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  5. An Economist's Guide to Climate Change Science

An Economist's Guide to Climate Change Science

  • Solomon Hsiang
  • Robert E. Kopp
Journal of Economic Perspectives
vol. 32, no. 4, Fall 2018
(pp. 3-32)
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Abstract

This article provides a brief introduction to the physical science of climate change, aimed towards economists. We begin by describing the physics that controls global climate, how scientists measure and model the climate system, and the magnitude of human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide. We then summarize many of the climatic changes of interest to economists that have been documented and that are projected in the future. We conclude by highlighting some key areas in which economists are in a unique position to help climate science advance. An important message from this final section, which we believe is deeply underappreciated among economists, is that all climate change forecasts rely heavily and directly on economic forecasts for the world. On timescales of a half-century or longer, the largest source of uncertainty in climate science is not physics, but economics.

Citation

Hsiang, Solomon, and Robert E. Kopp. 2018. "An Economist's Guide to Climate Change Science." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 32 (4): 3-32. DOI: 10.1257/jep.32.4.3

Additional Materials

JEL Classification

  • A11 Role of Economics; Role of Economists; Market for Economists
  • Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming
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