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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 6, NUMBER 2, FEBRUARY 1993

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
GENERAL INTEREST AND POLICY

Item #d93feb1

Four items from Global Environ. Change, 2(4), Dec. 1992:

"International Resource Cooperation and the Greenhouse Problem," S. Andresen (F. Nansen Inst. Polholgda, POB 326, F. Nansen Vei 17, N-1324 Lysaker, Norway), J. Wettestad, 277-291. Summarizes important lessons from experience in international environmental cooperation, focusing first on institutional and procedural factors, then on climate negotiations. Procedural and institutional factors have limited the significance of negotiations when stakes are high.

"The Successful Ozone Layer Negotiations--Are There Any Lessons to be Learned?" J.B. Skjaerseth (addr. immed. above), 292-300. Discusses the distinction between a problem and the problem-solving capacity invested in its solution. Actors in the ozone issue faced a quite benign political problem; ignoring problem characteristics may result in misleading conclusions about the applicability of any lessons learned.

"Is Carbon Dioxide a Good Greenhouse Gas--Effects of Increasing Carbon Dioxide on Ecological Systems," E.D. Fajer (Dept. Biol., Harvard Univ., Cambridge MA 02138), 301-310. Despite speculation that agricultural yields will be boosted and ecosystems will flourish under elevated CO₂, infertile conditions and complex ecological interactions could limit improved plant growth. Future policies to adapt to a CO₂-rich world must neither overstate nor ignore the possible benefits.

"The Greenhouse Effect and United States Landfill Methane," D. Augenstein (Emcon Assoc., 1921 Ringwood Ave., San José CA 95131), 311-328. Preliminary estimates suggest that landfill methane abatement is one of the more cost-effective measures for addressing the greenhouse problem.

Item #d93feb2

"EC Climate Policy: Where There's a Will...," M. Grubb (Roy. Inst. Intl. Affairs, Chatham Hse., St. James's Sq., London SW1Y 4LE, UK), C. Hope, Energy Policy, 20(11), 1110-1114, Nov. 1992.

Widespread opposition and the Danish referendum have undermined the European Commission's proposals for a harmonized CO₂/energy tax. A revised strategy incorporating clear incentives to limit emissions is needed if the EC is to avoid continued conflict, uncertainty and political embarrassment. Recommends tradable emission permits.

Item #d93feb3

"The Greenhouse Effect and Climate Warming," R. Leygonie (Ctr. Interprof. Tech. Études Pollut. Atmos., 3 rue H. Heine, F-75015 Paris, France), Rev. Gen. Thermique, 31(370), 503-518, Oct. 1992. In French.

The IPCC conclusions (discussed in a previous article) have raised dissenting opinions among some scientists, which are discussed here. Summarizes the IPCC update to its 1990 conclusions, recent political events including the proposed EC carbon/energy tax, the Rio Earth Summit, and the French ECLAT program on climate change.

Item #d93feb4

"Industrial Innovation and Government Environmental Regulation: Some Lessons from the Past," R. Rothwell (Sci. Pol. Res. Unit, Univ. Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RF, UK), 12(7), Technovation, 447-458, Nov. 1992.

Addresses unnecessarily large impacts of environmental regulations on businesses, and their underlying causes. Suggests how to minimize negative effects and still protect the environment.

Item #d93feb5

"The Great Lakes Basin: Climate Change and Policy Issues," M.J. Donahue (Great Lakes Comm., Argus II Bldg., 400 Fourth St., Ann Arbor MI 48103), Geotimes, 37(12), 19-20, Dec. 1992.

Adaptation will be facilitated if institutions can foster rather than fight new management principles, adopt a Basin Water Management Program, and nurture policy responses that are anticipatory, preventive and adaptive, not simply reactive.

Item #d93feb6

"Weather and Climate and the Nation's Well-Being," Amer. Meteor. Soc., Univ. Corp. Atmos. Res., Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 73(12), 2035-2041, Dec. 1992.

Updates the 1988 report The Changing Atmosphere--Challenges and Opportunities. Summarizes important recent scientific findings, assesses the progress made in reducing risks and exploiting opportunities, and identifies new challenges.

Item #d93feb7

"Potential to Sequester Carbon in Canadian Forests: Some Economic Considerations," G.C. Van Kooten, L.M. Arthur, W.R. Wilson, Can. Public Pol., 18(2), 127-138, 1992.

Compares the costs of three types of forestation programs with the costs of reducing CO₂ emissions, by either replacing old cars with more efficient ones, or by converting Canadian cars to natural gas. Makes specific recommendations on forest management.

Item #d93feb8

"Coral Reef Environmental Science: Truth versus the Cassandra Syndrome," R.W. Grigg (Dept. Oceanog., Univ. Hawaii, Honolulu HI 96822), Coral Reefs, 11(4), 183-186, Dec. 1992.

Predictions in 1970 that the crown-of-thorns starfish would cause widespread devastation to coral reefs turned out to be exaggerated. Now, in the 1990s, a few scientists have sounded the alarm about the impacts of climate change on reefs, but the mood in general is not one of over-reaction.