The Oxford Handbook of the Macroeconomics of Global Warming

Book excerpt: Dialogue on global warming has progressed from the Kyoto Protocol to meetings in Copenhagen and Cancun and will soon resume in meetings in South Africa. Some observers consider the Copenhagen conference a failure. EU representatives, in contrast, present an optimistic evaluation of achieving a global temperature rise limit of not more than 2°C by 2100. Geoscience researchers and lead investigators of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have supported CO2 emission reduction pledges and contend that we can achieve the 2°C limit through international coordination. This position conflicts with evaluations of United States Congressional and Presidential advisors, who do not believe the Copenhagen CO2 reduction commitments can hold the global warming increase to below 2°C and who have not supported the agreement. Developing countries are alarmed, because climate change is expected to hit them hardest. The developed world will use energy to mitigate global warming effects, but developing countries are more exposed by geography and poverty to the most dangerous consequences of a global temperature rise. The Oxford Handbook of the Macroeconomics of Global Warming analyzes the macroeconomics of global warming, especially the economics of possible preventative measures, various policy changes, and potential effects of climate change on developing and developed nations.