Environmental Issue of Climate Reparation
The course project will take the form of an essay. The essay can address the evaluation of any environmental policy of your choosing. It may be helpful to think of your essay question as taking the following form, “Should the government ____________”, where the government could be local, state, federal, a non-US national government, or supranational (e.g., the European Union), and the blank is filled with an environmental policy proposal.
For example, you can choose one of the following topics:
“Should industrialized nations pay reparations for climate damages to developing nations?”
“Should the US provide up to $7,500 in electric vehicle tax credits (from the Inflation Reduction Act)?” “Should the US expand, reduce, or eliminate the Bears Ears National Monument?” Note, the object of the essay is not to make emotional or political arguments in support of one side or the other, but to develop the soundness of your economic reasoning. To that end, a successful essay will include:
• A description of the issue the policy addresses (Why is it important? What are the facts needed for a person educated in economics, but unfamiliar with the question, to understand the problem?)
• An evidence-based explanation for why a policy solution is needed. Is there an externality associated with the market? What economic factors are there that make the private market outcome inefficient?
• A description of the proposed policy solution
• A cost-benefit analysis
• Description of winners and losers associated with the proposed policy (hint: there are always both winners and losers)
• A policy recommendation. Should the policy be implemented as-is? Should the policy be implemented with modifications (smaller tax, more stringent emissions standards, etc.)? Use economic analysis to support your recommendation.
I've uploaded the scoring criteria at the end, please follow that strictly for your article.You can choose the topics you are interested in.
Environmental Economics Class Project
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Environmental Economics Class Project
One of the biggest environmental issues affecting the world and America in particular relates to climate reparation. Climate reparation refers to the idea that the globe’s largest greenhouse gas emitters should compensate developing nations for bearing the disproportionate effects of climate change. Although America and other developed countries are responsible for most of the emissions historically, the effects of climate-related harms do not affect all countries equally. Developing countries and communities of color are less resilient to climate change effects and pay a higher price for the environmental loss and damage induced by first-world nations. For years, developing nations have tried to negotiate with developed countries for climate reparations, arguing that they suffer the most violent effects of climate change and yet they have the lowest emissions historically. Climate reparation has become an increasingly important topic amidst the devastating effects of climate change on developing countries such as the disastrous flooding in Nigeria and Pakistan, the unprecedented hurricanes in the Caribbean, and long spells of drought in the Horn of Africa.
The environmental issue of climate reparation revolves around the moral question of who should be held responsible for the loss and damage caused by climate change effects. Severe climate disasters continue to affect developing countries more than wealthier nations and yet the latter have been responsible for most of the greenhouse gas emissions throughout the decades. Developed countries have also contributed significantly to the problem of climate change by failing to deliver on their emission goals. For instance, America has not only released more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere historically, but it has also failed to meet carbon emission goals since climate change became a global concern. On the other hand, developing countries like Pakistan, which are responsible for the least amount of the globe’s planet-warming emissions, continue to suffer devastating effects of climate change. For instance, the devastating tornadoes in the Caribbean have resulted in thousands of deaths and plunged most economies underwater, even as the region contributes less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions (Plumer et al., 2022). Developing nations are now pushing for loss and damage reparations, arguing that it is a matter of morality and justice since they did little to bring about the climate crisis that is threatening their economies, infrastructure, and peoples.
The proposed climate reparation policy involves developed countries like America, the EU, Russia, and China paying for the damage their greenhouse gas emissions have caused on developing countries. This proposal requires wealthier, higher-emitting nations to make monetary recompences to lower-income countries recovering from adverse climate impacts. For instance, researchers have projected that the cost of loss and damage from climate change in developing countries will have reached the $1 trillion mark (Plumer et al., 2022). According to the climate reparation policy, this large bill should be footed by the rich economies that are historically responsible for the bulk of past emissions and the ongoing global warming. Climate reparation could take various forms including insurance programs and direct payments to the most vulnerable developing nations. The climate reparation policy is different from other forms of financial assistance programs meant to help developing nations shift to clean energy or adapt to climate change since it is only focused on addressing the unavoidable, irreversible effects of climate change. Reparation means ...