Global Climate Change: The Science, Economics, and Politics (New Horizons in Environmental Economics)

Global climate change cannot be understood without knowing the fundamental principles of science, economics, and politics that condition our policy choices. To that end, the contributors to this volume, experts in their respective fields, take a comprehensive look at the major issues involved. This volume is written for policymakers and informed citizenry who want to understand at a general level the complexities of global climate change without becoming enmeshed in technical minutia. The introduction emphasizes the core fact that climate change issues cut across disciplines. William Schlesinger and Gerald North explain the carbon cycle and how increased greenhouse gases impact temperature. The economics papers deal with the applicability of benefit/cost analysis and then proceed to examine the benefits of avoiding temperature change versus the costs of the various CO2 abatement options. Finally, David Victor, a Stanford political scientist, asks which policies are feasible in a world where the incentives differ dramatically among countries. The book closes with open letters to the President of the United States. Policymakers along with academics, students and any reader interested in a broad look at the important issues in the global climate change story will find this book indispensable. Nine contributions from academics and practitioners discuss global climate change from a range of scientific, economic, and political perspectives. Sample topics include the linkage between fossil fuel consumption and atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, the damages from global warming on the types of market activities included in the GDP, and the mitigation costs of various policies for reducing emissions. The papers were originally presented at a conference held in April 2001 at Texas A&M University. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR