Carbon Pricing

Effectiveness of 1,500 global climate policies ranked for first time
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Effectiveness of 1,500 global climate policies ranked for first time

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EcoTech Note:  Researchers at Oxford studied 1500 climate policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  They identified 63 successful policy interventions that worked well. “Our insights on effective but rarely studied policy combinations highlight the important role of price-based instruments in well-designed policy mixes….”

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Overall, the Team concluded:

  • Climate policies are more effective as part of a mix: In most cases, effect sizes of climate policies are larger if a policy instrument is part of a policy mix rather than implemented alone –for example combining carbon pricing with a subsidy.
  • Developed and developing countries have different climate policy needs: In developed countries, carbon pricing stands out as an effective policy, whereas in developing countries, regulation is the most powerful policy.
  • The Paris emissions gap can be closed: Focusing on the 63 cases of effective climate policies would close the current emissions gap to meet the Paris Targets by 26% -41%, a significant contribution.
Most Climate Policies Don’t Work. Here’s What Science Says Does Reduce Emissions.

Most Climate Policies Don’t Work. Here’s What Science Says Does Reduce Emissions.

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An evaluation of more than 1,500 climate policies in 41 countries found that only 63 actually worked to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

“The commonality in those successful cases is where we see subsidies and regulations being combined with price-based policy instruments,” said Nicolas Koch, senior researcher at the Berlin-based Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change and an author of the study. “This means carbon pricing, and it could be energy taxes, it could be vehicle taxes.”

A “Grand Bargain” in 2025? A Bipartisan path to Carbon Pricing

A “Grand Bargain” in 2025? A Bipartisan path to Carbon Pricing

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Editor’s Note:  Two think tanks sponsored a bipartisan panel discussion about next year, when both parties face the expiration of the Trump tax cuts and want to fix a) major structural deficits and b) climate change.  Attached is the YouTube video of the one-hour webinar, as well as a transcript and an accurate summary generated by AI.

Major New Study Supports Effectiveness of Carbon Pricing

Major New Study Supports Effectiveness of Carbon Pricing

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A major new study published in Nature Communications offers reassurance that carbon taxes really are effective. This meta-analysis of 80 evaluations of 21 carbon pricing policies around the world finds at least 17 of those policies “yielded immediate and substantial emission reductions” ranging from 4% to 15%, despite low carbon prices in most cases.

Drop in Wash. Carbon Price Spells Uncertainty for Budget, Gas Costs

Drop in Wash. Carbon Price Spells Uncertainty for Budget, Gas Costs

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Washington’s first quarterly carbon allowance auction of 2024 has thrown two new wrinkles into the economics of the state’s fledgling — and controversial — cap-and-invest program.  

First: The auction cleared at $25.76 per allowance. That’s sharply lower than clearing prices in 2023’s four quarterly auctions, which took a lot of blame for Washington’s high gasoline prices last summer.  

Second: The March 6 auction, results …

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro | Shutterstock

Shapiro Proposes Cap-and-trade, More Renewables for Pa.

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The governor is proposing the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act (PACER) to set up a cap-and-invest program. 

Seventy percent of PACER’s benefits would be returned to end-use customers as rebates on their electric bill — a higher percentage than any cap-and-trade program in the country. PACER also would support projects that cut air pollution, further reduce customer energy bills and invest in new job-creating clean energy projects, including carbon capture and storage, geothermal, and clean hydrogen. 

Exxon CEO: ‘People generating emissions must pay the price’

Exxon CEO: ‘People generating emissions must pay the price’

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The U.S. government is trying to “get things moving” through those subsidies, he added. “But I would tell you building a business on government subsidy is not a long-term sustainable strategy—we don’t support that …. We’re advocating to move to market forces, either through regulation and prices on carbon.” 

Meeting climate goals through tax reform

Meeting climate goals through tax reform

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The Brookings Institute hosted a “fireside chat” with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Chairman of the Budget Committee. The Senate is preparing for a “massive” tax overhaul bill in 2025, because many of the tax breaks from prior years expire soon.   Sen. Whitehouse is angling to have carbon pricing in the bill. Here he discusses how CBAM, the tax negotiations and the politics.

Why The World Must Set a Price on Carbon

Why The World Must Set a Price on Carbon

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To move beyond the woefully inadequate level of climate action since the 2015 Paris Accords, the world must put a global price on carbon. In one stroke, this would recalibrate consumer demand, set the market in motion, reduce emissions, and spur innovation. In the immortal words of legendary investor Charlie Munger: “Show me the incentive, and I’ll show you the outcome.”

UK to levy a border carbon adjustment on imports by 2027
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UK to levy a border carbon adjustment on imports by 2027

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Britain’s CBAM levies will apply to imports from high-carbon and hard-to-abate sectors including steel and aluminium, cement and ceramics. Additional products may be added to the scope of the CBAM following additional consultations in 2024. The Treasury is set to apply the levy on a sliding scale. Charges applied will depend on the greenhouse gas …