Math is hard

We are told in the New York Times that part of the proposed climate deal, an arrangement to help poor countries shift away from carbon could cost "a staggering 100 billion dollars" per year. However would we raise such a colossal sum, the article asks? Why, it might be the most difficult part of any climate accord!

The GDP of the United States is more than 14 trillion dollars, the EU has a GDP of 12 trillion Euros. Japan has over four trillion. Australia and Canada combined add a bit over 2 trillion. And there are a few more rich countries outside of those areas that I could add.*

All together, this makes about 37 trillion dollars per year in rich country GDP. 100 billion is 0.27% of that total. The New York Times would have us believe that this is the biggest challenge facing a world climate change deal.

I would say instead that the biggest challenge is getting everyone to reduce carbon emissions, and reduce them enough to make a difference.

But what do I know?

* These figures are based on the most exhaustive research I could drag myself to do. I looked at wikipedia, and rounded the numbers for total GDP.