1st Edition

Climate Change Economics and Policy An RFF Anthology

Edited By Michael A. Toman Copyright 2001
    292 Pages
    by Routledge

    288 Pages
    by Routledge

    What are the potential adverse impacts of climate change? How can society determine the amount of protection against climate change that is warranted, given the benefits and costs of various policies? In concise, informative chapters, Climate Economics and Policy considers the key issues involved in one of the most important policy debates of our time. Beginning with an overview and policy history, it explores the potential impact of climate change on a variety of domains, including water resources, agriculture, and forests. The contributors then provide assessments of policies that will affect greenhouse gas emissions, including electricity restructuring, carbon sequestration in forests, and early reduction programs. In considering both domestic and international policy options, the authors examine command and control strategies, energy efficiency opportunities, taxes, emissions trading, subsidy reform, and inducements for technological progress. Both policymakers and the general public will find this volume to be a convenient and authoritative guide to climate change risk and policy. It is a useful resource for professional education programs, and an important addition for college courses in environmental economics and environmental studies. Climate Economics and Policy is a collection of Issue Briefs, prepared by the staff of Resources for the Future (RFF) and outside experts. Many are adapted from pieces originally disseminated on Weathervane, RFF‘s acclaimed web site on global climate change.

    Preface
    Michael A. Toman
    1. Climate Change Economics and Policies: An Overview
    Michael A. Toman
    Part One: Introduction
    2. How the Kyoto Protocol Developed: A Brief History
    J. W. Anderson
    3. The Energy-CO2 Connection: A Review of Trends and Challenges
    Joel Darmstadter
    4. How Much Climate Change Is Too Much? An Economics Perspective
    Jason F. Shogren and Michael A. Toman
    Appendix A: The Costs of the Kyoto Protocol
    Sarah A. Cline
    Part Two: Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    5. Agriculture and Climate Change
    Pierre Crosson
    6. Water Resources and Climate Change
    Kenneth D. Frederick
    7. Forests and Climate Change
    Roger A. Sedjo and Brent Sohngen
    8. 'Ancillary Benefits' of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies
    Dallas Burtraw and Michael A. Toman
    Appendix B: Climate Change, Health Risks, and Economics
    Alan J. Krupnick
    Part Three: Policy Design and Implementation Issues
    9. Choosing Price or Quantity Controls for Greenhouse Gases
    William A. Pizer
    10. Using Emissions Trading to Regulate National Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    Carolyn Fischer, Suzi Kerr, and Michael A. Toman
    11. Revenue Recycling and the Costs of Reducing Carbon Emissions
    Ian W.H. Parry
    12. Confronting the Adverse Industry Impacts of CO2 Abatement Policies: What Does It Cost?
    Lawrence H. Goulder
    13. Carbon Sinks in the Post-Kyoto World
    Roger A. Sedjo, Brent Sohngen, and Pamela Jagger
    14. Environmentally and Economically Damaging Subsidies: Concepts and Illustrations
    Carolyn Fischer and Michael A. Toman
    15. Electricity Restructuring: Shortcut or Detour on the Road to Achieving Greenhouse Gas Reductions?
    Karen L. Palmer
    16. The Role of Renewable Resources in U.S. Electricity Generation: Experience and Prospects
    Joel Darmstadter
    17. Energy-Efficient Technologies and Climate Change Policies: Issues and Evidence
    Adam B. Jaffe, Richard G. Newell, and Robert N. Stavins
    18. Climate Change Policy Choices and Technical Innovation
    Carolyn Fischer
    19. Greenhous Gas 'Early Reduction' Programs: A Critical Appraisal
    Ian W.H. Parry and Michael A. Toman
    Appendix C: Climate Policy and the Economics of Technical Advance: Drawing on Inventive Activity
    Raymond J. Kopp
    Part Four: International Considerations
    20. Policy Design for International Greenhouse Gas Control
    Jonathan Baert Wiener
    21. Establishing and Operating the Clean Development Mechanism
    Michael A. Toman
    22. Allocating Liability in International Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading and the Clean Development Mechnism
    Suzi Kerr
    23. International Equity and Climate Change Policy
    Marina V. Cazorla and Michael A. Toman
    24. The Economics of Climate-Friendly Technology Diffusion in Developing Countries
    Allen Blackman
    25. Including Developing Countries in Global Efforts for Greenhouse Gas Reduction
    Ram?n L?pez
    Conclusion
    26. Moving Ahead with Climate Policy
    Michael A. Toman
    Glossary
    Index

    Biography

    Michael A. Toman is a senior fellow and the director of the Energy and Natural Resources division at Resources for the Future. He is the coauthor, coeditor, and editor of several books, including Pollution Abatement Strategies in Central and Eastern Europe, Assessing Surprises and Nonlinearities in Greenhouse Warming, and Technology Options for Electricity Generation.

    'It will be an invaluable resource for teaching, and it will be useful to environmental professionals who seek a thoughtful treatment of the many policy dimensions of global climate change.' Charles D. Kolstad, University of California, Santa Barbara