--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sensible policies on global warming…" description: "\"Sensible policies on global warming should weight the costs of slowing climate change against the benefits of slower climate change. Ironically, recent..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/william-nordhaus-71232_benefits_sensible-policies-on-global-warming-shou_1374158.jpg" --- # Sensible policies on global warming should weight the… ![“Sensible policies on global warming should weight the costs of slowing climate change against the benefits of slower climate change. Ironically, recent policy initiatives, such as the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, have been introduced without any attempt to link the emissions controls with the benefits…” quote by William Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/william-nordhaus-71232_benefits_sensible-policies-on-global-warming-shou_1374158.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/william-nordhaus-71232_benefits_sensible-policies-on-global-warming-shou_1374158.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/648/william-nordhaus-71232_benefits_sensible-policies-on-global-warming-shou_1374158.jpg) > “Sensible policies on global warming should weight the costs of slowing climate change against the benefits of slower climate change. Ironically, recent policy initiatives, such as the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, have been introduced without any attempt to link the emissions controls with the benefits of the lower emissions.” [William Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nordhaus/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Policies should weigh the costs of mitigation against the benefits of reduced climate impacts. **In simple terms:** Balance climate costs and benefits. Key Takeaway Integrate benefit analysis into climate policies. Themes environment economics policy Mood analytical concerned thoughtful Type policy analytical When to use this quote - government regulation - carbon pricing - international agreements - public health Key Concepts Cost‑benefit analysis climate economics Questions to Reflect On - How can we better measure climate benefits? - What incentives align costs with benefits? A Different Perspective Benefits are often harder to quantify than costs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Benefits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/) [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Cost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cost/) [Emissions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emissions/) [Global warming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-warming/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Initiative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initiative/) [Initiatives Kyoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/initiatives-kyoto-4740487/) [Kyoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kyoto/) [Kyoto protocol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kyoto-protocol/) [Links](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/links/) [Lower Emissions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lower-emissions-3985483/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Protocol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protocol/) [Sensible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensible/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Slower Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slower-climate-4740488/) [Slowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slowing/) [Slowing Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slowing-climate-2546805/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) ## Related quotes > [Attempts to estimate the impacts of climate change continue to be highly speculative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nordhaus/attempts-to-estimate-the-impacts-of-climate-change-continue-to-be/) [William Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nordhaus/) > [The strategy behind the Kyoto Protocol has no grounding in economics or environmental policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nordhaus/the-strategy-behind-the-kyoto-protocol-has-no-grounding-in-economics/) [William Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nordhaus/) > [I think the deeper truth is that the Kyoto Protocols will not be followed by anyone really and that, in effect, nothing will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/i-think-the-deeper-truth-is-that-the-kyoto-protocols-will-not-be/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [If the relatively rich participating countries want to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, they will have to pay at least some poor countries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-sylvester-jacoby/if-the-relatively-rich-participating-countries-want-to-stabilize/) [Henry Sylvester Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-sylvester-jacoby/) > [On big issues like war in Iraq, but in many other issues they simply must be multilateral. There's no other way around. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-blix/on-big-issues-like-war-in-iraq-but-in-many-other-issues-they-simply/) [Hans Blix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-blix/) > [It is becoming increasingly clear that the targets in the Kyoto Protocol cannot and will not be met on the established timetable in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-claussen/it-is-becoming-increasingly-clear-that-the-targets-in-the-kyoto/) [Eileen Claussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-claussen/) > [The total efforts of the last 20 years of climate policy has likely reduced global emissions by less than 1 percent, or about 250…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/the-total-efforts-of-the-last-20-years-of-climate-policy-has-likely/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [Globally, emissions may have to be reduced, the scientists are telling us, by as much as 60% or 70%, with developed countries likely to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-meacher/globally-emissions-may-have-to-be-reduced-the-scientists-are-telling/) [Michael Meacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-meacher/) > [Ideology on which the Kyoto Protocol is based, is a new form of totalitarian ideology, along with Marxism, Communism and socialism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrey-illarionov/ideology-on-which-the-kyoto-protocol-is-based-is-a-new-form-of/) [Andrey Illarionov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrey-illarionov/) > [Kyoto is likely to yield far less than the targeted emissions reduction. That failure will most likely be papered over with creative accounting, shifting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-sylvester-jacoby/kyoto-is-likely-to-yield-far-less-than-the-targeted-emissions/) [Henry Sylvester Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-sylvester-jacoby/) > [The seas need their own Kyoto Protocol.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enric-sala/the-seas-need-their-own-kyoto-protocol/) [Enric Sala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enric-sala/) > [The challenge now is to renovate the baroque structure that the Kyoto Plan has become—or else scrap it and get ready to start all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-flavin/the-challenge-now-is-to-renovate-the-baroque-structure-that-the-kyoto/) [Christopher Flavin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-flavin/) > [The impact of the Kyoto Protocol on global temperature is quite modest, especially for the first century. The reduction in global mean temperature in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-sylvester-jacoby/the-impact-of-the-kyoto-protocol-on-global-temperature-is-quite/) [Henry Sylvester Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-sylvester-jacoby/) > [We have received no single argument in favour of this document except political pressure. No link has been established between carbon dioxide emissions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrey-illarionov/we-have-received-no-single-argument-in-favour-of-this-document-except/) [Andrey Illarionov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrey-illarionov/) > [Three scenarios for post-Kyoto emissions reductions indicate that ... the long-term consequences are small... The influence of the Protocol would, furthermore, be undetectable for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wigley/three-scenarios-for-post-kyoto-emissions-reductions-indicate-that-the/) [Tom Wigley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wigley/) ## More by William Nordhaus > [Attempts to estimate the impacts of climate change continue to be highly speculative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nordhaus/attempts-to-estimate-the-impacts-of-climate-change-continue-to-be/) [William Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nordhaus/) > [An economist is a scoundrel who tells you the way things are rather than the way you want them to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nordhaus/an-economist-is-a-scoundrel-who-tells-you-the-way-things-are-rather/) [William Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nordhaus/) > [The strategy behind the Kyoto Protocol has no grounding in economics or environmental policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-nordhaus/the-strategy-behind-the-kyoto-protocol-has-no-grounding-in-economics/) [William Nordhaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nordhaus/) [Explore all 4 William Nordhaus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-nordhaus/) ## More Benefits quotes > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [ \[The Dalai Lama\] told me some years ago, "I've made every concession to China, and I've been as open and tolerant as I could,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/the-dalai-lama-told-me-some-years-ago-i-ve-made-every-concession-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anger is a rough water; if you can canalize it into a water mill, you can benefit from it. Anything bad can be transformed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/anger-is-a-rough-water-if-you-can-canalize-it-into-a-water-mill-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-us-think-of-education-as-the-means-of-developing-our-greatest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To really be of benefit to others as the Buddha always taught, we ourselves must first get out of the swamp. One of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tenzin-palmo/to-really-be-of-benefit-to-others-as-the-buddha-always-taught-we/) [Tenzin Palmo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tenzin-palmo/) > [I won the seat of Oxley largely on an issue that has resulted in me being called a racist. That issue related to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-hanson/i-won-the-seat-of-oxley-largely-on-an-issue-that-has-resulted-in-me/) [Pauline Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-hanson/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I've always said that I benefit, as an actor, from not having the illusion of security.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-sparks/i-ve-always-said-that-i-benefit-as-an-actor-from-not-having-the/) [Hal Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-sparks/) > [Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/benefits-received-are-a-delight-to-us-as-long-as-we-think-we-can/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) [Browse all 3,616 Benefits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sensible policies on global warming should weight the costs of slowing climate change against the benefits of slower climate change. 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