CLIMATE CHANGE: DESIGNING AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE
Date: Monday, September 26 @ 11:30:00 MDT
Topic: The Fate of Fossil-Fuel Emissions


by D.G. Victor

Reversing the atmospheric buildup of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases will require a radical transformation in the world’s economies. Such changes are difficult to plan and imply coordination of policies on a scale not yet experienced. Not only is the task difficult, but the problem of climate change has many attributes that historically are associated with policy failure—namely, the perception of high immediate costs for uncertain and highly diffuse future benefits. This paper explores the historical experience with addressing partially analogous global challenges. The paper is pessimistic that societies will have much effect on their emissions trajectories in the next few decades, implying that substantial amounts of climate change are likely and the risk of abrupt changes in climate will also multiply. It is optimistic about the longer-term—the period from five decades on—when zero carbon technologies can diffuse into widespread use through the normal turnover of energy infrastructures.

Link to Abstract
Link to Slides








This article comes from The 7th International CO2 Conference Web Site
http://icdc7.cmdl.noaa.gov/

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