The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World

Description

Climate change is profoundly altering our world in ways that pose major risks to human societies and natural systems. We have entered the Climate Casino and are rolling the global-warming dice, warns economist William Nordhaus. But there is still time to turn around and walk back out of the casino, and in this essential book the author explains how.   Bringing together all the important issues surrounding the climate debate, Nordhaus describes the science, economics, and politics involved—and the steps necessary to reduce the perils of global warming. Using language accessible to any concerned citizen and taking care to present different points of view fairly, he discusses the problem from start to finish: from the beginning, where warming originates in our personal energy use, to the end, where societies employ regulations or taxes or subsidies to slow the emissions of gases responsible for climate change.   Nordhaus offers a new analysis of why earlier policies, such as the Kyoto Protocol, failed to slow carbon dioxide emissions, how new approaches can succeed, and which policy tools will most effectively reduce emissions. In short, he clarifies a defining problem of our times and lays out the next critical steps for slowing the trajectory of global warming. Contents Acknowledgments Note to Readers Part I. The Genesis of Climate Change 1. First Encounters in the Climate Casino 2. A Tale of Two Lakes 3. The Economic Origins of Climate Change 4. Future Climate Change 5. Tipping Points in the Climate Casino Part II. Impacts of Climate Change on Human and Other Living Systems 6. From Climate Change to Impacts 7. The Fate of Farming 8. The Impact on Human Health 9. Perils for the Oceans 10. Intensification of Hurricanes 11. Wildlife and Species Loss 12. Adding Up the Damages from Climate Change Part III. Slowing Climate Change: Strategies and Costs 13. Dealing with Climate Change: Adaptation and Geoengineering 15. The Costs of Slowing Climate Change 16. Discounting and the Value of Time Part IV. Policies and Institutions for Slowing Climate Change 17. Historical Perspectives on Climate Policy 18. Climate Policy by Balancing Costs and Benefits 19. The Central Role of Carbon Prices 20. Climate-Change Policies at the National Level 21. From National to Harmonized International Policies 22. Second Best and Beyond 23. New Technologies for a Low-Carbon Economy Part V. Climate Politics 24. Climate Science and Its Critics 25. Public Opinion on Climate Change 26. Obstacles to Climate-Change Policies Notes Index