Cap-and-trade, crowding out, and the implications for municipal climate policy motivations

2016 ◽  
Vol 34 (8) ◽  
pp. 1693-1715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyne St-Louis ◽  
Adam Millard-Ball
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
State Level ◽  
Global Environment ◽  
Crowding Out ◽  
Cap And Trade ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Reduce Emissions

Cities have emerged as important actors in climate change policy, implementing measures to reduce emissions from transportation, buildings, and waste. More recently, states such as California have implemented cap-and-trade programs to control greenhouse gases. However, a state-level cap handcuffs cities: by fixing emissions at the level of the cap, it precludes local governments from further reducing aggregate emissions. In this paper, we examine whether cities respond to the changed incentives presented by state-level programs. We find no evidence for crowding out: cities plan their emission reductions in similar ways regardless of state-level cap-and-trade programs. Our results suggest that cities likely have a range of motivations for their climate policy efforts- not simply a altruistic desire to improve the global environment.

scholarly journals The Effects of US State-Level Energy and Environmental Policies on Clean Tech Innovation and Employment

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross Gittell ◽  
Josh Stillwagon
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
State Level ◽  
Environmental Policies ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Level Energy ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Employment Benefits ◽  
Technology Industry ◽  
Change Policy

<p>This paper explores the influence of US state-level policies meant to address climate change on clean technology industry development. The largest influence of climate change policies is identified as being on energy research employment. Only some policies seem to contribute positively to clean tech employment while other policies appear to discourage employment growth. The magnitudes of the short term effects, even when statistically significant, are modest. Negative impacts on employment are identified for several mandate-oriented, so called command and control, policies including vehicle greenhouse gas standards, energy efficiency resource standards, and renewable portfolio standards with the former two having increasing negative effects over time. The findings suggest that climate change policy advocates should be careful to not assume that there will be positive clean tech employment benefits from state-level energy and environmental policies. Instead, the benefits from these policies may derive primarily from other considerations beyond the scope of this paper, including health and environmental benefits and reduction of dependence on foreign energy sources.</p>

scholarly journals Swiss Climate Change Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 17-47
Author(s):  
Julia Hänni ◽  
Tienmu Ma
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Climate ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
European Court ◽  
Recent Innovation ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Reduce Emissions

AbstractThis chapter explores the relationship between Swiss climate change law and the international and European climate change regimes. At the international level, the chapter reviews the three major international agreements regulating the field: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC, and the Paris Agreement. And at the national and regional levels, the chapter briefly describes the CO2 Act—often considered the heart of Swiss climate change policy—and questions whether it will prove effective in achieving its explicitly stated emissions reduction targets. The chapter then reviews the most significant recent innovation in the evolution of Swiss climate change policy: joining the Emissions Trading System (ETS) established by the European Union. Due to long-standing problems afflicting the ETS, the authors raise doubts about whether Switzerland’s joining the scheme will lead to meaningful reductions in the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. As an alternative to an ETS-centric approach, the authors refer to an approach centered on human rights. Drawing on the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), the major international climate change agreements, other sources of international law, and the recent Urgenda decision of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, the authors argue that under the human rights approach, Switzerland would be obligated to take stronger measures to reduce emissions than it could hope to achieve through the ETS and the CO2 Act alone.

Policy entrepreneurs in national climate change policy processes

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1456-1470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inken Reimer ◽  
Barbara Saerbeck
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Agenda Setting ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Forest Degradation ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Coalition Building ◽  
Policy Entrepreneurs ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Combat Climate Change

The multi-level and multi-actor character of the international climate governance regime, as well as the imminent need for action to combat climate change, stimulates the introduction of new and innovative cross-sectoral policy proposals by policy entrepreneurs. To date, academic literature has extensively studied and discussed the importance of policy entrepreneurs for agenda-setting. The role of policy entrepreneurs in providing continuous support for a new climate policy resulting in its implementation, has on the other hand, so far received only little attention. Taking the Norwegian Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation commitment as an exemplary case, this paper explores the potential of entrepreneurial engagement throughout a country’s climate policy-making process. It aims to demonstrate the importance of policy entrepreneurs beyond agenda-setting, namely for the policy formulation phase in which responsibilities for the implementation are designated to governmental bodies. We refer to this step as institutional anchoring. Following an explorative approach, this paper shows that different types of actors – non-governmental organisations and governmental actors – act as policy entrepreneurs. It demonstrates the roles and importance of policy entrepreneurs for not only gaining, but also maintaining attention on a new policy by means of coalition building and framing.

Canadian Climate Change Policy: A Comprehensive Account

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aliya Hemani
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Green Technology ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Canadian Government ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Extensive Body ◽  
The Given

At present, there is a rich and extensive body of literature that concerns itself with the climate-related policies of successive Canadian governments. A vast majority of these works rely heavily on a single determinant—societal, governmental, or external—to account for said policies. In borrowing from and adding to this scholarship, this paper demonstrates how all three determinants have interacted with one another in unique and important ways in order to inform Canadian climate policy thus far. In analyzing nearly four decades worth of major climate-related decisions made by the Canadian government, this paper is organized sequentially, into four chronological phases, each of which focuses primarily upon the given governing party. In concluding its evaluation, this paper presents two normative policy recommendations to enhance Canada’s climate agenda: increased investment in green technology and purposive, thoughtful consultation with Indigenous peoples.

scholarly journals COMBINING MULTIPLE CLIMATE POLICY INSTRUMENTS: HOW NOT TO DO IT

2010 ◽  
Vol 01 (03) ◽  
pp. 209-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
SAMUEL FANKHAUSER ◽  
CAMERON HEPBURN ◽  
JISUNG PARK
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Carbon Price ◽  
Reserve Price ◽  
Cap And Trade ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Hybrid Instruments ◽  
Carbon Prices

Putting a price on carbon is critical for climate change policy. Increasingly, policymakers combine multiple policy tools to achieve this, for example by complementing cap-and-trade schemes with a carbon tax, or with a feed-in tariff. Often, the motivation for doing so is to limit undesirable fluctuations in the carbon price, either from rising too high or falling too low. This paper reviews the implications for the carbon price of combining cap-and-trade with other policy instruments. We find that price intervention may not always have the desired effect. Simply adding a carbon tax to an existing cap-and-trade system reduces the carbon price in the market to such an extent that the overall price signal (tax plus carbon price) may remain unchanged. Generous feed-in tariffs or renewable energy obligations within a capped area have the same effect: they undermine the carbon price in the rest of the trading regime, likely increasing costs without reducing emissions. Policymakers wishing to support carbon prices should turn to hybrid instruments — that is, trading schemes with price-like features, such as an auction reserve price — to make sure their objectives are met.

scholarly journals The evolution of China's climate change policy: international and domestic political economy and a strategy for working with China

2021 ◽  
Vol 9s10 ◽  
pp. 69-98
Author(s):  
Hongyi Lai
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Effective Theory ◽  
Partial Explanation ◽  
Change Policy

For over a decade China has been the predominant carbon emitter in the global economy. It is thus imperative for us to understand the factors behind its climate change policy in the past decades. In the article, the author surveys the evolution of China�s climate change policy during 1990�2021 and applies theories from international relations and international political economy to explain it. It is found that (neo-)realism/nationalism and liberalism, two main theories in the field, offer only a partial explanation of China�s climate policy. The most effective theory is domestic sources. In particular, leadership power consolidation and a concern with economic growth seem to dictate China�s climate policy. The findings point to the analytical utility of domestic political economy in accounting for the climate stances of nation-states. Policy suggestions for external parties to interact with China on climate change are proposed. There the importance of involving China in global action against climate change, as well as the utility of the economy and trade leverage, soft power standing, and the prevention of extreme weather are discussed.

scholarly journals Climate Policy Paralysis in Australia: Energy Security, Energy Poverty and Jobs

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 4894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saleem H. Ali ◽  
Kamila Svobodova ◽  
Jo-Anne Everingham ◽  
Mehmet Altingoz
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Media Content Analysis ◽  
Energy Poverty ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Thermal Coal ◽  
Domestic Energy

According to the 2020 Climate Change Performance Index, Australia was ranked as the worst-performing country on climate change policy. The country has an ambivalent record of climate policy development as well as implementation, and has been criticized for its inaction. This paper considers why the country has been locked in climate policy “paralysis” through analyzing defining attributes of such a paralysis, and the tentative connections between domestic energy policies and international trade and development. We conducted a media content analysis of 222 articles and identified media narratives in three cases of energy projects in the country involving thermal coal exports, domestic renewable energy storage, and closure of a domestic coal power station. The analysis reveals that policy paralysis in Australian climate change policy can be traced back to the countervailing arguments that have been pervasive around domestic energy security, rural employment and international energy poverty. The political establishment has struggled to develop a sustainable consensus on climate change and the citizenry remains polarized. We also discuss how a “focusing event,” such as a major natural disaster can break the impasse but this is only possible if energy security at home, energy poverty abroad and employment imperatives across the board are clearly delineated, measured and prioritized.

scholarly journals Investing in climate solutions? An exploration of the discursive power and materiality of fossil fuel divestment campaigns in Scotland

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ella Muncie
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Financial Investments ◽  
Zero Carbon ◽  
Scottish Government ◽  
Discursive Power

AbstractDivestment is a climate change initiative that aims to persuade institutions, businesses, and governments to remove their financial investments from fossil fuel industries and instead invest in zero-carbon climate solutions. It has, however, also been conceived as an ongoing gateway tactic to curb long-term climate change and simultaneously secure social and environmental justice. Divestment has attracted global attention and is currently employed by numerous universities, religious institutions, art galleries, museums, and national and local governments, in various countries, including Scotland. However academic analysis of the movement remains underdeveloped. This article addresses such absence by giving a voice to the motives, tactics, and rationales as expressed by campaigners themselves. It identifies the collective action frames constructed by Scottish fossil fuel divestment campaigns in order to facilitate mobilisation and alignment with other climate change movements. A key premise of this article is to also explore the power of such frames to motivate action and to assess the extent to which divestment campaign groups can impact government discourse and policy. As such the article concludes by considering whether and how far divestment frames and discourses may have come to inform the climate change policy of the devolved Scottish Government.

scholarly journals Subnational Bipartisanship on Climate Change: Evidence from Surveys of Local and State Policymakers

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Lee ◽  
Dominik Stecula
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Address Climate Change ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The U.S

While the U.S. Congress has repeatedly failed to pass national legislation to address climate change over the years, there has been much more progress among state and local governments. But is this progress on climate change policy at the subnational level merely a reflection of the dominance of the Democratic party in certain regions of the country, or does it reflect successful bipartisan action? In this essay, we present novel evidence from two surveys of subnational policymakers, conducted in 2015 and 2017, to demonstrate that there is widespread bipartisan agreement among Republican and Democrat policymakers at the subnational level about (1) the existence of global warming and (2) what to do about it. Specifically, a majority in both parties believe global warming is happening and support the use of renewable energy mandates—rather than cap-and-trade, carbon tax, or emissions standards—to address the problem.

Challenges of Implementing Climate Change Adaptation Policy for Disaster Risk Reduction – Implications from Framing Gap Among Stakeholders and the General Public –

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenshi Baba ◽  
◽  
Mitsuru Tanaka ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
General Public ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Climate Change Policy ◽  
Adaptation Policy ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Climate Change Risk ◽  
Change Policy ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation Policy

Local governments are expected to play a significant role in making cities resilient, especially in reducing disaster risks and adapting to climate change. To obtain the relevant actors’ understanding and cooperation in implementing adaptation measures, it is essential that the potential framing gaps which may arise between them in terms of the impacts and risks of climate change be filled in. In this study, we have identified the framing gaps between stakeholders and the general public. We analyzed the questionnaire data obtained from the general public and the stakeholder data obtained by means of a case study carried out in Tokyo. We then integrated the results and derived three implications: i) it is effective to implement climate change adaptation policy that local governments obtain an understanding of multi-benefit of the the policy as well as climate change risk from the public through community-based groups, avocational groups and other organizations in the local community. ii) as for a firmly locked-in view of climate change policy that the policy means just reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, communication strategies for accurately explaining the relationship between adaptation measures and mitigation measures is required, and iii) as for the challenges of agenda setting for incorporating climate change risk into administrative plans, the department of the environment who is in charge of climate change policy is required to take a leadership in a coordinating function, for example, raising the awareness of other departments in terms of adaptation measures and providing them with scientific knowledge of climate change risk.

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