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Discounting and the Economic Costs of Altruism in Greenhouse Gas Abatement

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  • Stephan, Gunter
  • Muller-Furstenberger, Georg

Abstract

This paper carries out a numerical thought experiment on greenhouse gas abatement. The main results can be summarized as follows: first, a high degree of intergenerational altruism might support 'sustainable' atmospheric carbon concentration, but imposes high welfare losses on current generations; and second, if agents realize that greenhouse policy is an alternative to investing into physical capital, then even without intergenerational altruism a Pareto-efficient internalization of the external effect of climate change will stabilize the atmospheric carbon concentration at ecologically sustainable levels, but at significantly lower economic costs. Copyright 1998 by WWZ and Helbing & Lichtenhahn Verlag AG

Suggested Citation

  • Stephan, Gunter & Muller-Furstenberger, Georg, 1998. "Discounting and the Economic Costs of Altruism in Greenhouse Gas Abatement," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 321-338.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:kyklos:v:51:y:1998:i:3:p:321-38
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    Cited by:

    1. Gunter Stephan & Georg M ller-F rstenberger, 2000. "Where-to-Abate and Where-to-Invest Flexibility: An Integrated Assessment Analysis of Climate Change," Diskussionsschriften dp0001, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    2. Gabriella De Sario & Giovanni Marin & Agnese Sacchi, 2023. "Citizens' attitudes towards climate mitigation policies: The role of occupational exposure in EU countries," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(2), pages 255-280, May.
    3. Gunter Stephan & Georg M ller-F rstenberger, 2003. "Does Distribution Matter? When Flexibility, Equity and Efficiency in Greenhouse Gas Abatement," Diskussionsschriften dp0301, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    4. Manne, Alan S. & Stephan, Gunter, 1999. "Climate-change policies and international rate-of-return differentials," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 309-316, June.
    5. Gunter Stephan & Georg M ller-F rstenberger, 2006. "Discounting The Global Climate When Technological Change is Endogenous," Diskussionsschriften dp0603, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    6. Georg M ller-F rstenberger & Gunter Stephan, 1999. "Banking and Trade of Carbon Emission Rights: A CGE Analysis," Diskussionsschriften dp9906, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    7. Gunter Stephan & Georg Müller-Fürstenberger, 2004. "Does Distribution Matter? Efficiency, Equity and Flexibility in Greenhouse Gas Abatement," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 27(1), pages 87-107, January.
    8. Müller-Fürstenberger, Georg & Stephan, Gunter, 2011. "What really matters: Discounting, technological change and sustainable climate," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(5), pages 978-987, March.
    9. Stefan Bayer & Claudia Kemfert, 2002. "Reaching National Kyoto Targets in Germany and Sustainable Development," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 4(4), pages 371-390, December.
    10. Muller-Furstenberger, Georg & Stephan, Gunter, 2007. "Integrated assessment of global climate change with learning-by-doing and energy-related research and development," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 5298-5309, November.
    11. Georg M ller-F rstenberger & Gunter Stephan, 2005. "Intensity Targeting or Emission CAPS: Non-Cooperative Climate Change Policies and Technological Change," Diskussionsschriften dp0502, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    12. Georg Müller-Fürstenberg & Gunter Stephan, 2002. "Where-to-Abate' And 'Where-to-Invest' Flexibility - An Integrated Assessment Analysis of Climate Change," Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics (SJES), Swiss Society of Economics and Statistics (SSES), vol. 138(II), pages 191-213, June.

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