(2007-02-15) Kling Climate Change Just In Case

Arnold Kling looks at Climate Change, esp the Weitzman review of the Stern Review, and things we should explore the possibility of a Just In Case R And D project. Stripped of jargon, what Weitzman is saying is that we should try to study whether a just-in-case approach can work, rather than limit ourselves to the choices of either making huge economic sacrifices or running the risk of climate catastrophe. If we lack "just-in-case" mechanisms, then any approach that we take toward climate change risks making significant errors. We might sacrifice a lot of the world's standard of living in order to reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions, only to discover that it was unnecessary, because global warming was not going to accelerate, regardless. Conversely, the reductions that we carry out might turn out to be insufficient. If we do opt for sacrifice, then most economists would agree with Weitzman that the best approach would be to tax carbon emissions (Carbon Tax).