The economics and policy of global warming

It’s the only thing that I believe has the power to fundamentally end the march of civilization as we know it, and make a lot of the other efforts that we’re making irrelevant and impossible.”2 With some exceptions, economists take the view that, because meteorological, atmospheric and oceanic sciences are outside their realm of expertise, they should accept such warnings without qualification. [...] If carbon trading is the instrument of choice, the majority of economists and environmentalists prefer that the government auction off permits, using the revenues to reduce income taxes and other taxes. [...] But economists are not wedded to the idea of auctions because, other than the revenue benefits to government and the potential for a double dividend, the emissions outcomes are the same whether permits are auctioned, given freely to existing emitters on the basis of past emissions, or allocated in some other fashion. [...] The moral objection disappears when we distinguish between the intrinsic value of people (all of whom bear the image of God) and the subjective value of money, time, labor and other things. [...] The possibility of such a feedback effect leads Weitzman to increase the value of climate sensitivity so that, based on information from Torn and Harte (2006), the probability that temperatures could rise above 11.5o C is 5% and that they could rise above 22.6o C is 1%! However, recognizing the crude and speculative nature of his calculations, Weitzman rounds these levels down to 10o C and 20o C.