When traditional calculation comes short
By Hans Nilsson / Published on Fri, 2007-02-23 08:00
The debate over sustainability is ever so often made up as a comparative mathematical problem. Do the benefits outweigh the cost in an analysis (CBA)? The Stern Review at least corrected this thinking in the sense that the compared cases both have to be relevant for the future and not be a comparison between yesterday, Business As Usual (BAU), and the future.
In the last weeks we have however heard again that different climate actions, e.g. reduction of GHG-emission from transport, will harm industry and jobs. As if not a continuation was harming exactly the same, industry and jobs!
It is therefore refreshing to see the COPI-concept, presented to the Commissions directorate for environment. COPI stands for Costs Of Policy Inaction - not acting has a price! There is a need for the traditional calculation, but it should be used in the right context.
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Comments
do policies have an end-of-life?
By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Wed, 2007-02-28 16:23The only item I find strange in this wheel is the box 'discontinuation'. Policies can achieve a specific objective, and should then be discontinued, although they often aren't.
But another view is of policies as performing a function. They do not reach end-of-life, but go around in cycles. In an ideal world, at the end of the first cycle, they are not discontinued, but rather adapted based on experiences. A lot of policy initiatives on climate change would fall in this category.
Hence the importance of selecting the right time horizon for the COPI-concept.
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