Ottmar Edenhofer in The New York Times

The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate has published its latest report. It concludes that economic growth and climate mitigation can be combined. The New York Times reports on the topic, too – and quotes Ottmar Edenhofer, who also is director of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC).

Ottmar Edenhofer said in the paper that he was doubtful about the precise values for the side benefits cited in the new report. He served as an adviser to the global commission, but is not an author of the final document. “The assumption and the argument that this can be done for free, that’s from my point of view overly optimistic,” he said. “Yes, you rescue some lives, but to assign monetary values to this is particularly complicated.” Edenhofer added, however, that the recommendations in the new report were generally sensible and, if adopted, would help to put the world on a more sustainable path. “Climate policy is not a free lunch, but it is a lunch worthwhile to buy,” he said.