The Economics and Politics of Climate Change
Dieter Helm and Cameron Hepburn
Abstract
The international framework for a climate change agreement is up for review as the initial Kyoto Protocol period to 2012 comes to an end. Though there has been much enthusiasm from political and environmental groups, the underlying economics and politics remain highly controversial. This book takes a cool-headed look at the critical roadblocks to agreement, examining the economics of climate change, the incentives of the main players (the United States, EU, China), and the policies which governments can put in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately shift our economies onto a ... More
The international framework for a climate change agreement is up for review as the initial Kyoto Protocol period to 2012 comes to an end. Though there has been much enthusiasm from political and environmental groups, the underlying economics and politics remain highly controversial. This book takes a cool-headed look at the critical roadblocks to agreement, examining the economics of climate change, the incentives of the main players (the United States, EU, China), and the policies which governments can put in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately shift our economies onto a low-carbon path. It questions the basis of much of the climate change consensus and debates the Stern Review's main findings. Aside from a reassessment of the economics of climate change, the book looks at the geography of the costs and benefits of climate change — the very different perspectives of Africa, China, Europe, and the United States — as well as the prospects for a new global agreement. It also considers policy instruments at the global level (whereas much of the literature to date is nationally and regionally based). Trading and R&D, along with more radical unilateral options, including geoengineering, are discussed. Finally, the book describes the institutional architecture — drawing on evidence from previous attempts in other areas, as well as proposals for new bodies.
Keywords:
climate change,
Kyoto Protocol,
greenhouse gas emissions,
global agreement,
Stern Review,
China,
geoengineering,
United States
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2009 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199573288 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: April 2015 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199573288.001.0001 |
Authors
Affiliations are at time of print publication.
Dieter Helm, editor
Fellow and Tutor in Economics, New College, University of Oxford
Cameron Hepburn, editor
Senior Research Fellow, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford
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