The Stern Review constitutes today the most complete and didactic synthesis of the economics of climate change. Despite appearances, it is not, however, a simple reference manual. Its most attractive feature is the author’s commitment to action in the face of climactic risk. The report’s...

This article reviews the role played by carbon and capture (CCS) technologies in order to facilitate the transition to low-carbon emitting technologies in the medium term. More precisely, we address the following central questions: how will the development of CCS technologies impact energy...

In the wake of the Copenhagen Conference and the outstanding issue of shaping climate change mitigation for the period beyond that covered by the Kyoto protocol, this paper puts into context the various economic instruments available fot tackling climate change, and highlights the emergence, as...

Environmental challenges, and the potential solutions to address them, have a direct effect on living standards, the organization of economies, major infrastructures, and modes of urbanization. Since the publication of path-breaking contributions on the governance of environmental resources in...

Agricultural expansion is the main deforestation driver, while forest degradation is due to non-sustainable poaching and harvesting of forest products. Policies to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) thus focus on agricultural expansion and illegal harvesting. The...

In international emissions trading schemes such as the Kyoto Protocol and the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, the sub- optimal negotiation of the cap with respect to total pollution minimization leads us to critically examine the proposition that generous allocation of grandfathered...

The article develops R.H.Coase's insight that the level of transaction costs in the market determines the amount of externalities, thus providing arguments against government intervention. Contrary to Coase, however, we argue that the level of transaction costs cannot be considered as given, and...