Climate Change and Land Policies

Developing policies that will keep climate change in check has become a global priority, as increasing greenhouse gas emissions contribute to extreme weather patterns. If these emissions remain unabated, changes in global temperatures and the subsequent relocation of human settlements and economic activities will have huge economic and social impacts on the world’s population. The 2010 annual Land Policy Conference provided a forum for international scholars and policy makers to discuss topics including the impacts of climate change on land use; how energy and climate change policies affect land resource allocation and land use planning; relationships among urban form, transportation, and CO2 emissions; market-based approaches to environmental conservation; and global ability to deal with climate change and land management.

About the Authors

Yu-Hung Hong was a visiting fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Gregory K. Ingram was the president and CEO of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy from 2005 to 2014. 

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Land Policies in the Face of Climate Change, Gregory K. Ingram and Yu-Hung Hong

Climate Change and Risk Assessment

2. Preparing for Rising Water Along U.S. Coastlines, Bruce Babbitt

3. Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Zone Management, Robert J. Nicholls

Commentary: Douglas Meffert

4. The Impact of Climate Change on Land, Robert Mendelsohn

Commentary: W. David Montgomery

Climate Change Policies and Land Use

5. Alternative Energy Sources and Land Use, Clinton J. Andrews, Lisa Dewey-Mattia, Judd M. Schechtman, and Mathias Mayr

Commentary: Gordon Walker

6. Integrating Adaptation and Mitigation in Local Climate Change Planning, Elisabeth M. Hamin

Commentary: Kirsten H. Engel

Urban Form, Transportation, and Emissions

7. Land Use and Vehicle Miles of Travel in the Climate Change Debate: Getting Smarter Than Your Average Bear, Marlon G. Boarnet, Douglas Houston, Gavin Ferguson, and Steven Spears

Commentary: Kenneth A. Small

8. The Decline in Transit-Sustaining Densities in U.S. Cities, 1910–2000, Shlomo Angel, Alejandro Blei, Jason Parent, and Daniel A. Civco

Commentary: Susan L. Handy

9. Prediction of Transportation Outcomes for LEED-ND Pilot Projects, Reid Ewing, Colin Quinn-Hurst, Lauren Brown, Meghan Bogaerts, Michael Greenwald, Ming Zhang, and Lawrence Frank

Commentary: Judith A. Layzer

10. Congestion Pricing: An Overview of Experience and Impacts, Kiran Bhatt

Commentary: Thomas Light

Market Approaches to Environmental Conservation

11. Changing Land Uses in Forestry and Agriculture Through Payments for Environmental Services, Sven Wunder and Jan Börner

Commentary: James N. Levitt

12. Capturing Economic Rents to Pay for Conservation of Sensitive Sites, John A. Dixon

Commentary: Tanya Hayes

13. Do U.S. Policy Makers Have Better Alternatives to Cap and Trade? Ian W. H. Parry and Roberton C. Williams III

Commentary: Denny Ellerman

Governance and Environmental Policy

14. The Environment and Global Governance: Can the Global Community Rise to the Challenge? Uma Lele, Aaron Zazueta, and Benjamin Singer

Commentary: Peter M. Haas

15. American Federalism and Climate Change: Policy Options and Public Opinion, Barry G. Rabe and Christopher P. Borick

Commentary: Kristine Kern

16. Climate Change and the Management of National and State-Owned Land in the United States, Christopher McGrory Klyza

Commentary: Roger A. Sedjo