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Energy Balance Climate Models, Damage Reservoirs and the Time Profile of Climate Change Policy

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  • Brock, William A.
  • Engstrom, Gustav
  • Xepapadeas, Anastasios

Abstract

A simplified energy balance climate model is considered with the global mean temperature as the state variable, and an endogenous ice line. The movements of the ice line towards the Poles are associated with damage reservoirs where initial damages are high and then eventually vanish as the ice caps vanish and the damage reservoir is exhausted. We couple this climate model with a simple economic growth model and we show that the endogenous ice line induces a nonlinearity. This nonlinearity when combined with two sources of damages - the conventional damages due to temperature increase and the reservoir damages - generates multiple steady states and Skiba points. It is shown that the policy ramp implied by this model calls for high mitigation now. Simulation results suggest that the policy ramp could be U-shaped instead of the monotonically increasing with low starting mitigation gradualist policy ramp.

Suggested Citation

  • Brock, William A. & Engstrom, Gustav & Xepapadeas, Anastasios, 2012. "Energy Balance Climate Models, Damage Reservoirs and the Time Profile of Climate Change Policy," Climate Change and Sustainable Development 122863, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:feemcl:122863
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.122863
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Naevdal, Eric, 2006. "Dynamic optimisation in the presence of threshold effects when the location of the threshold is uncertain - with an application to a possible disintegration of the Western Antarctic Ice Sheet," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1131-1158, July.
    2. Xepapadeas, Anastasios, 2005. "Economic growth and the environment," Handbook of Environmental Economics, in: K. G. Mäler & J. R. Vincent (ed.), Handbook of Environmental Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 23, pages 1219-1271, Elsevier.
    3. Gustav Engstrom & William Brock & Anastasios Xepapadeas, 2012. "Energy Balance Climate Models and the Spatial Structure of Optimal Mitigation Policies," DEOS Working Papers 1202, Athens University of Economics and Business.
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    9. Elizabeth Stanton, 2011. "Negishi welfare weights in integrated assessment models: the mathematics of global inequality," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 417-432, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Desmet, Klaus & Rossi-Hansberg, Esteban, 2015. "On the spatial economic impact of global warming," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 16-37.
    2. Brock, William & Engström, Gustav & Xepapadeas, Anastasios, 2014. "Spatial climate-economic models in the design of optimal climate policies across locations," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 78-103.
    3. David Comerford, 2013. "A balance of questions: what can we ask of climate change economics?," Edinburgh School of Economics Discussion Paper Series 216, Edinburgh School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental Economics and Policy;

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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