A Looming Policy Disaster

Abstract

The recent wave of global warming legislation and litigation represents a triumph for climate change activists. But it is in no way a rational, economically sound response to the problems potentially raised by global warming. It ignores the likely costs and benefits of global warming on American's health and welfare, and about the ability of the United States to act alone to alter possible future paths of global warming. The far-distant future may indeed bring a climate catastrophe, but if we do not now take a sustained and critical look at climate change economics and science, an imminent policy catastrophe is a sure thing.

Keywords: global warming, environment, regulation, climate change, climate, geenhouse gas, emissions, Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, temperature, carbon dioxide, Clean Air Act, air pollutants

JEL Classification: D23, D61, H11, H23, H41, K11, K32, L51, O13, Q28, Q25, Q2, Q3, Q38, Q48, Q42