Climate Change Mitigation Policies and Progress

Climate Change Mitigation Policies and Progress
Author: OECD
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Total Pages: 118
Release: 2015-10-20
Genre:
ISBN: 9264238786

This report reviews trends and progress on climate change mitigation policies in 34 OECD countries and 10 partner economies (Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, India, Latvia, Lithuania, the Russian Federation and South Africa), as well as in the European Union.

South Africa Carbon Pricing and Climate Mitigation Policy

South Africa Carbon Pricing and Climate Mitigation Policy
Author: Mr. Haonan Qu
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 18
Release: 2023-06-26
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Meeting South Africa’s ambitious climate objectives will require a comprehensive strategy that includes a more effective use of carbon pricing policy, reducing inefficient government subsidies that have delayed the green transition, well-targeted support to affected industries and households, and other green financial and sectoral measures. Implemented well, the mitigation policy package would promote low-carbon investments, raise government revenues, and support economic growth.

Implementing a US Carbon Tax

Implementing a US Carbon Tax
Author: Ian Parry
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2015-02-11
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317602080

Although the future extent and effects of global climate change remain uncertain, the expected damages are not zero, and risks of serious environmental and macroeconomic consequences rise with increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. Despite the uncertainties, reducing emissions now makes sense, and a carbon tax is the simplest, most effective, and least costly way to do this. At the same time, a carbon tax would provide substantial new revenues which may be badly needed, given historically high debt-to-GDP levels, pressures on social security and medical budgets, and calls to reform taxes on personal and corporate income. This book is about the practicalities of introducing a carbon tax, set against the broader fiscal context. It consists of thirteen chapters, written by leading experts, covering the full range of issues policymakers would need to understand, such as the revenue potential of a carbon tax, how the tax can be administered, the advantages of carbon taxes over other mitigation instruments and the environmental and macroeconomic impacts of the tax. A carbon tax can work in the United States. This volume shows how, by laying out sound design principles, opportunities for broader policy reforms, and feasible solutions to specific implementation challenges.

The Poverty and Distributional Impacts of Carbon Pricing: Channels and Policy Implications

The Poverty and Distributional Impacts of Carbon Pricing: Channels and Policy Implications
Author: Baoping Shang
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2021-06-25
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 151357339X

Addressing the poverty and distributional impacts of carbon pricing reforms is critical for the success of ambitious actions in the fight against climate change. This paper uses a simple framework to systematically review the channels through which carbon pricing can potentially affect poverty and inequality. It finds that the channels differ in important ways along several dimensions. The paper also identifies several key gaps in the current literature and discusses some considerations on how policy designs could take into account the attributes of the channels in mitigating the impacts of carbon pricing reforms on households.

Fiscal Monitor, October 2019

Fiscal Monitor, October 2019
Author: International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2019-10-10
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513515322

This report emphasizes the environmental, fiscal, economic, and administrative case for using carbon taxes, or similar pricing schemes such as emission trading systems, to implement climate mitigation strategies. It provides a quantitative framework for understanding their effects and trade-offs with other instruments and applies it to the largest advanced and emerging economies. Alternative approaches, like “feebates” to impose fees on high polluters and give rebates to cleaner energy users, can play an important role when higher energy prices are difficult politically. At the international level, the report calls for a carbon price floor arrangement among large emitters, designed flexibly to accommodate equity considerations and constraints on national policies. The report estimates the consequences of carbon pricing and redistribution of its revenues for inequality across households. Strategies for enhancing the political acceptability of carbon pricing are discussed, along with supporting measures to promote clean technology investments.

Global Carbon Pricing

Global Carbon Pricing
Author: Peter Cramton
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2017-06-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0262340399

Why the traditional “pledge and review” climate agreements have failed, and how carbon pricing, based on trust and reciprocity, could succeed. After twenty-five years of failure, climate negotiations continue to use a “pledge and review” approach: countries pledge (almost anything), subject to (unenforced) review. This approach ignores everything we know about human cooperation. In this book, leading economists describe an alternate model for climate agreements, drawing on the work of the late Nobel laureate Elinor Ostrom and others. They show that a “common commitment” scheme is more effective than an “individual commitment” scheme; the latter depends on altruism while the former involves reciprocity (“we will if you will”). The contributors propose that global carbon pricing is the best candidate for a reciprocal common commitment in climate negotiations. Each country would commit to placing charges on carbon emissions sufficient to match an agreed global price formula. The contributors show that carbon pricing would facilitate negotiations and enforcement, improve efficiency and flexibility, and make other climate policies more effective. Additionally, they analyze the failings of the 2015 Paris climate conference. Contributors Richard N. Cooper, Peter Cramton, Ottmar Edenhofer, Christian Gollier, Éloi Laurent, David JC MacKay, William Nordhaus, Axel Ockenfels, Joseph E. Stiglitz, Steven Stoft, Jean Tirole, Martin L. Weitzman

Macroeconomic and Financial Policies for Climate Change Mitigation: A Review of the Literature

Macroeconomic and Financial Policies for Climate Change Mitigation: A Review of the Literature
Author: Signe Krogstrup
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 58
Release: 2019-09-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1513511955

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of this century. Mitigation requires a large-scale transition to a low-carbon economy. This paper provides an overview of the rapidly growing literature on the role of macroeconomic and financial policy tools in enabling this transition. The literature provides a menu of policy tools for mitigation. A key conclusion is that fiscal tools are first in line and central, but can and may need to be complemented by financial and monetary policy instruments. Some tools and policies raise unanswered questions about policy tool assignment and mandates, which we describe. The literature is scarce, however, on the most effective policy mix and the role of mitigation tools and goals in the overall policy framework.

Fiscal Policies for Paris Climate Strategies—from Principle to Practice

Fiscal Policies for Paris Climate Strategies—from Principle to Practice
Author: International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
Total Pages: 109
Release: 2019-05-01
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1498311717

This paper discusses the role of, and provides practical country-level guidance on, fiscal policies for implementing climate strategies using a unique and transparent tool laying out trade-offs among policy options.

Governing the Climate-Energy Nexus

Governing the Climate-Energy Nexus
Author: Fariborz Zelli
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2020-07-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1108484816

Analysing the interactions between institutions in the climate change and energy nexus, including the consequences for their legitimacy and effectiveness. Prominent researchers from political science and international relations compare three policy domains: renewable energy, fossil fuel subsidy reform, and carbon pricing. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Coping with the Climate Crisis

Coping with the Climate Crisis
Author: Rabah Arezki
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2018-07-03
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0231547358

Reducing carbon emissions is the most complex political and economic problem humanity has ever confronted. Coping with the Climate Crisis brings together leading experts from academia and policy circles to explore issues related to the implementation of the COP21 Paris Agreement and the challenges of accelerating the transition toward sustainable development. The book synthesizes the key insights that emerge from the latest research in climate-change economics in an accessible and useful guide for policy makers and researchers. Contributors consider a wide range of issues, including the economic implications and realities of shifting away from fossil fuels, the role of financial markets in incentivizing development and construction of sustainable infrastructure, the challenges of evaluating the well-being of future generations, the risk associated with uncertainty surrounding the pace of climate change, and how to make climate agreements enforceable. They demonstrate the need for a carbon tax, considering the issues of efficiently pricing carbon as well as the role of supply-side policies on fossil fuels. Through a range of perspectives from academic economists and practitioners in the public and private sectors who work either at the country level or under the auspices of multilateral organizations, Coping with the Climate Crisis outlines what it will take to achieve a viable, global climate-stabilization path.