Climate Shock

A lamentable blogging performance recently mainly due to a recent twitter addiction (it is quicker and simpler).

 https://twitter.com/RobertJRElliott

I thought I would break by lengthy absence with a quick cut and paste for what looks like an excellent new book. Some strong endorsements and Jeffery Sachs has it down as a fun read which I am sure I will agree with. Martin is certainly one of the most engaging/entertaing seminar speakers I have seen.

I will review later (if I cen get a copy from somewhere).
 
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CLIMATE SHOCK: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet by Gernot Wagner and Martin Weitzman is published next month by Princeton University Press.

http://press.princeton.edu/titles/10414.html

The Black Swan for climate change Economists Gernot Wagner and Martin Weitzman argue that uncertainty about global warming is a reason to do more now, not less, in their new book CLIMATE SHOCK The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet

“CLIMATE SHOCK is a brilliant, clear, rigorous, and to-the-point account of the problem of climate change and what we can and should do about it…An outstanding book.” ― Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan and Antifragile

 “A remarkable book on climate change, CLIMATE SHOCK is deeply insightful, challenging, eye-opening, thought-provoking, and sheer fun to read. It will help you to think clearly and incisively about one of the most important issues of our generation.” ─ Jeffrey Sachs, author of The Price of Civilization

If you had a 10 percent chance of having a fatal car accident, you’d take necessary precautions. If your finances had a 10 percent chance of suffering a severe loss, you’d reevaluate your assets. So if we know the world is warming and there’s a 10 percent chance this might eventually lead to a catastrophe beyond anything we could imagine, why aren’t we doing more about climate change right now? We insure our lives against an uncertain future—why not our planet?

In CLIMATE SHOCK: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet, economists Gernot Wagner and Martin Weitzman explore in lively, clear terms the likely repercussions of a hotter planet, drawing on and expanding from work previously unavailable to general audiences. They show us how the longer we wait to act, the more likely an extreme event will happen. An island nation, threatened by rising seas, might unilaterally decide to try geoengineering a solution, with uncertain results for the planet. Zeroing in on the unknown extreme risks that we may be facing, Wagner and Weitzman look at how economic forces that keep us from enacting sensible climate policies make radical would-be fixes like geoengineering all the more probable. What we know about climate change is alarming enough. What we don’t know about the extreme risks could be far more dangerous. Wagner and Weitzman help readers understand that we need to think about climate change in the same way we think about insurance—as a risk management problem, only here on a global scale.

CLIMATE SHOCK also offers a roadmap for responding to climate change today—Scream, Cope, and Profit. Scream: Demand lawmakers and businesses pay attention to one of the most catastrophic issues of our time. Cope: Recognize that decisions need to be informed by what is going to happen to our world by taking into account, for example, the effect of hurricanes and rising oceans before building (or rebuilding) on seaside property. Profit: Make investments in industries that will benefit in the long run as we turn our attention to the growing challenges of climate change. “Think climate change is a low-priority problem? Something to put off while we deal with more immediate threats? Then CLIMATE SHOCK will open your eyes.” ─ Michael E. Mann, author of The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars

About the Authors: Gernot Wagner, Ph.D., is a lead senior economist at Environmental Defense Fund, where he co-leads the office of economic policy and analysis to advocate for market-based solutions to a wide range of environmental problems. His particular focus is on climate and energy economics. He teaches energy economics as adjunct faculty at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. Gernot is a research associate at the Harvard Kennedy School and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

 Martin L. Weitzman is Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Previously he was on the faculties of MIT and Yale. He has been elected as a fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has published widely in many leading economic journals and written two books. Weitzman's interests in economics are broad and he has served as consultant for several well-known organizations. His current research is focused on environmental economics, including climate change, the economics of catastrophes, cost-benefit analysis, long-run discounting, green accounting, and comparison of alternative instruments for controlling pollution. He is one of the world’s leading authorities on uncertainty and climate change.

CLIMATE SCHOCK The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet Gernot Wagner & Martin L. Weitzman Cloth $27.95 • £19.95 | ISBN: 978-0-691-15947-8 248 pp. | 5 ½ x 8 ½ | 3 line illustrations, 5 tables eBook | ISBN: 9780691400865475 Publication Date: 18 March 2015