Uncertainty in Analyzing Climate Change: Policy Implications
The U.S. Congressional Budget Office(CBO) has released a report that provides an overview of the sources of uncertainty that CBO believes may limit the understanding of climate change and complicate the assessment of policies to address it. The report provides examples of the different ways that analysts have addressed those uncertainties in formulating policy recommendations, illustrates the practical difficulties in doing so, and demonstrates the sensitivity of policy results to variations in assumptions about uncertain elements. Finally, it discusses the implications of uncertainty for three different types of policy responses: research and development, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, and adaptation to a warmer climate.
This Summary Last Modified On: 8/2/2012