Emission Trading Schemes and Carbon Markets in the NDCs: Their Contribution to the Paris Agreement

The 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (cop-25) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (unfccc) became the longest cop on record – but yielded few results. It appears that four years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, enthusiasm has waned and political bargaining and bean-counting have taken over. Countries, for even the slightest chance to keep temperatures ‘well below’ 2 degrees Celsius, must do much more than they have previously committed to and accelerate the shift towards a zero-carbon economy. However, the conference largely failed to heed the rallying cry of the Chilean presidency. The flagship decisions (grouped under the banner “Chile-Madrid Time for Action”) neither produced new commitments – enhancing ambition or finance for developing countries – nor new rules that would nudge countries closer to the climate action targets needed. The leftover pieces from last year’s negotiations of the “Paris Rulebook” were also not resolved, in particular the unfinished decisions on Article 6 on market- and non-market mechanisms. The procrastination shows that the new architecture of the Paris Agreement, while addressing several of the shortcomings of the Kyoto Protocol, suffers from its own weaknesses. The meager results of Madrid give reason to pause and reflect on the conditions that may hold countries back from fully embracing the Paris Agreement, but also to consider the future and nature of carbon markets and what is making the issue so difficult to resolve.

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International climate summit ends in holding pattern

Emerald Expert Briefings ◽

10.1108/oxan-db249647 ◽

2019 ◽

Keyword(s):

Paris Agreement ◽

Carbon Markets ◽

Content Type ◽

International Climate Policy ◽

The Us ◽

Zero Carbon ◽

Slow Progress ◽

International Climate ◽

The Uk ◽

Technical Rules

Subject The COP25 summit. Significance The annual UN climate conference (COP25) in Madrid concluded on December 15, after a record two-day extension, but with negotiations still deadlocked over the technical rules for carbon markets functioning under the Paris Agreement. Despite global protests, the emergence of Extinction Rebellion, and the rise to prominence of Greta Thunberg, discussions proceeded sluggishly over preparations for countries to update their national climate pledges at next year’s conference in Glasgow. Impacts The US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement takes effect in November and will provide further space for laggards to slow progress. Australia’s short-term wildfire challenge will overshadow criticisms of its longer-term domestic and international climate policy. Saudi Arabia, the host of next year’s G20, will aim to deflect attention from fossil fuel issues towards biodiversity and plastic litter. New Zealand’s ‘Zero Carbon Act’ will become the global model for domestic climate legislation, replacing the UK Climate Change Act.

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Can Market-based Measures Stimulate Investments in Green Technologies for the Abatement of GHG Emissions from Shipping? A Review of Proposed Market-based Measures

Transactions on Maritime Science ◽

10.7225/toms.v10.n01.017 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Anastasia Christodoulou ◽

Dimitrios Dalaklis ◽

Aykut Ölcer ◽

Fabio Ballini

Keyword(s):

Alternative Fuels ◽

New Technologies ◽

Ghg Emissions ◽

Emission Trading ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Emission Trading System ◽

Green Technologies ◽

Trading System ◽

International Maritime Organisation ◽

International Fund

In order for the maritime sector to align itself with the targets set by the Paris Agreement, it should reduce its GHG emissions by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 with the ultimate aim to phase them out entirely. It is along these lines that in April 2018 the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) developed a strategy, consisting of a range of potential technical and operational measures to reduce GHG emissions from international shipping, ranking from improvements on ship design to the employment of alternative fuels. In order to stimulate the adoption of these policies, the IMO also considers the implementation of market-based measures (MBM) that will provide additional incentives to shipowners to invest in new technologies and uptake of cleaner fuels. The MBMs analysed in this paper include two different policies proposed by different countries and associations for the abatement of GHG emissions from shipping: a) the International Fund for GHG emissions from ships that includes the imposition of a global levy on marine bunker fuel for all vessels and b) the Maritime Emission Trading System (METS) that requires all maritime companies to buy/sell emission allowances to meet their annual emission reductions targets, setting a cap on global shipping emissions. This paper presents and analyses these two diverse MBMs, highlighting their main advantages and drawbacks. The scope of this paper is to investigate the potential of these MBMs to incentivise investments in new technologies and alternative fuels, both essential for the decarbonisation of the maritime sector.

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Regional Cooperation on Carbon Markets in East Asia

Asian Development Review ◽

10.1162/adev_a_00118 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 153-179 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jiajia Li ◽

Junjie Zhang

Keyword(s):

Regional Cooperation ◽

Global Climate ◽

Emission Trading ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Secondary Market ◽

Carbon Markets ◽

Design Elements ◽

Republic Of China ◽

The Republic ◽

Reporting And Verification

The People's Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea have launched individual emission trading schemes to control greenhouse gas emissions cost-effectively. This paper reviews key carbon market design elements in the three countries in terms of emission allowances, covered sectors, allowance allocations, monitoring, reporting and verification, compliance and penalties, and offset markets. We assess the performances of the emission trading schemes among the three countries based on secondary-market allowance transactions. Considering heterogeneous climate policy designs in the region, we explore various approaches for the linkage of East Asian carbon markets. Cooperation on carbon markets is instrumental for regional and global climate governance. It could not only help achieve cost-effective emission reductions in the region, but also signal the commitment of the three countries to climate change mitigation.

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From Paris to Katowice: cop-24 Tackles the Paris Rulebook

Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law ◽

10.1163/18760104-01602005 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 165-190

Author(s):

Charlotte Streck ◽

Moritz von Unger ◽

Nicole Krämer

Keyword(s):

Kyoto Protocol ◽

Common Ground ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Carbon Markets ◽

Additional Time ◽

International Climate Policy ◽

International Climate ◽

Mitigation Action ◽

Almost All

The adoption of the “Paris rulebook” at Katowice in late 2018 marks the most significant milestone in international climate policy making since the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015. Through a package of decisions, Parties to the Paris Agreement fulfilled almost all of the Paris mandate and moved towards the full implementation of the treaty. With the exception of the discussion on the future of carbon markets, negotiators managed to find common ground across negotiation items ranging from mitigation action to ensuring transparency and follow-up, including through “global stocktakes”, climate finance and technology transfer. Most obligations will apply to all countries, replacing the “bifurcation” of the Kyoto Protocol with a common set of rules for all Parties. Developing countries can make the case for additional time and assistance to comply with the full set of requirements. Several matters are left for future sessions – concerning, in particular, the harmonization of the timeframes of mitigation goals, markets and finance mobilization– and structural challenges – not least concerning the integration of non-state actors – remain. However, in building on accountability, trust, and compliance through facilitation, the new Paris rules may ultimately prove decidedly more robust and sustainable than those of the Kyoto Protocol.

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The impacts of the Brazilian NDC and their contribution to the Paris agreement on climate change

Environment and Development Economics ◽

10.1017/s1355770x1900007x ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 (04) ◽

pp. 395-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Angelo C. Gurgel ◽

Sergey Paltsev ◽

Gustavo Velloso Breviglieri

Keyword(s):

Computable General Equilibrium ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Paris Agreement ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Climate Mitigation ◽

Carbon Markets ◽

Analysis Model ◽

Emissions Reductions ◽

Carbon Pricing

AbstractThis paper measures the economic impacts of Brazil's climate mitigation strategies contained in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). To do so, we employ the computable general equilibrium MIT Economic Projection and Policy Analysis model and simulate alternative carbon pricing scenarios (sectoral versus economy-wide carbon markets), set to achieve the country's overall emissions targets announced under the Paris Agreement. The results show relatively cheap emissions reductions from land-use changes and agriculture in the short run: the cost of the Brazilian NDC is predicted to be only 0.7 per cent of GDP in 2030. Further efforts to reduce carbon emissions beyond 2030 would require policy changes, since all the potential emissions reductions from deforestation would be finished and the capacity to expand renewable energy sources would be constrained. In this case, an economy-wide carbon pricing system would help substantially to avoid higher compliance costs.

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