Discount Rates: How simple maths can sustain our planet

Discount rates can help us transition to a world based on renewable resources. Its a simple concept based on percentages which can be explained more easily on a desert island..........

While this term, discount rates, may be familiar to some, it has some really interesting applications to the economics of climate change.

Sorry for the delay in posting!

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To learn more about discount rates, check out my references:

1:05
William Golding:

3:30
David Roberts:
A good introduction to discount rates:
Discount rates: A boring thing you should know about –

4:28
Zeno’s Paradox:

4:57
Stephen Gardiner
Section on moral corruption towards the end:

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Stern review
A very long but useful document commissioned by the UK government
Discount rates are referred to throughout, different rates are used in different contexts but these average to 1.4%. Stern is highly criticised for using a 0.1% rate at some points:

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Nordhaus:
Nordhaus, W. (2007). A Review of the ”Stern Review on the Economics of Climate
Change”. Journal of Economic Literature, 45(3):686–702.

6:07
Hal Varian
Chief Google economist, as well as writer of popular economics undergraduate textbooks:

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Partridge
Interesting application of more general philosophy to the topic of climate change
Ernest Partridge. 2001. “Future generations.” In Dale Jamieson (ed.) A Companion to Environmental Philosophy, Maldon and Oxford, Blackwell, 377-389.

[TheFabler]

Your storytelling is enviable Climate Changer =)

[anna-lena]

thank you for the effort!! it really helped me to understand the idea behind these discount rates. keep up the good work :)

[mAx-grassfed]

Nice explanation and engaging storytelling. Thanks a lot!

[maldini]

I hope you post new videos... great video

[TheMightyWej]

Except the discount rate as a concept is applied to the monetary value, which itself already has a relationship with scarcity. Only future revenues should be discounted, everything else is simply making upfront capital seem more intensive than long term fossil fuel bills.

[philipgray]

I don't understand; if you're saying 2% discount rate means you get to use 2% less than you did the previous year, doesn't that mean you get to use more thana higher discount rate? For example getting to use 7% less than the year before means you get to use much less than 2%??

[aarononeal]

If you are looking for away to Help the enviorment you can use ecosia they are a search engine that plants trees