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Localized Technical Change and the Efficient Control of Global Warming

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Environmental Policy and Societal Aims

Part of the book series: Studies in Ecological Economics ((SEEC,volume 2))

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Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is not to suggest an explicit ranking of different pollution control instruments by dynamic cost-effectiveness, nor to analyze each instrument in detail. Rather, this work first points out some methodological limitations of the techniques used to date to model environmental policy scenarios in the energy sector. Building on this, it then identifies the features that characterize cost-effective, politically feasible strategies to curb global warming in the presence of institutional inertia due to the cost of technological adjustment. I believe that this investigation helps to explain the substantial failure of both national and international efforts at co-ordinated emissions control strategies relying on fossil fuel or energy taxes.

The financial support from MURST is gratefully acknowledged.

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© 1999 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Ferrante, F. (1999). Localized Technical Change and the Efficient Control of Global Warming. In: Requier-Desjardins, D., Spash, C., van der Straaten, J. (eds) Environmental Policy and Societal Aims. Studies in Ecological Economics, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4521-3_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4521-3_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-5928-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4521-3

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