Carbon productivity the key to clean growth

By dramatically increasing the "carbon productivity" of the economy, greenhouse gases can be cut and and the global economy grown "for less than we think", according to new research reported in Newsweek (web edition, 15 November; print edition, 24 November).

The McKinsey Global Institute and McKinsey's Climate Change Special Initiative suggest the right mix of policies, investments, new technologies and changes in behavior can shift to a clean-energy economy while continuing to grow.

The "carbon productivity" of an economy could be seen as the amount of output produced per metric ton of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.

According to the report, carbon productivity is at $740 of gross domestic product (GDP) per metric ton of emissions:

"But if we are to continue to reduce poverty in the developing world, maintain growth in the developed world and accommodate 3 billion more people on the planet by 2050, then world GDP will need to grow by at least 3 percent per year. Likewise, to avoid the potential nightmares of global warming, such as mass migrations from flooded cities and starvation due to drought, the scientific consensus is we need to cut carbon emissions by at least 50 percent from 1990 levels by 2050. Combining these targets means carbon productivity must reach $7,300 by 2050—a tenfold increase over today."

Full story: Newsweek