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Scientific uncertainty and climate change: Part I. Uncertainty and unabated emissions
Citation
Lewandowsky, S and Risbey, JS and Smithson, M and Newell, BR and Hunter, JR, Scientific uncertainty and climate change: Part I. Uncertainty and unabated emissions, Climatic Change, 124, (1-2) pp. 21-37. ISSN 0165-0009 (2014) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright 2014 Springer Science
DOI: doi:10.1007/s10584-014-1082-7
Abstract
Uncertainty forms an integral part of climate science, and it is often used to argue against mitigative action. This article presents an analysis of uncertainty in climate sensitivity that is robust to a range of assumptions. We show that increasing uncertainty is necessarily associated with greater expected damages from warming, provided the function relating warming to damages is convex. This constraint is unaffected by subjective or cultural risk-perception factors, it is unlikely to be overcome by the discount rate, and it is independent of the presumed magnitude of climate sensitivity. The analysis also extends to "second-order" uncertainty; that is, situations in which experts disagree. Greater disagreement among experts increases the likelihood that the risk of exceeding a global temperature threshold is greater. Likewise, increasing uncertainty requires increasingly greater protective measures against sea level rise. This constraint derives directly from the statistical properties of extreme values. We conclude that any appeal to uncertainty compels a stronger, rather than weaker, concern about unabated warming than in the absence of uncertainty.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | Uncertainty, unabated emissions, decision making, climate change |
Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
Research Group: | Oceanography |
Research Field: | Physical oceanography |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments |
Objective Field: | Antarctic and Southern Ocean oceanic processes |
UTAS Author: | Hunter, JR (Dr John Hunter) |
ID Code: | 92495 |
Year Published: | 2014 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 27 |
Deposited By: | CRC-Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems |
Deposited On: | 2014-06-20 |
Last Modified: | 2017-11-01 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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