Greenhouse policy persuasion: towards a positive theory of discounting the climate future

The climate policy issue is in a state where different visions or proposals compete with one another in the political arena. The success of such a vision or proposal largely depends on the success of its proponents in persuading the public or a yet undecided ultimate authority of its merits. This essay identifies a discounting related ambiguity in cost-benefit analyses of climate change, making two competing visions and proposals "legitimate." By placing the induced opportunity for greenhouse policy persuasion in a political economy context, it is shown how visionaries and lobbyists can exploit human time preferences for the purpose of greenhouse policy persuasion.