We consider leading approaches to the decarbonisation of electricity supply. Price supports through long term contracts, such as feed-in-tariffs have been very effective at eliciting rapid escalation of renewable supply, largely because risks have been transferred away from suppliers and tariffs have been generous. However, countries with the most ambitious programs of this type (Denmark,…
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The Future of Nuclear Power After Fukushima
This paper analyzes the impact of the Fukushima accident on the future of nuclear power around the world. We begin with a discussion of the “but for” baseline and the much discussed “nuclear renaissance.” Our pre-Fukushima benchmark for growth in nuclear generation in the U.S. and other developed countries is much more modest than many…
How a “Low Carbon” Innovation Can Fail–Tales from a “Lost Decade” for Carbon Capture, Transport, and Sequestration (CCTS)
This paper analyzes the discrepancy between the high hopes placed in Carbon Capture, Transport, and Storage (CCTS) and the meager results that have been observed in reality, and advances several explanations for what we call a “lost decade” for CCTS. We trace the origins of the high hopes placed in this technology by industry and…
Global Climate Games: How Pricing and a Green Fund Foster Cooperation
The most efficient global climate policy is to price carbon. The Kyoto-Copenhagen agenda was intended to do this with a system of international cap and trade. We view these negotiations as a game in which countries choose their quantity targets based on self interest. Like the analogous public-goods game, in which countries choose their abatement…