In terms of economic analysis, greenhouse gas emissions, which cause planetary climate changes, represent both an environmental externality and the overuse of a common property resource.
Analysis by the IPCC found that a 2.5°C temperature increase would result in a loss of 1.0 to 1.5% of GDP in developed countries but a 2–9% loss of GDP in developing countries.
"The Economics of Global Climate Change By Jonathan M. Harris and Brian Roach" available at: http://ase.tufts.edu/gdae/ also may be useful.