Climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean:
Subtitle:
policy options and research priorities
Publication Name:
Latin American Economic Review
Volume, number, page:
24:14, pp.1-39.
Year of Publication:
2015
Organization Name:
Springer Open
Publisher:
Springer Open
City:
London
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
ISBN or ISSN:
2196-436X
Considered Countries:
Ecuador
Peru
Mexico
Brazil
Category:
Academic articles
Theme:
Technology
Subregion - European Union
BIREGIONAL RELATIONS UE - LAC
Agreements
Strategic Partnerships
BIREGIONAL DIALOGUES UE-LAC
Academic
Business
Civil Society
Keyword(s):
Climate Change
Adaptation to Climate Change
Climate change policy
Climate policy
Environment
Environmental policy
Global Environment
Agricultural policy
Agriculture
Climate change mitigation
Climate protection
Paris Climate Agreement
Economic policy
Regional economic policy
Climatology
Deforestation
Caribbean
Latin America
European Union
Abstract:
Although climate change is filled with uncertainties, a broad set of policies proposed to address this issue can be grouped in two categories: mitigation and adaptation. Developed countries that are better prepared to cope with climate change have stressed the importance of mitigation, which ideally requires a global agreement that is still lacking. This paper uses a theoretical framework to argue that in the absence of a binding international agreement on mitigation, Latin America should focus mainly on adaptation to cope with the consequences of climate change. This is not a recommendation that such economies indulge in free-riding. Instead, it is based on cost–benefit considerations, all else being equal. Only in the presence of a global binding agreement can the region hope to exploit its comparative advantage in the conservation and management of forests, which are a large carbon sink. The decision of which policies to implement should depend on the results of a thorough cost–benefit analysis of competing projects, yet very little is known or has been carried out in this area to date. Research should be directed toward cost–benefit analysis of alternative climate change policies. Policymakers should compare other investments that are also pressing in the region, such as interventions to reduce water and air pollution, and determine which will render the greatest benefits.
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