Greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced most cost-effectively through market-based approaches that put a price on carbon. The two most commonly discussed approaches are a cap-and-trade system and a carbon tax. By establishing a price for greenhouse gas emissions, either …
Summary Used by governments for decades, market-based policies are mechanisms to control environmental pollution at various leverage points. They work by changing relative prices – raising the cost of emissions-intensive activities and/or lowering the cost of lower-emitting alternatives – to …
This paper describes an illustrative framework for a federal clean energy standard (CES) for the electricity sector. A CES is a type of electricity portfolio standard. Electricity portfolio standards are flexible, market-based policies that typically set requirements for the percentage …
Executive Summary A transition from conventional fossil fueled electricity generation to clean energy offers several benefits—particularly the growth of new clean energy industries and associated jobs, diversification of energy supply, and reductions in the public health and environmental damages (especially …
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), established under the Kyoto Protocol, is the primary international offset program in existence today, and while not perfect, it has helped to establish a global market for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. It generates offsets …
This article originally appeared in Point Carbon News. At the heart of any successful cap-and-trade program is a well-functioning market for the trading of emissions allowances. At the same time, the recent high-profile market scandals and crises have led …
At the heart of any successful cap-and-trade program is a well-functioning market for the trading of emissions allowances. The sulfur dioxide allowance market created under 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments to control acid rain is an example of such a …
Policy-relevant results of Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) are sensitive to a number of uncertain assumptions that govern model simulation of the climate, society, and the policy response to climate change. Uncertainties remain in understanding of the rate and magnitude of …
The Offset Quality Initiative (OQI) responds to the intensifying debate over international offsets by releasing a policy paper assessing offset quality in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). In the paper, titled “Assessing Offset Quality in the Clean Development Mechanism,” OQI …