Is Climate Change Time-Reversible?

This paper proposes strategies to detect time reversibility in stationary stochastic processes by using the properties of mixed causal and noncausal models. It shows that they can also be used for non-stationary processes when the trend component is computed with the Hodrick–Prescott filter renderin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Econometrics
Main Authors: Francesco Giancaterini, Alain Hecq, Claudio Morana
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/econometrics10040036
https://doaj.org/article/99535cfb11ae4a35b3c74dba76942ca3
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Summary:This paper proposes strategies to detect time reversibility in stationary stochastic processes by using the properties of mixed causal and noncausal models. It shows that they can also be used for non-stationary processes when the trend component is computed with the Hodrick–Prescott filter rendering a time-reversible closed-form solution. This paper also links the concept of an environmental tipping point to the statistical property of time irreversibility and assesses fourteen climate indicators. We find evidence of time irreversibility in greenhouse gas emissions, global temperature, global sea levels, sea ice area, and some natural oscillation indices. While not conclusive, our findings urge the implementation of correction policies to avoid the worst consequences of climate change and not miss the opportunity window, which might still be available, despite closing quickly.