The economics of long-term global climate change

Technical Report · Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1990

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6487569· OSTI ID:6487569

This report is intended to provide an overview of economic issues and research relevant to possible, long-term global climate change. It is primarily a critical survey, not a statement of Administration or Department policy. This report should serve to indicate that economic analysis of global change is in its infancy few assertions about costs or benefits can be made with confidence. The state of the literature precludes any attempt to produce anything like a comprehensive benefit-cost analysis. Moreover, almost all the quantitative estimates regarding physical and economic effects in this report, as well as many of the qualitative assertions, are controversial. Section I provides background on greenhouse gas emissions and their likely climatic effects and on available policy instruments. Section II considers the costs of living with global change, assuming no substantial efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Section III considers costs of reducing these emissions, though the available literature does not contain estimates of the costs of policies that would, on the assumptions of current climate models, prevent climate change altogether. The individual sections are not entirely compartmentalized, but can be read independently if necessary.

• Research Organization: USDOE Office of Policy, Planning and Analysis, Washington, DC (USA)
• Sponsoring Organization: DOE/PE
• OSTI ID: 6487569
• Report Number(s): DOE/PE-0096P; ON: DE91000467
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Report of an Interagency Task Force
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
AGRICULTURE
CARBON DIOXIDE
CLIMATES
COORDINATED RESEARCH PROGRAMS
COST
EMISSION
GLOBAL ASPECTS
METHANE
NITROUS OXIDE
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
VARIATIONS
ALKANES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
ECONOMICS
HYDROCARBONS
INDUSTRY
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RESEARCH PROGRAMS
540120* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
290200 - Energy Planning & Policy- Economics & Sociology