By Adrien Vogt-Schilb and Matthew Binsted What if I told you that making greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets more stringent would be cheaper than keeping current ones? That might seem to defy logic. But it makes sense when you consider the financial costs of continuing to invest in technologies that take us only part way to our ultimate emissions-reduction goals, only … [Read more...] about Strengthening Climate Goals Will End Up Saving Money for Latin America and the Caribbean
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Can We Reduce Emissions While We Wait for a Carbon Tax?
We environmental economists have long advocated carbon taxes as the fastest and most efficient way to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from cars and power plants and prevent catastrophic global warming later this century. But carbon taxes can be politically problematic. Witness recent events in France where efforts by the government to increase fuel taxes triggered weeks of … [Read more...] about Can We Reduce Emissions While We Wait for a Carbon Tax?
Climate Policy: When the Expensive Options Make Sense
To stabilize climate change, we need to get to zero net carbon emissions by the end of the century. A key question then for policymakers is when and how to reduce emissions. Imagine you are a policymaker, and you have two options for reducing emissions. Energy efficiency measures in the building sector (LED lights instead of light bulbs, better thermal insulation) can reduce … [Read more...] about Climate Policy: When the Expensive Options Make Sense
Global Warming: Why a Couple Degrees Makes All the Difference
What's the big fuss over 2 degrees Celsius? That's the temperature increase to which 195 countries agreed to limit global warming at the 2015 Paris climate talks. And it would seem to be trivial. A 2-degrees-Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) increase from 4.4 to 6.4 Celsius (40-43.6 Fahrenheit), after all, doesn't have us shedding our Shetland sweaters for shorts and a tank top. … [Read more...] about Global Warming: Why a Couple Degrees Makes All the Difference
Happy Days Are Not Here Again
The region’s oil exporters are enjoying a mild reprieve from devastatingly low prices. For now. While the price uptick may have several causes, the most dramatic contributing factor is the Fort McMurray fire in the Canadian province of Alberta. The wildfire covers an area larger than some of the world’s major cities, and officials have estimated it will take weeks or even … [Read more...] about Happy Days Are Not Here Again