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The Polluter Pays Principle And Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Climate Change: An Application Of Fund

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Author Info
Richard S.J. Tol () (Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin)

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Abstract

I compare and contrast five climate scenarios: (1) no climate policy; (2) non-cooperative cost-benefit analysis (NC CBA); (3) NC CBA with international permit trade; (4) NC CBA with joint and several liability for climate change damages; and (5) NC CBA with liability proportional to a country’s share in cumulative emissions. As estimates of the marginal damage costs are low, standard NC CBA implies only limited emission abatement. With international permit trade, emission abatement is even less, as the carbon tax is reduced in countries with fast-growing emissions, and because a permit market ignores the positive, dynamic externalities of abatement. Proportional liability shifts abatement effort towards the richer countries, but away from the fast-growing economies; again, long-term, global emission abatement is reduced. Joint and several liability would lead to more stringent climate policy. These findings are qualitatively robust to the size and accounting of climate change impacts, to the definition of liability, and to the baseline scenario.

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File URL: http://www.fnu.zmaw.de/fileadmin/fnu-files/publication/working-papers/pppcbawp.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University in its series Working Papers with number FNU-98.

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Length: 24 pages
Date of creation: Feb 2006
Date of revision: Feb 2006
Handle: RePEc:sgc:wpaper:98

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Related research
Keywords: Climate change; cost-benefit analysis; liability; permit trade;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Richard Tol, 2002. "Estimates of the Damage Costs of Climate Change. Part 1: Benchmark Estimates," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 21(1), pages 47-73, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Azar, Christian & Sterner, Thomas, 1996. "Discounting and distributional considerations in the context of global warming," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 169-184, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Goulder, Lawrence H. & Mathai, Koshy, 2000. "Optimal CO2 Abatement in the Presence of Induced Technological Change," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 1-38, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Richard S.J. Tol, 1999. "Kyoto, Efficiency, and Cost-Effectiveness: Applications of FUND," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 20(Special I), pages 131-156.
  5. Richard Tol, 2002. "Estimates of the Damage Costs of Climate Change, Part II. Dynamic Estimates," Environmental & Resource Economics, European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 21(2), pages 135-160, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Nordhaus, William D, 1991. "To Slow or Not to Slow: The Economics of the Greenhouse Effect," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(407), pages 920-37, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Ridgley, Mark A, 1996. "Fair sharing of greenhouse gas burdens," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 517-529, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Pearce, David, 1976. "The Limits of Cost-Benefit Analysis as a Guide to Environmental Policy," Kyklos, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 29(1), pages 97-112.
  9. Sugiyama, Taishi & Deshun, Liu, 2004. "Must developing countries commit quantified targets? Time flexibility and equity in climate change mitigation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 697-704, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Tol, Richard S. J., 1996. "The damage costs of climate change towards a dynamic representation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 67-90, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Jean-Charles Hourcade & Philippe Ambrosi & Stéphane Hallegatte & Franck Lecocq & Patrice Dumas & Minh Ha-Duong, 2003. "Optimal control models and elicitation of attitudes towards climate damages," Post-Print halshs-00000966_v1, HAL. [Downloadable!]
  12. Stephen C Peck & Thomas J. Teisberg, 1992. "CETA: A Model for Carbon Emissions Trajectory Assessment," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 13(1), pages 55-78.
  13. Farrow, Scott, 1998. "Environmental equity and sustainability: rejecting the Kaldor-Hicks criteria," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 183-188, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Tol, Richard S. J., 2002. "Welfare specifications and optimal control of climate change: an application of fund," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 367-376, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Richard S.J. Tol, 2004. "Multi-Gas Emission Reduction For Climate Change Policy: An Application Of Fund," Working Papers FNU-46, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Jun 2004. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  16. Maddison, David, 1995. "A cost-benefit analysis of slowing climate change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(4-5), pages 337-346. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  17. P. Michael Link & Richard S.J. Tol, 2004. "Possible Economic Impacts of a Shutdown of the Thermohaline Circulation: an Application of FUND," Working Papers FNU-42, Research unit Sustainability and Global Change, Hamburg University, revised Apr 2004. [Downloadable!]
  18. Minh Ha-Duong & Michael Grubb & Jean-Charles Hourcade, 1997. "Influence of socioeconomic inertia and uncertainty on optimal CO2-emission abatement," Post-Print halshs-00002452_v1, HAL. [Downloadable!]
  19. Gerlagh, Reyer & Keyzer, Michiel A., 2001. "Sustainability and the intergenerational distribution of natural resource entitlements," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 315-341, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Whitmore, Adam, 2000. "Compulsory environmental liability insurance as a means of dealing with climate change risk," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(11), pages 739-741, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  21. Manne, Alan & Mendelsohn, Robert & Richels, Richard, 1995. "MERGE : A model for evaluating regional and global effects of GHG reduction policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 17-34, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  22. Byrne, John & Wang, Young-Doo & Lee, Hoesung & Kim, Jong-dall, 1998. "An equity- and sustainability-based policy response to global climate change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(4), pages 335-343, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Rob Dellink & Michel den Elzen & Harry Aiking & Emmy Bergsma & Frans Berkhout & Thijs Dekker & Joyeeta Gupta, 2009. "Sharing the Burden of Adaptation Financing: An Assessment of the Contributions of Countries," Working Papers 2009.59, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. [Downloadable!]
  2. David Anthoff & Richard S.J. Tol, 2007. "On International Equity Weights and National Decision Making on Climate Change," Working Papers 2007.55, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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