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Responding To Threats of Climate Change Mega-Catastrophes / Kousky, Carolyn
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (formerly "World Bank E-Library Publications") Available online
View online- Format:
- Book
- Government document
- Author/Creator:
- Kousky, Carolyn
- Series:
- Policy research working papers.
- World Bank e-Library.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Atmosphere.
- Climate.
- Climate Change.
- Climate Change Economics.
- Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases.
- Climate system.
- Desertification.
- Ecosystem.
- Environment.
- Floods.
- Forest.
- GHG.
- GHGs.
- Global greenhouse gas.
- Greenhouse.
- Greenhouse gas.
- Greenhouse gas emissions.
- Hurricanes.
- Ice sheets.
- IPCC.
- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth.
- Precipitation.
- Science and Technology Development.
- Science of Climate Change.
- Severe weather.
- Temperature.
- Transport.
- Urban Development.
- Local Subjects:
- Atmosphere.
- Climate.
- Climate Change.
- Climate Change Economics.
- Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases.
- Climate system.
- Desertification.
- Ecosystem.
- Environment.
- Floods.
- Forest.
- GHG.
- GHGs.
- Global greenhouse gas.
- Greenhouse.
- Greenhouse gas.
- Greenhouse gas emissions.
- Hurricanes.
- Ice sheets.
- IPCC.
- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth.
- Precipitation.
- Science and Technology Development.
- Science of Climate Change.
- Severe weather.
- Temperature.
- Transport.
- Urban Development.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (28 pages)
- Place of Publication:
- Washington, D.C., The World Bank, 2009
- System Details:
- data file
- Summary:
- There is a low but uncertain probability that climate change could trigger "mega-catastrophes," severe and at least partly irreversible adverse effects across broad regions. This paper first discusses the state of current knowledge and the defining characteristics of potential climate change mega-catastrophes. While some of these characteristics present difficulties for using standard rational choice methods to evaluate response options, there is still a need to balance the benefits and costs of different possible responses with appropriate attention to the uncertainties. To that end, the authors present a qualitative analysis of three options for mitigating the risk of climate mega-catastrophes - drastic abatement of greenhouse gas emissions, development and implementation of geoengineering, and large-scale ex ante adaptation - against the criteria of efficacy, cost, robustness, and flexibility. They discuss the composition of a sound portfolio of initial investments in reducing the risk of climate change mega-catastrophes.
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