An Experimental Economic Analysis of Carbon Trading Options for Australia

Australia is currently developing a carbon emissions trading program. The Garnaut report recommendations include options for the allocation of carbon credits, trading schemes, banking and borrowing, and self reporting mechanisms. This paper reports the results of a series of economic experiments in which we explored spot and future markets given high and low levels of carbon credit reductions. The results provide important insights to the current debate in Australia and highlight the importance of well crafted market design.