The Economics of Climate Change: 2nd Report of Session 2005-06

Front Cover
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