Slow global warming, boost global economies

Far from hurting markets, ignoring global warming may be a cost too high to bear for the global economy. A British government report released this week states that unchecked global warming will devastate the world economy, likening it to a world war or the Great Depression.

The report points out that the planet needs countries like the United States and China, which represent big global warming polluters but also big global warming solutions, to commit to pollution reduction. If current trends continue, average global temperatures will rise by 3-5 degrees within the next 50 years. Increased droughts, rising sea levels and the displacement of hundreds of millions of people will eventually damage economic growth.

Britain has hired Al Gore to serve as a government advisor on global warming. Some speculate Tony Blair is aggressively pursuing a legacy of a global warming fighter, rather than someone who got the country into an unpopular war.