The Evolution of Economic Policy on Climate Change

21 August 2008

Richard Carson

ANU Trevor Swan Distinguished Lectures in Economics

The lecture traces the outlines of economic thinking on climate change. Two competing paradigms are reviewed: (1) modelling of greenhouse gases mitigation as a dynamic optimal control problem and (2) the willingness to pay of the present generation to ensure future generations against the potential adverse impacts of climate change. The presentation examines the challenges of the economics of international co-operation, the choice of economic instruments for climate mitigation, uncertainty, climate adaptation, abrupt climate change, induced technological change, discounting, and equity considerations.

Broad Topics: Asia and the Pacific, Business and Economics

Sub-topics: Economics, Environment, Policy & Political Science

Areas: ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, ANU College of Business and Economics

Richard Carson is Professor of Economics at the University of California, San Diego. He is immediate President of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. Carson specialises in assessing the benefits and costs of public policies, particularly in areas involving energy, environment, transport and urban issues. Carson has worked on a wide-range of studies including the valuation of the benefits of the U.S. Clean Water Act and served as the government's principal investigator for the economic damage assessment of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He has published widely in major economics journals and is the most cited environmental economist. Carson has served as a consultant to government agencies, international organizations and major corporations around the world.