ABSTRACT
Although climate policy has been an important topic for many years, it is still rising on the agenda of many policy makers and scientists around the globe. This remarkable stamina may be attributed to the sheer magnitude of the challenges related to climate change. It has the potential to affect virtually all countries. Studies provide various estimates of damages due to climate change. Pearce et al. (1996) put the aggregate social costs at 1.5 to 2.0 per cent of world GNP. Nordhaus and Boyer (2000) publish a similar number, as they estimate the damages to amount to 1.5 per cent of world GNP, with developing countries being more seriously affected than developed countries. Tol (2002), however, suggests that the world might even make significant gains, amounting to approximately 2 per cent of its GNP.
