Recently there has been interest in the “ancillary benefits” of potential policies to address climate change. Ancillary benefits occur whenever a policy to address climate change also results in a reduction in some conventional pollutant. Framing the problem in terms of ancillary benefits is too narrow. In general implementation of any policy can have consequences for unpriced environmental externalities that extend beyond the original target of the policy. These ancillary consequences can be either positive, negative, or mixed. This is the inevitable implication of undertaking policy in a non-linear world. In this essay we explore some of the ancillary benefits and costs of addressing climate change.
Revised: July 10, 2007 |
Published: March 31, 2005
Citation
Edmonds J.A. 2005.Unanticipated Consequences: Thinking About Ancillary Benefits and Costs of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Mitigation. In The Global Carbon Cycle: Integrating Humans, Climate, and the Natural World (SCOPE Series), edited by Chris Field and Michael Raupach. 419-430. Washington, District Of Columbia:Island Press.PNNL-SA-37864.