Since 2007, the European cement and steel sectors have been characterized by substantial surplus production capacity. Hence re-investment in primary production of many materials remains limited and endangers the longer-term economic viability of many plants. Opportunities for innovation and...

Seit 2007 ist die europäische Zement- und Stahlindustrie mit einer starken Nachfragereduktion konfrontiert, die zu Überkapazitäten führte. Aus diesem Grund kommt es nur in begrenztem Maße zu Reinvestitionen bei Produktionsanlagen. Dies gefährdet jedoch die längerfristige...

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...

The transition of a sector from a pollutant state to a clean one is studied. A green technology, subject to learning-by-doing, progressively replaces an old one. The notion of abatement cost in this dynamic context is fully characterized. The theoretical, dynamic optimization, perspective is...

We study a principal-agent model in which the agent can provide ex post additional relevant information regarding his performance. In particular, he can provide a legitimate excuse, that is, evidence that a poor result is only due to factors outside his control. However, building a convincing...

For carbon-intensive, internationally-traded industrial goods, a unilateral increase in the domestic CO2 price may result in the reduction of the domestic production but an increase of imports. In such sectors as electricity, cement or steel, the trade flows result more from short-term regional...

The ability of companies to turn an environmental constraint into a source of strategic opportunities is a controversial topic in published research. The article, which is based on a comparative study of the CO2 emission reduction strategies implemented by the cement and chemical industries,...

Output-based allocations (OBAs) are typically used in emission trading schemes to mitigate leakage in sectors at risk. Recent work has shown they may also help to stabilize prices in markets subject to supply and demand shocks. We extend previous work to simultaneously include both leakage and...

We analyze the impact of indirect network effects in the deployment of zero emission vehicles in a static partial equilibrium model. In most theoretical analysis direct and indirect effects are conflated, and relatively few authors have explicitly considered indirect network effects. We also...

Uncertainty about the level of demand is thought to influence irreversible capacity decisions. This paper examines some implications of the theory literature on this topic in an empirical study of the US cement industry between 1994 and 2006. Firms in this sector have the ability to deliver...