Grantee Research Project Results
Catastrophe, Uncertainty, and the Costs of Climate Change Damage
EPA Grant Number: U915595Title: Catastrophe, Uncertainty, and the Costs of Climate Change Damage
Investigators: Wright, Evelyn L.
Institution: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
EPA Project Officer: Lee, Sonja
Project Period: September 1, 1999 through September 1, 2002
Project Amount: $45,998
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1999) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Fellowship - Economics , Academic Fellowships , Environmental Justice
Objective:
The objective of this research project is to explore and develop methods for incorporating the possibility of catastrophic consequences into the economic analysis of potential climate -change damages. The current state of scientific knowledge concerning several identified potential catastrophes will be examined, and economically relevant features will be extracted.
Approach:
The natural scientific literature on several different potential climate catastrophes will be reviewed, and the state-of-the-knowledge concerning their probability and consequence profiles will be analyzed. One particular event—the possibility of changes in global ocean circulation—will be analyzed in particular detail, with a focus on the consequences for the degree of climate variability. The effects of changes in variability on economic costs, and the potential for economic adaptation to climate change, will be analyzed using Bayesian learning and option -value models.
Supplemental Keywords:
fellowship, Bayesian learning, catastrophe, climate, economic analysis., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Air, Economic, Social, & Behavioral Science Research Program, Economics & Decision Making, Economics, Atmosphere, decision-making, Air Pollution Effects, climate change, economic research, environmental cost, Global Climate Change, Bayesian approach, economic models, environmental monitoring, global change, catastrophe, probablility, climate variability, uncertainty factors, extreme weather events, changing environmental conditions, climate studiesProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.