The Potential for Mitigating Short-lived Climate Pollutants

Climate policy has received considerable attention from environmental economists for more than two decades. Although the international climate regime covers all greenhouse gases not covered under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, climate policy and most economics research have focused on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. With the lack of progress on establishing effective global cooperation regarding CO2 emissions, short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) such as black carbon, tropospheric ozone, methane, and hydrofluorocarbons have recently been placed higher on the climate policy agenda. Although economists have generally not actively participated in the current policy debate about SLCPs, there has been much economics research on SLCPs or closely related topics. Economists have conducted substantial research on the valuation of non-CO2 gases, the estimation of abatement costs, and policies for regulating multiple pollutants simultaneously. Additional issues that would benefit from economics research include the political economy of SLCP mitigation and the establishment of (separate) international agreements to mitigate SLCPs.