econ + ecology Flashcards
What are the climate commons?
shared atmospheric environment of the globe?
What are externalities?
a market failure because they are irregularities in the rule of market based behavior, happen very often
- context of climate: results of changing conditions have characteristics of externalities
What are one way externalities?
when one party affects another, industrial emissions affecting air quality
what are reciprocal externalities?
when two parties affect each other
- beekeeper and orchard
What are public goods?
they’re non-rival (not competing to get it) and non-excludable (can’t exclude others from using it)
- ex: the atmosphere and clean air
what are public bads?
non-excludable harms (global warming), everyone is affected
what is the free-rider problem?
nations aren’t contributing to climate change proportionally
- US emitting a lot more CO2, especially given its lack of climate action
what is the principal-agent problem?
raises questions about appropriate level or scale at which public goods are most cost-efficiently given
- if GHG emissions global in scale, then individual countries are going to find it hard to find solutions without some form of agreement
what is the tragedy of the commons?
no restraint and resources or overused and depleted
- assumes there’s noe establishment of norms and expectations
why is the tragedy of the commons important to climate change?
global climate is a common good
What is the time value of money?
shows how present choices can outweigh concern for our future
- shows what type of world we will leave behind for future generations
what is the discount rate reflected on?
the trade-off between spending money today vs saving it for future use
what is time preference
another term for discount rate
what is the ethical issue behind obligation to future generations?
do we have an obligation to consider future generation welfare when they aren’t born yet?
what are some economic damages?
lower agricultural activities, increased death rate, really bad stuff
What is the estimated social cost of carbon (SCC)?
the estimated cost of additional carbon emission and the benefit of taking action
- effects of acting or not acting
Based on a GDP per capita estimate, countries in _________ face the greatest climate challenges.
poverty
What are the three main regions most vulnerable to the effects of climate change?
- Latin America
- Africa
- South Asia
Based on latitude, what region is most at risk?
closest to the equator
based on location, what regions are most at risk?
within 100 km of bodies of wwater
based on household income, who is most at risk from climate change?
agricultural producers and food producers
What are the six cities that are most vulnerable to climate change, according to Time magazine?
- haiti
- yemen
- united arab emirates…
How have the prices of renewable energy dropped?
SIGNIFICANTLY DECLINED: the projected annual cost for solar was 2.6% actual was 15%
How many gigatons of CO2 would decreased costs in renewable energy remove from the atm?
3 gigatons of CO2 per year
