A look inwards: Carbon tariffs versus internal improvements in emissions-trading systems

Subglobal climate policies will be the norm for some years to come. However, several options exist for improving the efficiency of domestic emissions regulation. A prominent but contentious policy option for improving the external efficiency is the implementation of carbon tariffs on non-regulating...

पूर्ण विवरण

ग्रंथसूची विवरण
मुख्य लेखक: Springmann, M
स्वरूप: Journal article
भाषा:English
प्रकाशित: 2012
_version_ 1826289571565928448
author Springmann, M
author_facet Springmann, M
author_sort Springmann, M
collection OXFORD
description Subglobal climate policies will be the norm for some years to come. However, several options exist for improving the efficiency of domestic emissions regulation. A prominent but contentious policy option for improving the external efficiency is the implementation of carbon tariffs on non-regulating regions. This is thought to reduce carbon leakage and increase domestic production, albeit at the cost of non-regulating countries. In contrast, internal efficiency improvements can be more collaborative in type. Among others, they include extending and linking of domestic emissions-trading systems. This study compares the relative economic impacts of those policy options if Annex I countries would follow one or the other. The study uses a computable-general-equilibrium model of the global world economy and develops a set of emissions-trading and carbon-tariff scenarios with various degrees of sectoral and regional coverage. For a globally effective Annex I emissions-reduction target of 20%, the results indicate that linking Annex I countries' domestic emissions-trading systems and expanding their sectoral coverage could yield greater global welfare improvements than implementing carbon tariffs on energy-intensive goods imported from non-Annex I countries. While non-Annex I countries would be significantly better off without facing carbon tariffs on their exports, Annex I countries could gain from either policy. The relative gains from linking and extending the sectoral coverage of domestic emissions-trading systems are greater for early policy implementation within a large Annex I coalition of climate-regulating countries, while late implementation within a small coalition would yield greater relative welfare gains from imposing carbon tariffs. The results suggest that, in addition to the political benefits, there exists an economic rationale for substituting the external efficiency improvements associated with implementing carbon tariffs with internal ones associated with extending Annex I countries' emissions-trading systems. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
first_indexed 2024-03-07T02:30:55Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:a733e961-a72a-4f7a-83f0-9726084eb23f
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-07T02:30:55Z
publishDate 2012
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:a733e961-a72a-4f7a-83f0-9726084eb23f2022-03-27T02:52:56ZA look inwards: Carbon tariffs versus internal improvements in emissions-trading systemsJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:a733e961-a72a-4f7a-83f0-9726084eb23fEnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2012Springmann, MSubglobal climate policies will be the norm for some years to come. However, several options exist for improving the efficiency of domestic emissions regulation. A prominent but contentious policy option for improving the external efficiency is the implementation of carbon tariffs on non-regulating regions. This is thought to reduce carbon leakage and increase domestic production, albeit at the cost of non-regulating countries. In contrast, internal efficiency improvements can be more collaborative in type. Among others, they include extending and linking of domestic emissions-trading systems. This study compares the relative economic impacts of those policy options if Annex I countries would follow one or the other. The study uses a computable-general-equilibrium model of the global world economy and develops a set of emissions-trading and carbon-tariff scenarios with various degrees of sectoral and regional coverage. For a globally effective Annex I emissions-reduction target of 20%, the results indicate that linking Annex I countries' domestic emissions-trading systems and expanding their sectoral coverage could yield greater global welfare improvements than implementing carbon tariffs on energy-intensive goods imported from non-Annex I countries. While non-Annex I countries would be significantly better off without facing carbon tariffs on their exports, Annex I countries could gain from either policy. The relative gains from linking and extending the sectoral coverage of domestic emissions-trading systems are greater for early policy implementation within a large Annex I coalition of climate-regulating countries, while late implementation within a small coalition would yield greater relative welfare gains from imposing carbon tariffs. The results suggest that, in addition to the political benefits, there exists an economic rationale for substituting the external efficiency improvements associated with implementing carbon tariffs with internal ones associated with extending Annex I countries' emissions-trading systems. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.
spellingShingle Springmann, M
A look inwards: Carbon tariffs versus internal improvements in emissions-trading systems
title A look inwards: Carbon tariffs versus internal improvements in emissions-trading systems
title_full A look inwards: Carbon tariffs versus internal improvements in emissions-trading systems
title_fullStr A look inwards: Carbon tariffs versus internal improvements in emissions-trading systems
title_full_unstemmed A look inwards: Carbon tariffs versus internal improvements in emissions-trading systems
title_short A look inwards: Carbon tariffs versus internal improvements in emissions-trading systems
title_sort look inwards carbon tariffs versus internal improvements in emissions trading systems
work_keys_str_mv AT springmannm alookinwardscarbontariffsversusinternalimprovementsinemissionstradingsystems
AT springmannm lookinwardscarbontariffsversusinternalimprovementsinemissionstradingsystems