There’s plenty to worry about in the implementation of California’s ambitious cap-and trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – in particular, whether it will make the state economy less competitive. But as Harvard’s Rob Stavins explains “environmental justice” (the prospect that the poor will be stuck with …
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By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: AB32, California Air Resources Board, cap-and-trade, environmental justice, Robert Stavins | Category: Climate Change, Quick Takes |
 Leave a commentWhat a difference a few years can make. With a committed president in the White House and solid Democratic majorities in Congress, climate change legislation based on a market-friendly cap-and-trade system seemed a slam dunk. If, by chance, lobbyists from the energy and utility industries managed to throw a spanner … PERC (a.k.a. the Property and Environment Research Center), a 30-year-old think-tank advocate of market solutions to environmental problems, has just unveiled its new blog, The PERColator. Expect an interesting take on many issues – federal land use, water rights, eminent domain, national park access – that reflect PERC’s … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: cap-and-trade, eminent domain, federal land use, H. Spencer Banzhaf, national parks, PERC, water rights | Category: Climate Change, Quick Takes |
Leave a commentEconomists Robert Stavins (Harvard) and Richard Schmalensee (MIT) make a key distinction between the substance of climate policy and the mechanisms for implementing it in the Boston Globe. In trashing efforts to pass a climate bill, Senate Republicans and a handful of Democrats sought to demonize … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: Boston Globe, cap-and-trade, Climate Change, Richard Schmalensee, Robert Stavins | Category: Environment, Quick Takes |
Leave a commentEurope’s cap-and-trade system effectively puts a price on carbon emissions by requiring emitters to buy permits on the open market. Trouble is, the price has fluctuated wildly, peaking at €30 in 2008 and slipping to just €8 last year, making it hard to plan and undercutting incentives for … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: British Conservative Party, cap-and-trade, carbon emissions permits | Category: Climate Change, Quick Takes |
Leave a commentWe’re of two minds about EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s decision to delay imposition of curbs on carbon emissions, based on the EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act. On the one hand, the reality that the EPA (in consultation with the White House, we presume) has backed … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: cap-and-trade, carbon emissions, Clean Air Act, Environmental Protection Agency | Category: Climate Change |
Leave a commentIn the beginning, economists touted emissions taxes and cap-and-trade systems as efficient, market-friendly methods for reducing pollution. The idea: put a price on pollution equal to the damage it caused or decide what level of emissions was acceptable to society as a whole, and then let businesses decide how to minimize … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: cap-and-trade, carbon tax, Climate Change, David Weisbach, environmental economics, Martin Weitzman, safety valve | Category: Interesting Research |
One commentNuclear power in America lives in an odd political/economic limbo. The 104 plants operating here (all built before 1978) have become the work horses of the utility industry, generating one-fifth of the nation’s electricity at low marginal cost thanks to vast improvements in their operating reliability. And, … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: cap-and-trade, carbon tax, Climate Change, environmental policy, John Parsons, nuclear power, Paul Joskow | Category: Energy, Environment |
One commentAs economists are way too fond of saying, there’s no free lunch out there. But some lunches are cheaper than others. And finding less expensive ways to contain the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will be central to a workable climate change policy. Robert Stavins, the … By Robert Hahn, Peter Passell | Tags: cap-and-trade, carbon sequestration, Climate Change, land use regulation, Robert Stavins | Category: Interesting Research |
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Professor Dieter Helm (Oxford) is a very fine fly fisherman, and an even better economist. If you haven’t done so, take a look at his new book “The Carbon Crunch: How We Are Getting Climate Change Wrong — and How to Fix It” for a bit of unconventional wisdom. He argues that politicians and the general public have not shown any real interest in addressing climate change. Helm argues that places like Europe should focus on setting a price for carbon that would cover consumption (and not just production), and that fracking could be a good “bridge” technology for reducing consumption of coal. The book is readable and insightful for those interested in the inside track on climate policy. 
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