La evidencia del cambio climático. La necesidad de las políticas económicas preventivas

Abstract

Climate change is already being observed as a real fact. The risk of serious climate change impacts suggests that urgent action is needed to significantly reduce GHG emissions in the coming decades. Political economy and environmental economy must go together in order to fulfil this objective. This objective of this paper is double. First to explain the actual state of the climate change problem and second to offer efficient alternatives to reduce global warming. As a working tool we compare two important economic instruments: carbon taxes and tradable emissions permits. We study both instruments to determine their grade of efficiency facing different postulates and under alternative criteria.