CLIMATE CHANGE – BETWEEN COSTS AND BENEFITS
CARMEN VALENTINA RĂDULESCU ,FLORINA BRAN ,CRISTINA POPA
ABSTRACT. – Climate change – between costs and benefits. At global and regional
levels the effects of climate change start to show up. While some of the
countries make efforts to alleviate these effects and to find solutions, others
are facing economic or political restrains that prevent them in applying the
principle of common responsibility. The complex social, economic, and
environmental implications of climate change’s effects focused a growing part of
research on the analysis of costs and benefits. Although controversial, one of
the methods used – the cost-benefit analysis – revealed that in most of the
cases the prevention costs are lower than the costs of inaction. Prevention
measures bring benefits by anticipating the impact and minimizing the risks for
ecosystems and economy. The paper presents in its first part the controversies
regarding the cost-benefit analysis, and continues, in the second part, with
estimations on costs and benefits of certain policy instruments that target
emission reduction.
Keywords: climate change, prevention, policy instruments, cost-benefit analysis