Industrial CO₂ emissions as a proxy for anthropogenic influence on lower tropospheric temperature trends

Abstract

[1] Surface temperature trends during the last two decades show a significant increase which appears to be anthropogenic in origin. We investigate global temperature changes using surface as well as satellite measurements and show that lower tropospheric temperature trends for the period 1979 -2001 are spatially correlated to anthropogenic surface CO 2 emissions, which we use as a measure of industrialization. Furthermore, temperature trends for the regions not spatially correlated with these CO 2 emissions are considerably smaller or even negligible for some of the satellite data. We also show, using the same measure, that two important climate models do not reproduce the geographical climate response to all known forcings as found in the observed temperature trends. We speculate that the observed surface temperature changes might be a result of local surface heating processes and not related to radiative greenhouse gas forcing.

Measuring and Promoting Wellbeing: How Important is Economic Growth?

“…Whether the best approach to pollution control is via market measures, non market measures or some combination of the two is thus essentially a question 32 There are market and non-market approaches to indirect measures also. The difference between direct and indirect lies not with the instruments employed (taxes, regulations, etc) but with the point at which they are applied.…”

“…The significance of this conclusion is strengthened by the fact that the UBS basket is based specifically on European consumer habits, and would therefore be expected to be cheaper in European cities than a basket which took greater account of American, Asian or Australasian expenditure patterns for the purpose of comparisons with cities on those continents. 32 Second, the purchasing power of per capita incomes in the various countries differs markedly between individual expenditure groups. These results, therefore, serve to reinforce the reservations that have been made in previous sections about the possibility of measuring, on a single scale, the average real incomes of communities living under very different conditions.…”

“…It is this difficulty of obtaining or interpreting necessary information that often prompts the exploration of an alternative group of direct measures -namely, non-market techniques. 32 Non-market techniques of pollution control may also be differentiated according to whether the polluter or the public purse pays. Under the 'polluter pays' principle, non-market measures encompass the promulgation of regulations governing the permissible emission of pollution (such as the maximum noise regulations referred to earlier).…”

“…It is worth noting that on Hicks' definition, 'sustainable income' is almost a tautology; Hicksian income is maximum sustainable consumption. 32 Applying Hicks' approach to national income would deduct from GDP a broad measure of depreciation. Statisticians publish net national product (NDP), which is GDP less depreciation of the produced capital stock.…”

“…32 Another negative adjustment was made for 'divorce', which was calculated by multiplying the number of divorces in the United States by $5000 and the number of children affected by $7500, as 'a rough estimate of lifetime damage including such things as counselling, health costs and difficulties at school, work and in personal relationships'.…”