Adapt and Be Adept: Market Responses to Climate Change

by Terry L. Anderson (Editor)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780817924560
Publisher:	Hoover Institution Press
Publication date:	04/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Terry L. Anderson is the John and Jean De Nault Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University and professor emeritus at Montana State University. He is the coauthor of Free Market Environmentalism.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

1 Introduction Terry L. Anderson 1

2 Hydrocarbons Are Here to Stay Mark P. Mills 15

3 The Political Realities of Climate Policy Kenneth W. Costello 53

4 Merging Trade and Climate Policy Timothy Fitzgerald 87

5 Subsistence in Alaska Native Villages: Adapting in the Face of Climate Change and Government Regulations E. Barrett Ristroph 119

6 Improving Price Discovery to Accelerate Adaptation to Climate Change Gregory W. Characklis Benjamin T. Foster Matthew E. Kahn 149

7 Can Fire Insurance Manage Wildfire Risks in California? Ronald Bailey 179

Epilogue: Adaptation-Simple but Effective Bjorn Lomborg 197

Bibliography 205

About the Contributors 225

Index 231

Editorial Reviews

"With headlines of gloom and doom, this book provides the missing, grounded hope, based upon our species remarkable ability to adapt and flourish." —Lance Gilliland, managing director, Tudor Pickering, Holt & Co.

"In the flood of books and articles about global warming, this book stands out: it is more realistic, honest, and helpful than much of the discussion about climate change policy." —Matt Ridley, author of How Innovation Works and The Rational Optimist

"Brings solid economic thinking to the challenge of harnessing market forces in the service of adaptation to a changing and variable climate." —G. Tracy Mehan III, executive director for government affairs, American Water Works Association

"You don't have to agree with faith in the markets to know this book is important. Anyone who cares about the future should pay attention." —McKenzie Funk, journalist and author of Windfall

From the Publisher