A series of new papers by economists suggest that even if we did nothing about climate change, the impact on global GDP would be miniscule. The only problem is, the assumptions these economists make to reach that conclusion are wrong. One crucial mistake involves mistaking the weather for the climate. Economists make their predictions based solely on the temperature changes in individual countries, ignoring the overall effects of climate change around the globe. Another glaring error is assuming that only those parts of the economy exposed to the outdoors will be adversely affected by climate change, ignoring how all production and economic activity is interconnected. Just as they did in the lead up to financial crisis of 2007 – 2008, economists are appeasing politicians, while blindly leading us into catastrophe, writes Steve Keen.

In 2008, Queen Elizabeth famously challenged economists for failing to see the Global Financial Crisis coming, asking that “If these things were so large, how come everyone missed them?”. Just before COP26, Her Majesty was overheard criticising politicians who “talk but don’t do” on climate change.