Experimental methods have recently been used to evaluate environmental policy instruments, in particular – and most suitably, it seems – emissions trading programs of various designs. Some studies have focused on domestic emissions trading programs, while others have focused on international...

Climate change due to emissions from fast growing developing economies of Asia is sounding an alarm bell for policymakers not only in Asia, but also in the world. This situation raises the urgent need for undertaking measures to control emissions with due consideration of the prevailing...

Copenhagen Consensus Center organized an initiative, in which an Expert Panel of outstanding economists convened in Washington DC in September 2009 to compile a prioritized list of specific solutions in the fight against Climate Change. The basis for the discussions and the ranking were...

There has been intense focus on the issue of how emissions allowances might be allocated under a potential federal cap-and-trade program. What fraction of the allowances should be auctioned out, as opposed to given out free? How much free allocation would be sufficient to preserve profits in...

The growing attention to global warming due to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the process of fossil fuel-based energy production is expressed in the Kyoto Protocol, which prescribes, on average, a 7 percent reduction in GHG emissions for developed countries. Although Israel was not included...

Developing Asia has the world's fastest greenhouse gas emissions growth. This study uses an economy-energy-climate model to assess the effects of Paris Agreement pledges on Asia, in comparison with business as usual (BAU) and more ambitious scenarios. Results confirm that pledges must be...

Existing North American regional programs for capping and reducing greenhouse gas emissions have come under criticism based on concerns regarding their perceived impact on environmental justice communities. When viewed through an ethical lens, programs that distribute emissions allowances by way...

This essay revisits the question of instrument choice for the regulation of externalities in the context of climate change. The central point is that the Pigouvian prescription to equate marginal control costs with the expected marginal benefits of damage reduction should guide the design of...

The pollution haven hypothesis suggests that unilateral domestic emission mitigation policies could cause adverse “competitiveness” impacts on domestic manufacturers as they lose market share to foreign competitors and relocate production activity – and emissions – to unregulated...

This paper compares the optimal dynamic choices between policies of mitigation and adaptation for three economies: Brazil, Chile and the United States. The focus is on the optimal role of mitigation and adaptation for “environmentally small economies,” i.e., economies that are witnessing an...