Climate change and public policy futures

This chapter addresses some issues posed by climate change for thinking about public policy futures. It begins by summarising the scientific consensus and the case of climate change sceptics; the chapter also considers public opinion and the interests behind the 'denial industry'. It then develops a framework for thinking about the policy impacts of climate change risks, and briefly summarises direct and indirect impacts. The rest of the chapter concentrates on the impact of climate change mitigation policies on public policy futures. It is argued that adequate and practicable responses cannot be generated within current policy frameworks. Current policies place too great an emphasis on economic incentives and fail to exploit the additional opportunities to reduce emissions through direct regulation or stronger leadership in cultural change.