|
Home
The
debate is over
Challenges to the Economic
Approach:
The Case for Market
Intervention
Free Market Strategies
Carbon
Taxes
Emissions
trading: Cap and Trade
Economic Adaptation
-A Practical Application
-A
Comprehensive Approach
Further
Information
Comments & questions to:
awerth@macalester.edu
|
 |
Economic Adaptation
A Practical
Application
While CO2 is a pollutant and can be regulated in
ways similar to previous schemes, the scale of any program will be much
beyond any program that has already been conducted. Even beyond
the challenges of scale, any market strategy has many kinks and will
need to be altered over time. This is also different because all
fossil fuels contain some degree of carbon dioxide and emit it when
burned, so to say that we are cutting carbon emissions doesn’t just
mean we’re decreasing fossil fuel use, but also transitioning to non
carbon emitting sources of energy. The regulation will require a
great deal of regulatory action and a lot of calculations and testing
to determine the best program to reduce emissions. The categories
of tax vs. trading scheme can be blurred as well, hybrid programs
incorporating elements of both might allow for the best of each method
to be maximized. The program will be heavily influenced by
political decisions, since carbon policy affects everyone.
Finding an effective solution will require both technical prowess and
testing, but political courage on the part of all.
"Mitigation -
taking strong action to reduce emissions - must be viewed as an
investment, a cost incurred now and in the coming few decades to avoid
the risks of very severe consequences in the future. If these investments
are made wisely, the costs will be manageable, and there will be a wide
range of opportunities for growth and development along the way. " –The
Stern Review
A Comprehensive Approach
A problem on the scale of global warming will require a commitment of
many people and strategies to address. Not one solution will
solve the problem. A well-designed economic approach will
hopefully create incentives that reflect the goal of addressing global
warming, but they do not act independently. The most effective way to
address the problem is to have interplay between economics and culture,
where economic incentives promote social goals and give people the
freedom to act in mutually beneficial ways. Important to all
aspects of a movement to confront global warming is the understanding
that we are not sacrificing our quality of life or diminishing our
economy, we are investing in the future and both will be better off for
it.
|
|
Last updated: 2/2/2006
|
