Greenhouse Economics: Value and Ethics / Edition 1

by Clive Spash

Overview

Examining one of the most crucial issues in the modern world: human induced climate change, here Clive Spash provides a refreshing interdisciplinary perspective, pulling together strands of natural science, economics and ethics. Described by John Gowdy as ‘the best exposition to date on the political economy of climate policy’, this remarkable volume poses serious questions and gives intelligent answers. The issues it addresses are relevant to a range of environmental problems, and it covers themes such as:

• How do we deal with uncertainty and ignorance?
• What roles do science and economics play in policy formation?
• To what extent should individuals take responsibility for the society in which they and their descendants live?

By rigorously examining international and governmental sources, and key contemporary issues, Spash provides an up-to-date and informative analysis. A well-organized study (including a glossary and helpful acronym list), this book will be of strong interest to students and academics in the fields of ecological and environmental economics, and is essential reading for all those to whom climate change is a professional or personal concern.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415372442
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/09/2005
Series:	Routledge Explorations in Environmental Economics , #1
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	314
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Professor Clive Spash is the Head of the Socio-Economic Research Programme at the Macaulay Institute and also holds the Research Chair in Environmental and Rural Economics at the University of Aberdeen. He is President of the European Society for Ecological Economics.

Table of Contents

1. Climate Change: Introducing some of the issues 2. Scientific Understanding of the Enhanced Greenhouse Effect 3. Impacts of Global Climate Change 4. Weak Uncertainty: Risk and imperfect information 5. Strong Uncertainty: Ignorance and indeterminacy 6. Calculating the Cost and Benefits of GHG Control 7. Loading the Dice? Values, opinions and ethics 8. Dividing Time and Discounting the Future 9. Economics, Ethics and Future Generations 10. Science, Economics and Policy