Lecture 2 Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is the environment-development trade-off in the short run?
In the short run, poor rural communities face a trade-off where environmental preservation, like forest conservation, prevents them from exploiting resources vital for their livelihoods.
What happens to the environment-development trade-off in the medium and long run?
The trade-off dissapears because poor countries and their populations are the most exposed to climate-related shocks.
Ending poverty will not be possible if climate change is not controlled.
Why are poor people more exposed?
More frequent droughts, floods and heat waves
- Poor people within countries live in areas more exposed to natural hazards that will intensify with climate change.
What determines the impact of climate-related disasters on poos people?
Impact is determined by exposure (how much they are affected) and vulnerability (their capacity to cope)
Why do poor households suffer more during disasters?
Poor households often
- Hold wealth in vulnerable forms (housing, livestock)
- have lower financial savings and less access to loans
- Own low-quality assets less resistant to hazards.
What factors make poor people more vulnerable to climate change?
- They depend more on agriculture and environmental income
- They are exposed to climate-sensitive diseases due to poor housing, water, and healthcare access.
- They face higher productivity loss due to outdoor work without air conditioning
What is expected to happen to global inequality as temperatures rise?
The Global South will face the largest economic impacts, increasing global inequality
What are the projected impacts of frequent climate shocks on poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Poverty rates could rise by up to 30% in some areas if current temperature and rainfall trends continue
Which regions have the highest cumulative CO2 emissions?
North America and the EU are the largest emitters, but emerging markets like China, India, and South Africa have joined the high emitters.
What are the sustainable CO2 emissions level per person per year to limit global warming to 2C?
Approximately 1.2 tons of CO2 per person per year, five times lower than the current average.
At the current pace of emissions, when will we reach 2C?
By 2040
What are the two types of emissions, and which is more correlated with income?
- Direct emissions: From fuel or energy use (weakly correlated to income)
- Indirect emissions: From consumption of goods and services (strongly correlated to income)
What’s Total individual emissions?
Direct emissions + Indirect emissions
Why is consumption-based accounting considered a better measure of responsibility for emissions?
Consumption-based measures reallocate emissions from large, relatively poorer countries to smaller but richer countries, reflecting the actual consumption of emissions more accurately.
How has emissions inequality changed globally?
- Decreased between countries as emerging economies (BRICS) caught up.
- Increased within countries due to rising income and wealth inequality.
What is the difference between climate mitigation and adaption?
- Mitigation reduces greenhouse gas emissionst o slow climate change.
- Adaptation adjusts to changing climate conditions to reduce risks
What is the equity-based proposal by Piketty & Chancel for financing climate adaptation?
Individuals emitting above specific thresholds should contribute proportionally to their excess emissions to a global adaptation fund.
What are the current contributions to adaptation?
€10 bn/ year, mostly from EU & NA
There are 4 proposed thresholds. Name them.
0: everybody contributes, proportionally to their emissions.
Average emissions: top 28% emitters contribute according to how much they emit above
average.
Top 10% world emitters.
Top 1% world emitters
Piketty & Chancel estimate the contribution rate required in each scenario if goal is to reach €150bn/year.
To reach this goal, contributions from EU should increase by more than 3 times and those of NA by more than 15 times.
What is proposed to reach this goal?
Through a global or country-level progressive carbon tax.
E.g., 1-2% income tax on top 10% polluters or 5-10% income tax on top 1% polluters.
Why are markets usually an efficient mechanism for regulating the quantity of Goods?
markets regulate goods through prices, which reflect the marginal cost of production, creating no incentives to produce more than necessary.
What is the main problem with emissions in market mechanisms?
Emissions are not included in the production costs because the damage is not directly incurred by producers ,leading to emissions exceeding the social optimum
How does carbon pricing address the problem of emissions?
Carbon pricing internalizes the externality by reflecting the societal costs of CO2 emissions in the cost of production, helping achieve the social optimum
What’s the major issue of using carbon pricing to decrease emissions?
Determine the exact price to internalize the externality
Fairness issues: An increase in prices of goods and services penalize the poor more.
