I think a lot of people believe in global warming and think that the problems are going to occur many decades into the future. The sea level is rising slowly. At the current rate, the sea level will rise about 1 foot in the next 60 to 100 years. That will cause some coastal flooding, but will be tolerable.
How much should we pay now to prevent future global warming. If it takes 60 years for the big damage to occur, then the economic present value of that future cost is actually fairly small. For example, if you knew that it would cost $500 billion per year for future damage from global warming then you wouldn't be justified in spending the same amount per year now to advert the damage. You would only be able to justify spending about $5 billion per year now assuming a discount rate of 7% per year. (Assumes you will double your investment about every 8 years. Also assumes the damage will only cost $500 billion per year which may be low. This articles purpose is not to ...