Global Environmental Risks

Abstract

We consider the economics of global environmental risks. In this area, we are dealing with risks that are poorly understood, endogenous, collective, and irreversible. In policy terms, the nature and extent of uncertainty about global climate change implies that society's position will be dominated by two questions: What cost is worth incurring to reduce the poorly-understood risk of climate change, or to improve our understanding of the risk? How may existing social institutions, such as insurance contracts and securities markets, be used to provide the most efficient allocation of the risks associated with global climate change?