As George Monbiot says, "Sir Nicholas Stern spells out the dire consequences of two degrees of warming" but "then recommends a target for atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases of 550 parts per million" which would produce "at least a 77 percent chance-and perhaps up to a 99 percent chance, depending on the climate model used-of a global average temperature rise exceeding 2°C" and "a 24 percent chance that temperatures will exceed 4°C" .14
Stern was unwilling to advise cuts on the scale necessitated by his own calculations because "paths requiring very rapid emissions cuts" were "unlikely to be economically viable", as was any target lower than 550 ppm.15
The Obama election campaign in 2008 made many promises about dealing with climate change. Mainstream economists argued the recession itself provided an opportunity for doing so through the stimulus packages. But when the packages were produced, the picture was rather different:
The packages of tax cuts, credits and extra spending have been trumpeted for their environmental credentials by the governments proposing them, but a closer look shows that green spending accounts for only a small part of the bigger initiatives. Much of the spending will go to projects that will, in fact, increase emissions, such as new roads or fossil fuel power stations, while too little money will be devoted to low-carbon projects to make a real difference, experts believe. For instance, Barack Obama, the US president, wants \$27 billion (€21 billion, £19 billion) to be spent on new roads, which will raise traffic emissions. Although some funds will be spent on developing low-carbon vehicles such as electric or hydrogen cars, the benefits gained will be outweighed by the emissions generated by the extra petrol-driven cars.16
Todd Stern, the US president's new chief climate negotiator, claimed that it was "not possible" for the US to aim for 25 to 40 percent cuts by 2020, despite the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) calculating that "developed nations should aim for 25 to 40 percent cuts by then to avoid dangerous climate change" .17
In Britain "Green companies" were "in retreat, with a wave of staff layoffs and production cuts" with "Siemens, Clipper
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