In a recent study, the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), the economic research arm of McKinsey & Company, said that the world needs a shift as radical as the Industrial Revolution to cut greenhouse gas emissions 64% by 2050 — 20 billion tons a year — while safeguarding economic growth. According to the study, the latest in a series of global warming studies from MGI (see links below), a modern “carbon revolution” to curb global warming will require a tenfold rise by 2050 in the level of economic output for every ton of greenhouse gases emitted. Furthermore, the world will need to produce $7,300 of gross domestic product (GDP) for every ton of carbon dioxide emitted by 2050, up from a carbon productivity rate of $740 today. The study estimated that the costs of a “carbon revolution” are likely to be “manageable” — at about 0.6% to 1.4% of global GDP by 2030 — and much of the cost can be raised by borrowing, and with most technologies already available. The world should also invest more in research and development, perhaps up to $80 billion a year by 2050, said the study. Furthermore, the study said that the attitudes of managers and consumers have to change, partly by sharing new clean technology. For example, India and China now use about 20% more energy to produce a ton of steel than the European Union or Japan. Other recommendations in the study included slowing deforestation and planting more trees.

• Read The Carbon Productivity Challenge, McKinsey Global Institute, June 2008 (PDF, 4.1 MB)
• Read background: “New ‘Carbon Revolution’ Urged to Slow Warming,” By Alister Doyle, Reuters (6/27/08)
• Related: “Study Reveals How U.S. Could Cut Greenhouse Gases by 28%” (e-Newswire, 12/12/07)
• Related: “Current Technology Could Cut Residential Energy Consumption by More Than One-Third by 2020 in U.S., Report Says” (e-Newswire, 7/5/07)
• Related: “Energy Efficiency Could Slash Growth in Global Energy Demand by Over 50%, Report Says” (e-Newswire, 12/13/06)
• More on how energy efficiency helps combat climate change