International Environmental Agreements on Climate Change

This book provides an updated overview of the current research on analysis and modelling of international agreements on climate change. The book first offers a theoretical framework for understanding the features of international agreements on climate, then shows different integrated assessment modelling approaches designed to analyse the impact of possible agreements of emissions abatement and the related costs. In the book, which is the outcome of cooperation between the Stanford Energy Modelling Forum and the Fondazione ENI E. Mattei, most economic/climate modellers provide their own assessment of climate policies and in particular of the potential implications of the Kyoto agreement. Institutional and legal issues and the political economy behind international agreements on climate are not neglected, thus providing a comprehensive, albeit preliminary, exploration of crucial aspects of current negotiations on climate. In view of the beginning of the new IPCC process that should lead to the 2000 IPCC report, this book constitutes an important basis of knowledge and a good example of fruitful interactions amongst different experts. The complexity which characterises climate issues and the uncertainty surrounding the causes and effects of climate changes makes this interdisciplinary effort vital for a careful design of future policy actions.