Adapt and Be Adept: Market Responses to Climate Change

Length: 256 pages
Edition: 1
Language: English
Publisher: Hoover Institution Press
Publication Date: 2021-04-01
ISBN-10: 0817924558
ISBN-13: 9780817924553
Sales Rank: #1953561 (See Top 100 Books)

How can markets help us adapt to the challenges of climate change? Editor Terry L. Anderson brings together this collection of essays featuring the work of nine leading policy analysts, who argue that market forces are just as important as government regulation in shaping climate policy—and should be at the heart of our response to helping societies adapt to climate change.

Anderson notes in his introduction that most current climate policies such as the Paris Agreement require hard-to-enforce collective action and focus on reducing or mitigating greenhouse gases rather than adapting to their negative effects. Adaptive actions can typically deliver much more, faster and more cheaply than any realistic climate policy. The authors tackle a range of issues: the hidden costs of renewable energy sources, the political obstacles surrounding climate change policy, insurance and financial instruments for pricing risk of exposure to the effects of climate change, and more.

Reliance on emerging renewable energies and a carbon tax are not enough to prevent the effects of global warming, they argue. We must encourage more private action and market incentives to adapt to a rapidly changing climate.

Cover
Advance Praise for Adapt and Be Adept
Title Page
Copyright
Contents
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
    Accepted but Ineffective Climate Policies
    Market Adaptation to Climate Change
    Filling Missing Market Niches
    To Adapt or Not to Adapt
    Conclusion
2. Hydrocarbons Are Here to Stay
    Physics Realities of Wind and Solar
    More Hidden Costs
    Batteries Cannot Save the Grid or the Planet
    Moore’s Law Misapplied
    The Physics Limits of Green Dreams and Energy Revolutions
    Digitalization Won’t Uberize the Energy Sector
    Energy Revolutions Are Still beyond the Horizon
    Energy Productivity and Wealth: Keys for Adaptation to Everything
3. The Political Realities of Climate Policy
    The Political Economy of Top-Down Climate Policy
    Polarized Views Make Reconciliation Difficult
    Turning to Markets
    Conclusion
4. Merging Trade and Climate Policy
    Climate Policy Options and Trade
    The Threat of Trade Linkage
    A Snapshot of World Carbon Trade
    Balancing the Way Forward
    Conclusion
5. Subsistence in Alaska Native Villages: Adapting in the Face of Climate Change and Government Regulations
    The Nature of Subsistence
    Adaptation Strategies
    How State and Federal Regimes Hinder Adaptation to Climate Change
    Maximizing ANV Adaptation under Existing Law and the Potential for Legal and Institutional Change
    Conclusion
6. Improving Price Discovery to Accelerate Adaptation to Climate Change
    Background
    Theory
    Supply and Demand for Information and Price Discovery
    Incentives Induced by Information and Price Dynamics
    Adaptation Tools
    The Role of Government in Private Adaptation
    Conclusion
7. Can Fire Insurance Manage Wildfire Risks in California?
Epilogue: Adaptation—Simple but Effective
Bibliography
About the Contributors
Index