Toward a real global warming treaty

Foreign Affairs

Volumn 77, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 66-71

  Cooper, Richard N ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0040757909     PISSN: 00157120     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/20048789     Document Type: Article

References (2)

1. The alleged problem is that large volumes of greenhouse gases - mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels but also methane generated by rice cultivation and cattle raising - will gradually warm the earth's surface, with countless implications for natural ecosystems as well as for human habitation. There is still serious scientific disagreement on both the magnitude and the timing of such warming. This essay does not enter this debate, but for the sake of argument simply stipulates that there is a problem serious enough for governments to address in the next few decades.
2. This calculation values carbon emissions rights at $100 per ton, amounting to a 38 percent levy on oil selling at $20 per barrel. The $100 figure is a rather low one.