Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Adaptation vs Alarm: A Climate Economist's Case. PART I
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Adaptation vs Alarm: A Climate Economist's Case. PART I
Is climate change really going to cost us $60 trillion per year by 2100? Or are we dramatically overestimating the economic damages?
In this explosive episode, Professor Richard Tol — IPCC contributor, former advisor to William Nordhaus (Nobel Prize winner), and one of the most controversial voices in climate economics challenges the foundations of how we calculate climate risk.
Time Stamps
00:32- 00:44 Introduction
00:44 - 02:04 How Richard Tol Got Into Climate Economics
02:04 - 03:41 Quick-Fire Questions
03:41 - 08:22 The Big Misunderstanding: Nordhaus vs. Schelling
08:22 - 10:01 Transition to Climate Niche Paper
10:01 - 14:51 The Climate Niche Debate
14:51 - 19:39 Death Valley, Microclimates & Adaptation
19:39 - 25:01 The 2003 Heatwave: System Failure, Not Climate
25:01 - 27:00 Air Conditioning & Cold Banks
We dive deep into:
🔥 Why he believes most climate economic models get society wrong (the "Nordhaus vs Schelling" framework debate)
🔥 His shocking finding that humans are actually clustering in the hottest climates not fleeing them
🔥 The real lessons from the 2003 European heatwave (hint: it wasn't just the heat)
🔥 Why adaptation may be far more powerful than models suggest and where the real limits lie
🔥 The "climate niche" paper that challenged climate alarmism
Richard Tol doesn't shy away from controversy. He's been criticized by the Grantham Institute for "misinformation" , yet his meta-analysis work continues to shape the debate. Whether you agree with him or not, this is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand the economic assumptions behind trillion-dollar climate policies.
This is Part One of our conversation.
🎙️ Host: Alberto Shockley | Let's Communicate
🌍 Stay connected with Let’s Climunicate! Follow us on:
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@letsclimunicate/podcasts
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IbDXNLpP5lhQloPwpRQ59
🍏 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-climunicate/id1773398361
🌐 Web: https://www.albertotroccoli.org/podcast/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alberto-troccoli-09a11038
📅 Episode recorded on 12 Feb 2026
#climatechange #climatescience #climatepolicy #ipcc #RichardTol #climateadaptation #climatedebate #climatescience #EconomicModeling #climaterisk #WilliamNordhaus #ClimateNiche #Heatwave2003 #ClimateControversy #letsclimunicate #ClimateRealism
View all episodes
By Alberto TroccoliIs climate change really going to cost us $60 trillion per year by 2100? Or are we dramatically overestimating the economic damages?
In this explosive episode, Professor Richard Tol — IPCC contributor, former advisor to William Nordhaus (Nobel Prize winner), and one of the most controversial voices in climate economics challenges the foundations of how we calculate climate risk.
Time Stamps
00:32- 00:44 Introduction
00:44 - 02:04 How Richard Tol Got Into Climate Economics
02:04 - 03:41 Quick-Fire Questions
03:41 - 08:22 The Big Misunderstanding: Nordhaus vs. Schelling
08:22 - 10:01 Transition to Climate Niche Paper
10:01 - 14:51 The Climate Niche Debate
14:51 - 19:39 Death Valley, Microclimates & Adaptation
19:39 - 25:01 The 2003 Heatwave: System Failure, Not Climate
25:01 - 27:00 Air Conditioning & Cold Banks
We dive deep into:
🔥 Why he believes most climate economic models get society wrong (the "Nordhaus vs Schelling" framework debate)
🔥 His shocking finding that humans are actually clustering in the hottest climates not fleeing them
🔥 The real lessons from the 2003 European heatwave (hint: it wasn't just the heat)
🔥 Why adaptation may be far more powerful than models suggest and where the real limits lie
🔥 The "climate niche" paper that challenged climate alarmism
Richard Tol doesn't shy away from controversy. He's been criticized by the Grantham Institute for "misinformation" , yet his meta-analysis work continues to shape the debate. Whether you agree with him or not, this is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand the economic assumptions behind trillion-dollar climate policies.
This is Part One of our conversation.
🎙️ Host: Alberto Shockley | Let's Communicate
🌍 Stay connected with Let’s Climunicate! Follow us on:
📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@letsclimunicate/podcasts
🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3IbDXNLpP5lhQloPwpRQ59
🍏 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lets-climunicate/id1773398361
🌐 Web: https://www.albertotroccoli.org/podcast/
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alberto-troccoli-09a11038
📅 Episode recorded on 12 Feb 2026
#climatechange #climatescience #climatepolicy #ipcc #RichardTol #climateadaptation #climatedebate #climatescience #EconomicModeling #climaterisk #WilliamNordhaus #ClimateNiche #Heatwave2003 #ClimateControversy #letsclimunicate #ClimateRealism