THE IMPACT OF POTENTIAL ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGES ON NEAR-TERM POLICY CHOICES

被引:27
作者
LEMPERT, RJ
SCHLESINGER, ME
HAMMITT, JK
机构
[1] UNIV ILLINOIS,DEPT ATMOSPHER SCI,URBANA,IL 61801
[2] HARVARD UNIV,SCH PUBL HLTH,DEPT HLTH POLICY & MANAGEMENT,BOSTON,MA 02115
关键词
D O I
10.1007/BF01094402
中图分类号
X [环境科学、安全科学];
学科分类号
08 ; 0830 ;
摘要
We investigate an important scientific uncertainty facing climate-change policymakers, namely, the impact of potential abrupt climatic change. We examine sequential decision strategies for abating climate change where near-term policies are viewed as the first of a series of decisions which adapt over the years to improving scientific information. We compare two illustrative near-term (1992-2002) policies - moderate and aggressive emission reductions - followed by a subsequent long-term policy chosen to limit global-mean temperature change to a specified 'climate target. We calculate the global-mean surface temperature change using a simple climate/ocean model and simple models of greenhouse-gas concentrations. We alter model parameters to examine the impact of abrupt changes in the sinks of carbon dioxide, the sources of methane, the circulation of the oceans, and the climate sensitivity, DELTAT2x. Although the abrupt changes increase the long-term costs of responding to climate change, they do not significantly affect the comparatively small cost difference between near-term strategies. Except for an abrupt increase in DELTAT2x, the investigated abrupt climate changes do not significantly alter the values of the climate target for which each near-term strategy is preferred. In contrast, innovations that reduce the cost of limiting greenhouse-gas emissions offer the potential for substantial abatement cost savings, regardless of which level of near-term abatement is selected.
引用
收藏
页码:351 / 376
页数:26
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