Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford
He transformed the global conversation on climate change by framing it as the greatest market failure in history, with profound economic stakes.
Born 1946 (age 80)·British economist and academic·Birthday: April 22·Baby Boomers
Biography
Nicholas Stern, a patrician figure in the world of economics, began his career far from environmental concerns, serving as Chief Economist at the World Bank and an advisor to the UK government. His pivot came in 2006 with the publication of the Stern Review, a monumental report commissioned by the British Treasury. With the cool authority of a banker and the rigor of an academic, he laid out a stark case: the costs of inaction on climate change would dwarf the investments needed to avert it. This reframing, from a nebulous ecological worry to a clear and present economic threat, shifted policy debates worldwide. As the founding chair of the Grantham Research Institute at the LSE, he continues to steer the discipline of economics toward the urgent task of building a sustainable and equitable global economy.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Nicholas was born in 1946, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Nicholas Was Born
The biggest hits of 1946
#1 Movie
The Best Years of Our Lives
Best Picture
The Best Years of Our Lives
Nicholas's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1946Born
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1951Started school
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1959Became a teenager
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1962Could drive
Cuban Missile Crisis brings the world to the brink
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,800Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Stranger on the Shore" — Acker BilkBest Picture: Lawrence of Arabia
1964Could vote
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1967Turned 21
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1976Turned 30
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1986Turned 40
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1996Turned 50
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2006Turned 60
Twitter launches; Pluto reclassified as dwarf planet
Gas: $2.59/galHome: $174,700Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Bad Day" — Daniel PowterBest Picture: The Departed
2016Turned 70
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2026Turned 80
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Authored the landmark 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change for the UK government.
- Served as Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank from 2000 to 2003.
- Was elected President of the British Academy, the UK's national academy for the humanities and social sciences.
- Holds the IG Patel Chair at the London School of Economics, leading its climate economics research.
Did You Know?
He was made a life peer in 2007, taking the title Baron Stern of Brentford.
He is one of the few individuals to be a Fellow of both the British Academy and the Royal Society.
Early in his career, he spent several years as a professor in India, which influenced his work on development.
“Climate change is a result of the greatest market failure the world has seen.”
