Last Updated:
February 28, 2007

GCRIO Program Overview

Library 
Our extensive collection of documents.

Privacy Policy

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

FROM VOLUME 9, NUMBER 8, AUGUST 1996

REPORTS...
GENERAL INTEREST AND POLICY

Item #d96aug31

Climate Change and Human Health, World Health Org., World Meteorol. Org., U.N Environ. Prog., approx. 300 pp., July 1996, $27 (WHO). (See News, this Digest issue--Aug. 1996.)

Item #d96aug32

World Resources 1996-97, 384 pp., $24.95, May 1996 (WRI). Published in conjunction with the book is The World Resources 1996-97 Database Diskette, 3.5" high density, IBM compatible, $99.95.

Part I of this edition focuses on the urban environment. Part II looks at global conditions and trends, and includes these chapters: "Energy and Materials" and "Atmosphere and Climate." The diskette includes access to all statistics in the print edition, plus 20-year time series for many variables.

Item #d96aug33

Climate of Hope: New Strategies for Stabilizing the World's Atmosphere (Worldwatch Paper 130), C. Flavin, O. Tunali, 84 pp., June 1996, $5 (Worldwatch).

Recent weather extremes that have reduced harvests in China and the U.S., and record worldwide weather-related disasters demonstrate how vulnerable we are to even minor climatic shifts. Although stabilizing climate will require overhauling our energy and transport systems, recent innovations hold promise, and the path to a low-carbon energy system is described.

Item #d96aug34

Climate Change, Economic Instruments and Income Distribution, 68 pp., 1996, $19/FF100/DM28 (OECD).

Explores the distributive implications of two economic instruments to combat global warming: carbon taxes and tradeable emission permits. Considers how global warming affects different countries and regions, and shows who stands to gain or lose from greenhouse gas reduction policies. Presents results for different income groups, economic sectors and geographical regions, and discusses options for mitigating or compensating the adverse effects of carbon taxes or trading programs. Recommends relatively low carbon taxes and trading programs, coordinated internationally but applied on a country-by-country basis.

Item #d96aug35

Statement on the Status of the Global Climate 1995, World Meteor. Organization, Apr. 1996 (WMO). No charge; also on the Internet at http://www.wmo.ch/ web/wcp/wcphtml/wcdmp.html/.

The globally averaged surface temperature for 1995 was 0.4° C above the 1961-1990 average, making it the highest since records were first kept in 1861. The temperature calculation is based on observations from both land and sea-surface and confirms preliminary temperature data released earlier this year. Provisional data indicates that atmospheric CO₂ and CH₄ concentrations increased at rates in line with their recent historical trends.

Item #d96aug36

OECD Environmental Performance Reviews: United States, 200 pp., Feb 1996, $35 (OECD).

Evaluates progress in areas like reducing the pollution burden, integrating environmental and economic policies, and strengthening international cooperation. Includes economic and environmental data.

Item #d96aug37

Implementation Strategies for Environmental Taxes, 150 pp., Feb. 1996, $46 (OECD).

Looks at eco-taxes: their design, impacts on income distribution and on international trade, and the use of revenue generated. Presents considerations for their successful implementation.

Item #d96aug38

The Electricity-Society Connection. A Forum of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI TR-105485), W.H. Esselman, J.M. Hollander, T.R. Schneider, 60 pp., Dec. 1995, $200 to EPRI nonmembers (EPRI).

From a workshop (Feb. 1994, Carmel, Calif.) that looked at historic and future paradigms linking electricity and society and developed new insights and research directions on this connection. These are among the key points that emerged: global electrification offers potential economic and environmental benefits if innovations can be rapidly transferred from the developed to the developing world; beneficial electrification opportunities could double the savings in energy use and double the reductions in CO₂ and other emissions; utilities and society need a strategic framework for judging the value of electricity for its economic, environmental and societal attributes.

Item #d96aug39

Policy Hits the Ground: Participation and Equity in Environmental Policy Making, A.E. Zazueta, 60 pp., 1995, $14.95 (WRI; Earthscan, outside U.S.). Previously announced as A Matter of Interest: Environment, Equity and Participation in Policymaking.

Public participation is crucial to achieving environmental sustainable development. This report provides operational concepts, methodological guidelines and real-world examples for promoting stakeholder participation in environmental policy making in the developing world.

Item #d96aug40

Water Vapor in the Climate System, 1996, $4 (AGU).

A brief overview, written for the general public, of a 1994 Chapman conference. Stresses the important roles of water vapor as a greenhouse gas and as a component of the global hydrological cycle.

Item #d96aug41

The following are conference papers from ABARE. Each costs Aust$10.

Analyzing energy Efficiency Trends in the Manufacturing Sector of Ten OECD Countries (CP 95.24), 1995.

Modeling the Impact of OECD Carbon Taxes with the MEGABARE Model (CP 95.11), 1995.

International Climate Change Policy Instruments and Policy Assessment Under Uncertainty (CP 94.36), 1994.

International Greenhouse-Economic Modeling (CP 94.35), 1994.

Meeting Greenhouse Targets in Australia: Implications for Coal Use (CP 94.34).

A Dynamic Game Approach to Greenhouse Policy. More Numerical Results (CP 94.13), 1994.