The worthiness of a social investment project is a balance between the cost of the project, and the value of the benefits to society/ how long those benefits may apply.
The term social discounting is often used by economists as a way of summarising this, and it's precise calculation is often an area of hot debate. Nowhere is this more true than in the field of investment designed to protect future generations against the negative effects of climate change. So, if we spend many millions to act against climate change now, will it be worth it to future generations? What effect might climate catastrophe have on these issues? Ben Groom will be presenting the most recent research in this field which attempts to inform climate change policy by balancing the consequences to and ethical treatment of current and future generations.
