Climatopolis is an optimistic book that previews how we will individually and collectively adapt to climate change. If the world could cap global greenhouse gas production, then adaptation would be much easier. But, the world’s population and per-capita income continue to grow. Without being overly dramatic, climate change is coming. It would certainly be easier […]
Author Archive | Matthew Kahn, guest-blogging
Government as a “Foe” and “Friend” of Climate Change Adaptation
The New York Times has recently reported that the U.S government has invested billions of dollars in new levees to protect New Orleans from flooding. Do such placed based subsidies help us to adapt to climate change? On one level, the answer is obviously “yes”. This investment lowers the probability that the geographical area called […]
Induced Innovation Promotes Climate Change Adaptation
As climate change unfolds, billions of people will be seeking cost-effective strategies for dealing with the consequences of heat waves, draught, sea level rise and increased natural disaster risk. We will be seeking to consume more electricity (because summer temperatures will rise in many areas around the world), more water (because of climate change’s impact […]
Migration as a Climate Change Adaptation Strategy
In my new book, Climatopolis, I argue that anticipation is the first step in developing pro-active strategies to cope with climate change. Even if we could reduce our greenhouse gas emissions to zero today, we would still face climate change due to the cumulative stock of emissions. My book examines how cities around the world […]
Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will Thrive in the Hotter World
Climate change will pose major challenges for nations around the world. The risks to the agriculture sector from heat waves and drought have been well studied by economists. My new book titled Climatopolis (Basic Books 2010) focuses on how cities around the world will cope with climate change. I am not a climate scientist. Instead, […]