The option of adapting to climate change is becoming more important in climate change policy. Hence, responding to climate change now involves both mitigation to address the cause and adaptation as a response to already ongoing or expected changes. These changes are also of relevance for the...

This paper explores the role of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the low-carbon transition in OECD and G20 countries. It tracks GHG emissions and energy investments by SOEs and analyses the impact of SOEs on investments in renewable electricity. A descriptive analysis of SOEs’ role in the...

EPA has braved controversy by applying the Clean Air Act (CAA) to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from stationary sources, including utilities and industry. Because GHG controls inevitably affect combustion, they will impact traditional pollutants (termed “co-pollutants”). The article first...

The capture and permanent storage of CO2 emissions from coal combustion is now widely viewed as imperative for stabilization of the global climate. Coal is the world’s fastest growing fossil fuel. This trend presents a forceful case for the development and wide dissemination of technologies...

As the United States attempts to increase the percentage of no- and low-carbon electricity sources in the fuel mix, one consideration is whether these sources are more expensive or are capable of being competitive in the market without subsidies. This article explores the types of subsidies that...

As my contribution to a symposium, I was asked to identify and to discuss conflicts between environmental regulation and pursuit of the goals of national energy policy. I identify three contexts in which I see clear conflicts between environmental regulation and energy policy - gasoline...

In order to meet the Kyoto targets, in the Netherlands in 2010, 9% of electricity consumption should be generated from renewable resources. In this paper, we discuss and comment on the green energy policy that the Dutch government has adopted in 2001 and 2002 in order to reach this goal, and the...

The U.S. Department of Energy is working to develop and implement commercial-scale carbon capture and storage. This article discusses the technical and legal problems that must be resolved to have a viable program. It concludes that whether carbon sequestration becomes a commercial reality will...

A sufficiently rapidly rising carbon tax may increase near-term emissions compared with the case of no carbon tax. Even so, such a carbon tax path may reduce total costs related to climate change, since the tax may reduce total carbon extraction. A government cannot commit to a specific carbon...

France has a very ambitious environmental-policy agenda, aimed chiefly at cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions but also at dealing with local air and water pollution, waste management and the conservation of biodiversity. The laws that followed the Grenelle de l'environnement encompass policy...