The proliferation and growing variety of climate-economy models and what are known as integrated assessment models (IAMs) can make it difficult for someone interested in following the debate to place any specific model, or the discussion about the merits of one or another, into a broader context. The literature related to climate-economy modelling is already vast: apart from a very large number of models and an even larger number of applications, there already exist many good surveys comparing—inter alia—modelling frameworks, model assumptions and model results. The objective of this chapter is to provide a simple overview and organising scheme of this modelling world by delving into the characteristics of more than 60 individual IAMs towards describing the main ways in which certain classes or groups of climate-economy models differ from one another. In contrast to other more detailed or narrowly focused “overviews” and literature reviews, this analysis takes less for granted and aims at providing an initial understanding of generic model structures. After briefly discussing some principles of classification that can help organise this often daunting modelling world, the chapter offers descriptions and comparisons of the main classes of models.

In this paper we develop a full-preference ranking Choice Experiment (CE) designed to investigate how respondents evaluate a set of proposed improvements towards sustainable river basin management, as per the prescriptions of the European Union-Water Framework Directive (2000). The CE is applied in the Asopos River Basin (ARB) in Greece. Our interest is to test whether residency in the river basin, or otherwise, affects the preferences of the relevant agents. We first estimate a rank-ordered logistic regression based on a full set of choices in order to calculate the willingness to pay (WTP) of respondents for each one of the three attributes considered in the CE (i.e., environmental conditions, impact on the local economy and changes in the potential uses of water). The model is initially estimated for the full sample and then re-estimated twice for two sub-samples: the first one only includes the residents of Athens and the second only includes the residents of Asopos. Afterwards, we examine the effect of various demographic and socio-economic factors (such as income, gender, age, employment and education) on the estimates of our model in order to reveal any differences among respondents with different characteristics, mainly focusing on whether they reside or have personal experience of the RB under valuation. Thus, our analysis simultaneously provides a robustness check on previous findings in the literature and additional information about how various demographic and socio-economic characteristics affect the evaluation of the selected attributes. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.

This chapter articulates renewable energy’s critical role in enhancing Greece’s resilience and catalyzing sustainable development during the ongoing global energy crisis. Employing the prepositions of Resilience theory and Complex Systems Theory, the chapter presents a fossil-dependent country at the crossroads amid environmental and economic disruption. It reveals the potential characterized by the country’s renewable resources –solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal- and the consequent prospective transformation of the energy portfolio toward sustainability and resilience. Through the propositions of resilience analysis frameworks, the adaptive cycle, and the panarchy concept, the analysis exposes Greece’s quest for renewable energy adoption. The systemic barriers to the transition to renewable energy are identified, the potential solutions are discussed and recommendations for developing a path for the continued transformation of Greece’s energy sector while drawing lessons applicable to the Mediterranean and Europe are offered.

This paper examines central themes in climate economics by addressing three interlinked questions: Why has the economy failed to protect us from climate change? What is the optimal level of climate change mitigation? What are the best means to achieve these goals? The evolving debates and approaches economists have taken to answer these questions have profoundly shaped the broader discussion on the strength and strategies of climate action.