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The Albedo Loss from the Melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Social Cost of Carbon

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  • Sandra Gschnaller

Abstract

I extend the reduced Greenland ice sheet (GIS) model-module of DICE-GIS (Nordhaus, 2019) by integrating snow-albedo feedback (SAF) and potential tipping of the ice sheet into the resuming DICE-GIS SAF model. This novel model extension allows to quantify the social cost of carbon (SCC) more precisely because the economic damages are not only related to intensified sea level rise, but also an accelerated increase in global temperature. Accounting for the SAF raises the SCC from 274.92 to 319.67 $/tCO2 in 2100, an increase of 16.3%. The temperature increase is the key channel through which the SAF impacts the SCC.

Suggested Citation

  • Sandra Gschnaller, 2020. "The Albedo Loss from the Melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet and the Social Cost of Carbon," ifo Working Paper Series 332, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ifowps:_332
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Richard S.J. Tol, 2021. "Estimates of the social cost of carbon have not changed over time," Working Paper Series 0821, Department of Economics, University of Sussex Business School.
    2. Richard S. J. Tol, 2021. "Estimates of the social cost of carbon have increased over time," Papers 2105.03656, arXiv.org, revised Aug 2022.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social cost of carbon; climate change; Greenland ice sheet; snow albedo feedback; tipping;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q15 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Land Ownership and Tenure; Land Reform; Land Use; Irrigation; Agriculture and Environment
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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