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Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Natural Resource Systems pp 179–208Cite as

Assessing the Socioeconomic Consequences of Climate Change on Water Resources

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Abstract

When dealing with water resources, traditionally three types of information were needed: the future availability of water, the future demand for water, and the consequences that both of these have on the environment. Introducing the possibility of anthropogenic climate change expands the information requirement to include the effects of climate change on the availability of water. The paper reviews the current state of knowledge about these effects and concludes that, given the large uncertainties involved in the availability of water and the even larger uncertainties involved in forecasting socioeconomic demands for water coupled with the relatively short time horizons involved in economically efficient water investments, we cannot predict significant problems for U.S. water resources over the next few decades that are likely to be attributable to the effects of climate change.

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  1. Environmental Engineering, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA

    Peter Rogers

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  1. Peter Rogers
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  1. Resources for the Future, Washington, DC, USA

    Kenneth D. Frederick

  2. Battelle, Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Washington, DC, USA

    Norman J. Rosenberg

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Rogers, P. (1994). Assessing the Socioeconomic Consequences of Climate Change on Water Resources. In: Frederick, K.D., Rosenberg, N.J. (eds) Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Natural Resource Systems. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0207-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0207-0_9

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