Shutting Down the Thermohaline Circulation
- (pp. 602-06)
Abstract
Past climatic changes were caused by a slowdown of the thermohaline circulation. We use results from experiments with three climate models to show that the expected cooling due to a slowdown of the thermohaline circulation is less in magnitude than the expected warming due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. The integrated assessment model FUND and a meta-analysis of climate impacts are used to evaluate the change in human welfare. We find modest but by and large positive effects on human welfare since a slowdown of the thermohaline circulation implies decelerated warming.Citation
Anthoff, David, Francisco Estrada, and Richard S. J. Tol. 2016. "Shutting Down the Thermohaline Circulation." American Economic Review, 106 (5): 602-06. DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20161102Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming