Climate Leadership Initiative Publications

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/13132

The Global Warming and Society program is focused on developing public education and communication strategies as well as promoting the Climate Change Resource Center, an initiative aimed at providing GHG quantifications for local governments and communities, municipal and regional assessments of socio-economic consequences of global warming and abrupt climate change, mitigation and adaptation policy analysis and program development and water and watershed management policy.

Browse

Browsing Climate Leadership Initiative Publications by Subject "Climatic changes -- Economic aspects -- Oregon"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Abrupt Climate Change and the Economy: A survey with application to Oregon
    (Resource Innovations, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2006) Climate Leadership Initiative; Goodstein, Eban S., 1960-; Doppelt, Bob
    The general warming of the Earth that is expected over the next century will have serious economic consequences for humans and natural ecosystems across the world. The Pacific Northwest is already experiencing adverse affects and more are likely the warmer it gets. [Resource Innovations (2005)] This will be true even if warming proceeds gradually. Globally, temperatures are expected to rise between 1◦ and 5◦ c (2◦-10◦ F) over the next hundred years. [IPCC (2001)] Regional warming is expected to be 5.4 ◦ F by mid-century. [Institute of Natural Resources (2004)] To put these numbers in perspective, during the last Ice Age, global temperatures averaged 9◦ F cooler than today, so a mid-range warming will approach a swing in global temperatures of Ice Age magnitude, only in the opposite direction. In Oregon, the most visible short run impacts will be felt through loss of snowpack and dramatic reductions in summer water supply for agriculture, and municipal and in-stream uses, as well as through sea level rise, and forest impacts. [Resource Innovations (2005)] This paper sketches the possibilities for more abrupt changes in the climate system, which would have potentially catastrophic impacts for the Oregon’s economy, and evaluates insurance motives for reducing global warming emissions in the state.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    The economic impacts of climate change in Oregon: a preliminary assessment
    (Resource Innovations, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2005-10) University of Oregon. Institute for a Sustainable Environment. Resource Innovations
    This report is based on analysis and information presented by the scientists, resource specialists, and economists that participated at the May 3, 2005, workshop as well as research from the peer-reviewed literature. It was drafted by a subcommittee of participants and circulated to other participants for review and sign-on. It was then circulated to other noted economists for their review and sign-on. Faced with the large but uncertain ecological and economic risks associated with global warming, the economists urge policymakers in the public and private sectors to take steps now to insure society against the impacts. Specifically, the economists urge that prudent steps be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the economists urged policymakers to plan now to adapt to ecological and economic changes driven by warming that now seem inevitable. Oregon’s leaders can respond, in part, by directing public and private investment toward economic development opportunities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. These investments may also enhance income and job opportunities for Oregonians. Finally, the economists outline a suite of urgent priorities for future economic research including water management, sector-specific impacts, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, risk management, and resource conflict resolution. Above all, the economists believe that Oregon’s leaders and citizens will need exceptional resourcefulness and flexibility to meet the unprecedented economic challenges posed by climate change.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    An Overview of Potential Economic Costs to Oregon of a Business-As-Usual Approach to Climate Change
    (2009-02-17) Climate Leadership Initiative; Niemi, Ernest G.; Buckley, Mark; Neculae, Cleo; Reich, Sarah
    Extensive research shows that Oregon and other western states already have experienced noticeable changes in climate and predicts that more change will occur in the future.1 Much of this change is having and will continue to have negative economic consequences. Some negative effects are readily recognized: warmer stream temperatures during summer stressing salmon and trout populations, prolonged drought destroying farmers’ crops, and rapidly growing insect populations attacking trees. In response, families, businesses, and communities are considering actions that would reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to climate change. Amid all this activity, many have concluded that such actions should not be undertaken because their costs are too great. They reach this conclusion, however, without first seeing what the costs would be of not taking these actions and allowing climate change to continue unabated.