It may or may not benefit others. It may or may not spread tropical diseases to temperate zones. On the other hand, if even a few environmentally benign technologies such as solar energy or electric cars fulfill their promise, climate change could become a non- problem. Recall that many Americans in the 1890s worried that city streets in the 1990s would be buried in horse manure. Both sides of the debate offer prescriptive policies based on their predictions.
Advocates generally favor stabilizing emissions, while skeptics oppose reductions.
Either one policy could be the right answer or the exceedingly costly wrong answer, depending on who has guessed correctly about the future. The truth is that we have no way to know who is right. Our current choices condemn us to a noisy, unresolvable debate, and risk a costly mistake if we guess wrong. Yet there is a reasonable alternative an adaptive strategy that combines preparation and flexibility. When faced with unpredictable futures in our daily lives, such as planning a child's education or investing for retirement, we assume there will be surprises down the line and intuitively embrace adaptive plans.