The electricity generation mix of many European countries is strongly dominated by fossil fuelled power plants. Given that CO2-emissions are responsible for a major part of the anthropogenic greenhouse effect, emission trading has been introduced in the EU in 2005. Under the European emissions...

Upon discussion of price setting on electricity wholesale markets, many refer to the so-called merit order model. Conventional wisdom holds that during most hours of the year, coal- or natural gas-fired power plants set the price on European markets. In this context, this paper analyses price...

This paper discusses lessons that other regions could learn from European Union’s effort to implement carbon pricing through EU Emission Trading System (EU ETS). Our lessons are, first of all, that a cap-and-trade system like EU ETS is very helpful in guaranteeing a credible and binding...

Incentive-based policies, such as emissions taxes and emissions permit trading schemes, are increasingly used to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in many jurisdictions around the world. Taxes impose a fixed price on emissions, whereas under tradable permit schemes prices emerge in the...

The effectiveness of carbon markets in the reduction of emissions at minimal cost requires several conditions. In a dynamic context the inter-temporal dimension adds new conditions for the desirable performance of the market, and some tradeoffs. One tradeoff is related to the duration of...

We explore the history and current status of green energy finance in Australia and New Zealand. Although both countries have enviable renewable energy resources with a 100% renewable mix considered feasible, the two countries present highly contrasting contexts for energy finance. Currently, and...