Global climate change : the economics costs of mitigation and adaptation: proceedings of a Conference sponsored by Center for Environmental Information, [held in Washington in December 1990

Bacteria in a test tube and humans on our planet follow the same population curve as time elapses. We on this earth, largely through control of disease, are rapidly ap­ proaching maximum population, and through energy demands are using up our resour­ ces and accumulating wastes. We have come to realize the danger of a maturing system but have made essential­ ly no impact in mitigating or preventing the problems we face. While we have been able to change the world we live in, most of our effects have been to degrade the planet. We have nibbled away at the quality of the atmosphere for centuries and the ac­ cumulated damage has resulted in changing the world's climate at an ever-increasing rate. We now face the possibility of higher average temperatures over most of our planet, changing patterns of rainfall, rising sea levels, aggravated storm systems and a myriad of social effects. Front Matter....Pages i-xv Managing Planet Earth....Pages 1-12 How Should We Address the Economic Costs of Climate Change?....Pages 13-13 Some Economics of Global Climate Change: The View from the Developing Countries....Pages 15-32 Why Climate Change is Not a Cost/Benefit Problem....Pages 33-44 CO 2 and SO 2 : Consistent Policy Making in a Greenhouse....Pages 45-72 How Should We Address Economic Costs of Climate Change?....Pages 73-76 Dealing With The Economic Costs of Climate Change Mitigation: A Perspective from the Automotive Industry....Pages 77-110 Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Climate Change Policies....Pages 111-129 Benefits of Mitigation and Adaptation....Pages 131-133 Methods of Analysis....Pages 135-146 Current Analysis of Economic Costs....Pages 147-152 The Cost of Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the United States....Pages 153-173 Saving Money and Reducing the Risk of Climate Change Through Greater Energy Efficiency....Pages 175-209 Global CO 2 Emission Reductions: The Impacts of Rising Energy Costs....Pages 211-239 Carbon Sequestration Versus Fossil Fuel Substitution: Alternative Roles for Biomass in Coping With Greenhouse Warming....Pages 241-282 Introduction to Respondents Panel on Current Analyses of Economic Costs....Pages 283-284 A Critical Analysis of Climate Change Policy Research....Pages 285-302 Benefit-Cost Analysis....Pages 303-313 Economic Modeling of Global Climate: Comparing Approaches....Pages 315-326 Opening Remarks: International Panel....Pages 327-329 Global Funding for the Environment: Perspectives of Developing Countries and Relevance of Economic Costing....Pages 331-337 The Prospects and Economic Costs of the Reduction of CO 2 Emissions in the People’s Republic of China (PRC)....Pages 339-362 Sustainable Energy-Environmental Policy Options for the Developing World....Pages 363-389 Climate Policy in the European Community and Its Economic Aspects....Pages 391-414 Japan’s Policy on Global Warming....Pages 415-421 Summation....Pages 423-429 Back Matter....Pages 431-438 Sponsored By Center For Environmental Information, Inc. ; Edited By James C. White ; Associate Editors, William Wagner, Carole N. Beal. Conference Held In Dec. 1990 In Washington, D.c. Includes Bibliographical References. Proceedings of a conference sponsored by Center for Environmental Information, Inc., Washington, DC, USA, December 1990