Climate change is one of the most challenging threats that the world is facing now. The scientific evidence is conclusive that climate modify is taking place and appropriate measurement must be taken right away to mitigate its adverse impact. In the present rate, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would be doubled and global average temperature will rise over 2oC by 2035. In the longer period, the average heat rise could exceed 5oC with 50% probability (Eastern Review, 2007). In this value, scientific research is a must for an integrated assessment of weather change impacts and policy formulation from an economist’s point of view to face the challenge ahead of the mankind.
Bridging the gap between climate change and improvement communities, however, is not easy. The two communities have different priorities; often operating on different time and space scales. Specific in sequence is therefore needed on the significance of climate change for development activities along with operational guidance on how to handle its impacts, within the context of other pressing social priorities. Even where the impacts of climate change are not yet obvious, scenarios of future impacts can, in many cases, justify ensuring that adaptation responses are built into planning. One reason is that it is more cost-effective to implement adaptation measure early, particularly for long run development. weather change impacts and policy options are the most frequently voiced in mainstreaming development activity but specific operational guidance on how to get it into account is generally lacking.
Environmental economics will help us understand some important as well as controversial issues, such as weather change policy, recycling policy and traffic congestion charging. This is an exciting field of economics to study, and very much at the heart of many public debates and controversies. Environmental economics looks at how economic activity and policy affect the environment in which we live. The central questions in environmental economics concern some tradeoffs and figures out the solutions:
1) If environmental protection is costly, how much should we spend on pollution control? Is it worth reducing pollution to zero, or should we accept some level of pollution because of other benefits associated with it?
2) In making these decisions, how can we compare the benefit of a ‘clean’ environment with the costs of pollution control?
3) Is government intervention in the economy needed to reduce pollution, or can we rely on the market economy to lead us to an optimal operating point? If government intervention is needed then what variety of policy formulation should the government adopt to cut the pollution level?
Studies in environmental economics varying the emphasis to these issues and some discuss issues of natural resource scarcity. Most includes microeconomics theory, looking at how firms and individuals behave when production or consumption involves externalities. Some courses may also look at the method use to measure environmental benefits. But analysis of policy issues will be an important part of nearly all courses in environmental economics. Therefore, policy relevant framework to climate change, so called study on environmental economics is extremely obvious to contribute to shaping the nationally appropriate policies.
