More Economics of Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

Here is a recent discussion I had with Romesh Vaitilingam for the VoxEU and here is a piece that I just published in the World Financial Review.  Both of these links focus on the microeconomics of climate change mitigation and adaptation.  

Will we "thrive" in our hotter future?   That is up to each us as individuals and firms.  Government is more likely to step up and do its job if it is held accountable for "bad outcomes".  As usual, competition will play a key role here.  If cities have competitive elections, then politicians who do not provide quality of life and services will be thrown out. This threat will nudge them to serve the public.

I think we will continue to "thrive" despite the very real challenge of climate change because of our ability to  solve new problems and to come up with new ways of reinventing our cities and lifestyles.   I do not foresee Atmospheric CO2 levels rising to 1000 PPM.  As I discuss in Climatopolis,  as the threat of climate change becomes apparent we will simultaneously take actions to adapt to this new reality and there will be greater collective willingness to reduce GHG emissions. Initial Green Guinea Pig efforts such as California's AB32 will teach us important lessons concerning what are the most cost effective ways to decarbonize and the diffusion of these ideas will allow GHG emissions to stabilize.  As nations such as China and India grow richer, I predict that they will be more willing to join an international coalition of carbon reducers out of self interest as basic consumption satiation takes place.