Noah Smith, Columnist

Economists Are Out of Touch With Climate Change

Researchers strive for contrarian insights. They should get the science right first.

March 14, 2016 at 5:55 PM UTC

Noah Smith is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He was an assistant professor of finance at Stony Brook University, and he blogs at Noahpinion.

My wall runneth over.
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In the debate over climate change, there is one group you don't hear much from: economists. The failure of climate economics to make a difference in the public discussion about climate policy should be a concern for the profession.

Climate economists are just as worried as anyone about the prospect of global warming. A recent survey by the Institute for Policy Integrity found that most climate economists believe climate change is a grave threat. Most supported carbon taxes or cap-and-trade programs to limit emissions, even if these actions were taken unilaterally by the U.S. The consensus view was that a catastrophic loss of global gross domestic product -- a 25 percent decline or more -- is possible under a “business as usual” scenario.
Climate Change