Abstract
‘The economics of climate change’ discusses the most pressing environmental issue of our time — global climate change. Climate change policy involves costs and benefits — the abatement costs that will be incurred in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and benefits in the form of reduced climate change damage. What is the economic case for action to limit global climate change? How can we assess the benefits of action for future generations? What scale of action is warranted and what form should it take? These questions are considered along with the role for pricing instruments such as carbon taxes and emissions trading in steering individual behaviour towards lower-carbon choices, and a potential successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
