Main Content
February 3, 2026
Speaker: Dr. Dan Hirschman, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology at Cornell University
Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Time: 10:20am-11:40am
Location: Rutgers University, Blake Hall, Room 131, 93 Lipman Dr, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Abstract: How much will climate change cost? And how will we know? This talk explores how experts (especially economists and engineers) have constructed climate change as a social and economic problem, and in particular how their techniques of valuation have shaped public discourse and policy debates. I highlight the striking divergence between mainstream economic experts and climate scientists on the urgency of climate action. I focus on two causes of that divergence: damage functions and mitigation cost estimates. High estimates of mitigation costs and low estimates of damages have led economic experts to argue for slower climate action and fueled “climate delay” discourses.