Publications Published in E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S

1. Costs of climate change, The effects of rising temperatures on health and productivity in Germany. Michael Hübler, Gernot Klepper, Sonja Peterson.
   E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S: 2008
   Notes
   The aim of the study is to quantify climate induced health risks for Germany. Based on high resolution climate scenarios for the period 2071 to 2100 we forecast the number of days with heat load and cold stress. The heat frequency and intensity rise overall but more in the south. Referring to empirical studies on heat induced health effects we estimate an average increase in the number of heat induced casualties by a factor of more than 3. Heat related hospitalization costs increase 6-fold not including the cost of ambulant treatment. Heat also reduces the work performance resulting in an estimated output loss of between 0.1% and 0.5% of GDP.
   
   
   
2. Equity weighting and the marginal damage costs of climate change. David Anthoff, Cameron Hepburnd, Richard S.J. Tola.
   E C O L O G I C A L E C O N O M I C S: 2008
   DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2008.06.017
   Notes
   Climate change will give rise to different impacts in different countries, and different countries have different levels of development. Equity-weighted estimates of the (marginal) impact of greenhouse gas emissions reflect these differences. This paper analyses the impact of equity weighting on the marginal damage cost of carbon dioxide emissions, and reaches four main conclusions. First, equity-weighted estimates are substantially higher than estimates without equity-weights; equity-weights may even change the sign of the social cost estimates. Second, estimates differ by two orders of magnitude depending on the region to which the equity weights are normalised. Third, equity-weighted estimates are sensitive to the resolution of the impact estimates. Depending on the assumed intraregional income distribution, estimates may be more than twice as high if national rather than regional impacts are aggregated. Fourth, variations in the assumed inequality aversion have different impacts in different scenarios, n t only because different scenarios have different emissions and hence warming, but also because different scenarios have different income differences, different growth rates, and different vulnerabilities.