2- Climate Economics

Topic and format: The paper should be in one of the topic areas of climate economics. The paper should take the form of a position paper about a specific environmental problem. A position paper addresses a real-world problem and affirms opinions and proposes solutions but will not go so far as detailing specific plans for implementation of the recommendations. The purpose of a position paper is to support the decision-making process of the target audience. When writing the paper consider what we learned in class about the phases of the policy making process and about the specific research that has been done on the subject you have chosen. Collect information from several sources about the specific environmental problem chosen and analyse the economic forces at work. In preparing to write the paper answer the following questions: (a) did you identify a clear problem to address (can you summarise it in two sentences?) (b) which stakeholders and which stage(s) in the policy making process are involved (c) what is the existing policy, if any? (d) given the stage(s) you are addressing what information you feel is needed to support the decision-making process (to progress to the next stage); is this information available (e) if available, how can the qualitative or quantitative data be analysed (rather than merely presented) to draw recommendations or implications. If the information is not available, what do you feel would need to be done to collect/provide it? In general podcasts and blogs are a good place to look for topics. Helpful background information on how to put together a policy paper can be found in many places. See for example here: Young, E. and L. Quinn (2002) Writing Effective Public Policy Papers, A Guide for Policy Advisers in Central and Eastern Europe, Open Society Institute, Budapest, www.icpolicyadvocacy.org/sites/icpa/files/downloads/writing_effective_public_policy_papers_youn g_quinn.pdf How to improve your writing: o The paper should be 1500-2000 words. One technique is to start with a longer v