The Economics of Climate Change: 2nd Report of Session 2005-06The Stationery Office, 2005 M07 6 - 84 pages This report examines the economic aspects of climate change under the headings: the uncertain science of climate change; future impacts of the enhanced greenhouse effect; forecasting greenhouse gas emissions and temperature change; the cost of tackling climate change; benefits of climate change control; the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) process; international negotiations. The Committee think that the role of economic policy instruments and in the control of greenhouse gas emissions and economic arguments have not had sufficient attention in the debates over climate change. They want HM Treasury to have a more extensive role in examining costs and benefits of policy and in the work of the IPCC process, which they suspect is overly influenced by political considerations. Other conclusions include the need for: better information on the monetary costs of global warming; more adaptive measures; the retention of nuclear power capacity; the replacement of the Climate Change Levy with a carbon tax; new international protocols which are not tied to emission targets. |
Contents
Abstract | 6 |
The basic linkages in climate change | 13 |
On past scares | 20 |
Populations at risk from global warming | 28 |
Are the IPCC emissions scenarios equally plausible? | 34 |
The population projections | 40 |
Projecting global cooling effects | 41 |
Costs to the United Kingdom | 47 |
Conclusions on benefit estimates | 55 |
United Kingdom Climate Targets | 61 |
Adaptation | 67 |
Common terms and phrases
adaptation agreement approach Assessment Report assumptions atmospheric concentrations billion capita carbon tax Chairman chapter climate change control Climate Change Levy climate models CO₂ compliance convergence costs and benefits costs of control damage debate Defra developing countries Director economic growth economics of climate emissions reductions emissions targets Energy and Environment estimates evidence GCMs global warming Government greenhouse gas emissions greenhouse gases growth rates high emissions scenarios hockey stick income international negotiations International Policy Network IPCC IPCC emissions scenarios IPCC process IPCC scenarios IPCC's issue Kyoto Protocol Lord Lord Goodhart Lord Sheldon Market exchange rates McKitrick measures mitigation monetised Nakicenovic population projections purchasing power parity radiative forcing rates of warming reduced Richard Tol rise risk role Ross McKitrick scenario exercise scientific suggests sulphur emissions tackling climate change technologies temperature change temperature increases tonne of carbon trillion Trust uncertainty weather events