Unfortunately, policymakers violate these rules a lot in the real world. It is increasingly clear that governments have great difficulty in delivering the cheapest possible emission-reduction programs. (See Tol’s earlier paper looking at the very large price tag of European Union climate change policies.) Very stringent emission-reduction targets such as the long-term goals of the European Union simply do not pass the benefit/cost test: They actually cause more damage than they prevent.
Big claim Bjorn makes.
