This paper investigates incentives for firms to increase output above the activity level thresholds (ALTs) in order to obtain more free allowances in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. While ALTs were introduced in order to reduce excess free allocation to low-activity installations, for...

Transport currently accounts for around 25-30% of global CO2 emissions and this contribution is growing rapidly. Moreover, road transport holds by far the major part in these emissions. Because of the social and political reluctance to increase fuel taxation, it is of some interest to explore...

The choice between taxes and tradable permits has been independently analysed by two distinct research traditions. The first proceeds from Weitzman's partial equilibrium stochastic model and concludes that a tax should be preferred if the marginal abatement cost curve is steeper than the...

Environmental policies often set ‘‘relative'' or ‘‘intensity'' emission caps, i.e. emission limits proportional to the polluting firm's output. One of the arguments put forth in favour of relative caps is based on the uncertainty on business-as-usual output: if the firm's production...

This study simulates a CO2 permit market in Romania using a dynamic general equilibrium model. The carbon constraint is set at 20.7% below the reference emissions level for sectors eligible according to the EU-ETS (European Union Emission Trading Scheme). Free permit distribution enhances growth...