our top priorities. If we want to sustainably reduce CO2 emissions, globally coordinated measures are needed. The question is, how do we do that? What are the costs of climate change and what are sensible measures in the fight against global warming? Answers to these and other important questions are provided by numerous experts in lectures, interviews, and papers made possible by the UBS Center.
Quotes
I hope that you can say that we, in this generation, had the resolve to overcome the obstacles and take the steps necessary to preserve our unique and beautiful planet.
Opinions, 21.1.2020
Nobel laureate William Nordhaus
The poorest regions are also the ones that are hit the hardest.
Economics of Global Challenges, 8.9.2021
Esteban Rossi-Hansberg
A substantial CO2 price is necessary, albeit insufficient. We also need much more research in the environmental field.
Forum for Economic Dialogue, 9.11.2021
Nobel laureate Jean Tirole
Innovation is key to ensure economic growth while preserving the environment, but innovation is not a silver bullet.
UBS Center Public Paper No 10
David Hémous
When I became chairman of Swiss Re, a journalist said: why did you take a job in the most boring industry ? How wrong was he. I think reinsurance is in a way the price mechanism for risk in the world.
Forum for Economic Dialogue, 9.11.2021
Walter Kielholz
Publications
The UBS Center offers two publication series. The Public Paper series makes research on topics of key social relevance available to a broader audience in a simplified, compact, and highly readable format. The Policy Brief series can give governments and businesses the rigorous and clear insights necessary for informed debates and decisions. They are a condensed and non-technical version of some of our top research papers.
Green innovation policies
Our ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will determine how fast we can stop global warming. Public paper No. 10 by David Hémous explains that achieving the necessary reduction in emissions – while maintaining (and improving) worldwide living standards – can only be accomplished through innovation. Innovation has the potential to combine the necessary decline in greenhouse gas emissions with sustained economic growth; and it responds largely and rapidly to price signals. However, innovation is not a silver bullet. It is conducted by scientists and firms, it reacts to market and policy incentives, and needs therefore be regulated by governments.
The UBS Center offers two publication series. The Public Paper series makes research on topics of key social relevance available to a broader audience in a simplified, compact, and highly readable format. The Policy Brief series can give governments and businesses the rigorous and clear insights necessary for informed debates and decisions. They are a condensed and non-technical version of some of our top research papers.
Green innovation policies
Our ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will determine how fast we can stop global warming. Public paper No. 10 by David Hémous explains that achieving the necessary reduction in emissions – while maintaining (and improving) worldwide living standards – can only be accomplished through innovation. Innovation has the potential to combine the necessary decline in greenhouse gas emissions with sustained economic growth; and it responds largely and rapidly to price signals. However, innovation is not a silver bullet. It is conducted by scientists and firms, it reacts to market and policy incentives, and needs therefore be regulated by governments.
Event highlights
The Center’s events come in different formats, including two annual conferences with leading representatives from the academic, private, and public sectors debating a key contemporary economic issue. The Opinion events feature top representatives from academia to voice their views in public speeches. The Center hosted several events on the topic of inequality, opportunities, and development in the past 10 years.
Sustainability and climate change: Innovation, costs, and impact – Forum for Economic Dialogue 2021
What are the costs of climate change and what are sensible measures in the fight against global warming? At the 2021 Forum for Economic Dialogue, experts such as Lucas Bretschger, Walter B. Kielholz, Bjørn Lomborg, Sabine Magri, Elisa Ossola, Lasse Heje Pedersen, Rick van der Ploeg, and Nobel laureate Jean Tirole discussed these central questions from an economic perspective.
Learn more
The economics of climate change – Opinion 2020
In his keynote, Nobel laureate William Nordhaus combined the interdisciplinary insights from natural sciences and economics to address a set of critical questions. What is the optimal policy to address climate change? What are the costs of climate change? And how will technology and innovation help?
Learn more
The economic geography of global warming – Economics of Global Challenges 2021
In his webcast, Prof. Esteban Rossi-Hansberg (University of Chicago) explained the large heterogeneous impacts of climate change across regions. How people cope with global warming – by migrating, trading, and investing – is crucial for the effectiveness of different policy actions.
Learn more
The Center’s events come in different formats, including two annual conferences with leading representatives from the academic, private, and public sectors debating a key contemporary economic issue. The Opinion events feature top representatives from academia to voice their views in public speeches. The Center hosted several events on the topic of inequality, opportunities, and development in the past 10 years.
Sustainability and climate change: Innovation, costs, and impact – Forum for Economic Dialogue 2021
What are the costs of climate change and what are sensible measures in the fight against global warming? At the 2021 Forum for Economic Dialogue, experts such as Lucas Bretschger, Walter B. Kielholz, Bjørn Lomborg, Sabine Magri, Elisa Ossola, Lasse Heje Pedersen, Rick van der Ploeg, and Nobel laureate Jean Tirole discussed these central questions from an economic perspective.
In the media
«Es ist unmöglich, das 2-Grad-Ziel noch zu erreichen» Interview zum Anlass NZZamSonntag 25.01.2020 lesen
Plötzlich wächst Soja im Norden Kanadas – welche Länder sonst noch vom Klimawandel profitieren NZZamSonntag 11.09.2021 lesen
Nobelpreisträger Jean Tirole: «Wenn Politiker viele grüne Jobs versprechen, bin ich sehr skeptisch. Wäre das so einfach, gäbe es diese längst» NZZ 11.11.2021 lesen
Ökonom Ernst Fehr: «Es ist ein Gebot der Vernunft, eine CO2-Steuer einzuführen» NZZ am Sonntag 23.2.2019 lesen