This book of research challenges readers to consider the costs and benefits of different responses to global warming. It introduces an important - and seldom heard - economic perspective to this policy discussion. The wealth of data and provocative arguments presented here make 'Smart Solutions to Climate Change' a valuable resource for policy-makers, NGOs, academics, students, and everybody who is interested in learning more about the economic realities that face us as we confront this challenge.
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Douglass C. North, Washington University in St Louis, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences
In 2008, eight of the world’s leading economists, including five Nobel Laureates, in the so-called Copenhagen Consensus, recommended priorities for confronting the top ten global challenges. They ranked providing young children with micronutrients the number one most cost-effective way to advance global welfare.
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Anthony Lake, Executive Director of UNICEF at the 126th Inter-Parliamentary Union
The list of top ideas is accurate in terms of depicting the most important development priorities. The fact that the topics do not include too many governance interventions, given its broad scope and nature, is a good thing.
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Rounaq Jahan, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)
I've served on four 'experts committees', beginning in 2004. All involved hard choices among attractive alternatives to meet crucial objectives for development and health. And the reason I keep serving? I learn so much.
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Thomas C. Schelling, Nobel Laureate in Economics
Clean energy is essential to our addressing the carbon climate problem. This research shows clearly that we must prime the pump on innovation now with increased funding for research and development, while putting incentives in place that allow the resulting new technologies to compete successfully in the marketplace.
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Bill Gates
The cost-benefit approach of the research, using evidence for prioritizing different policies, is unprecedented in the Bangladesh landscape, in spite of hundreds of think-tanks.
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Nojibur Rahman, National Board of Revenue Chairman and Senior Secretary, Internal Resources Division, Ministry of Finance
Setting priorities for how money could be spent most effectively to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa is a key priority. This pioneering work shows how economic analysis can contribute to a prioritisation for spending in this vital area. It will be invaluable to those funding both research activities and healthcare programmes in Africa.
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Professor Sir John Bell, President, Academy of Medical Sciences and Regius Professor of Medicine, Oxford University
When trying to help families in base of the pyramid communities, it is crucial to know where we can have the biggest impact for our efforts. Copenhagen Consensus research showed we could positively impact more lives with malaria interventions than interventions for many other diseases. That knowledge has been integral to guide our efforts in the fight against malaria.
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Tom Putzer, Base of the Pyramid Group, SC Johnson
As a development economist I love the idea of the Copenhagen Consensus.
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Lant Pritchett Professor of the Practice of International Development at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Without the benefit of the Copenhagen Consensus, Teck would not be involved with UNICEF and Micronutrient Initiative on initiatives to deliver zinc treatment to children who would otherwise be at risk of dying. Over time, the work of Teck and its partners will help saves the lives of the 400,000 who die today from complications arising from Diarrhea. The work of the Copenhagen Consensus was instrumental in sparking this effort.
