Andorra Summer University Opens on Climate Change Economics

The 42nd edition of the Universitat d’Estiu i Tardor opened on Monday with a focus on climate change economics, drawing around 80 registered participants and more expected for its four sessions.

The programme resumes on Tuesday, followed by sessions on 21 and 22 September. Economist Christian Gollier, a professor at the Toulouse School of Economics, delivered the opening lecture on the economics of climate (in)action. He called for societal transformations to cut CO₂ emissions sharply and prevent severe impacts in coming decades and centuries.

Gollier outlined options such as taxing high-emission products directly or subsidising households to replace oil boilers with heat pumps. He stressed the need for effective policies, noting that few countries have reduced emissions. The European Union, however, has lowered its CO₂ output by about a third since 1990. He warned that high-carbon industries often relocate production to nations like China or Morocco with looser pollution rules.

Such inaction carries high costs, Gollier said. Countries that do little benefit from others’ efforts without burdening their own populations—a dynamic he linked to recent US policy shifts away from decarbonisation under a “drill, baby, drill” approach. Efforts by acting nations bear the full load, while benefits accrue globally, eroding incentives for unilateral action despite shared planetary risks.

He praised electric vehicles and similar technologies as low-cost decarbonisation paths but cautioned against costlier initial steps that could fuel resistance. Andorra ranks well among European performers on emissions cuts, though transport, housing and water management pose challenges. Stronger EU-wide policies remain essential, as the Principat cannot address the issue alone.

Minister for Institutional Relations, Education and Universities Ladislau Baró introduced the event, highlighting its multidisciplinary approach to urgent issues amid current events. He described climate change’s complexities for mountainous Andorra and the Mediterranean basin, framing it as a test of human cooperation against short-termism.