Urbanisation and global environmental change: new intergenerational challenges

The recent Stern Review Report into climate change has focused attention on the economics of Global Environmental Change (GEC), producing arguably the most authoritative review to date. The Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), due for publication in spring 2007, will underpin yet further the growing scientific consensus regarding the seriousness of GEC and the urgency of serious measures to tackle its effects. This paper outlines the particular – and still weakly understood – bidirectional relationships between urbanisation and GEC, highlighting the new research needs and particular issues of intergenerational equity that arise.