This paper examines the extent with which Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) reflect observed energy used for heating. We use high-frequency smart thermostat panel data in combination with building characteristics and hourly weather information. We exploit variations in boiler operation in the neighborhood of a steady state indoor temperature to elicit the predictive power of an…
Tag: Climate change
Methane Abatement Costs in the Oil and Gas Industry: Survey and Synthesis
Marginal Emissions Pathways: Drivers and Implications
Governments frequently use policies that target the expansion of a clean technology to achieve greenhouse gas emissions mitigation goals, such as those submitted by countries under the Paris Agreement. As a result of direct and indirect market adjustments induced by a particular policy, marginal emissions from expanding a clean technology may vary in the amount…
Lessons learned from China’s regional carbon market pilots
This paper gives an overview of the performance of China’s seven regional carbon market pilots and the range of approaches they have used. We assessed the outcomes of these pilots using publicly available secondary market trading data. The differences in market performance are explained by the design of key market elements such as emission allowances,…
Incentivizing firm compliance with China’s national emissions trading system
When it launches in 2017, China’s CO2 emissions trading system (ETS) will cover the largest CO2 emissions volume of any system to date and be among the very first to launch in a developing country. We evaluate the potential of an ETS to alter the emitting behavior of covered firms and to support the achievement…
Towards a Green Monetary Policy for Developing Countries: A Climate Rating Mechanism for Funding Sustainable Projects
Even though the monetary policy first mission, has never been oriented to fight against global warming, central banks are starting to mobilize more efforts, in the financial sector, to tackle the negative impact posed by the uncontrolled climate change on the economy. In this paper, we propose a new mechanism contributing to the greening of…
Interactions between Market Reform and a Carbon Price in China’s Power Sector
The electricity sector accounts for a large share of China’s carbon dioxide emissions and of the economy-wide abatement potential. China’s planned national emissions trading scheme would include electricity generation, as nearly all emissions trading schemes do. The critical difference is that in most existing carbon pricing systems the power sector operates with competitive markets and…
Negotiating effective institutions against climate change
In environmental matters, the free riding generated by the lack of collective action is aggravated by concerns about leakages and by the desire to receive compensation in future negotiations. The dominant “pledge and review” approach to mitigation will deliver appealing promises and renewed victory statements, only to prolong the waiting game. The climate change global…
Overcoming the Copenhagen Failure with Flexible Commitments
The fundamental issues presented by climate change are first, that the global environment is a global public good and second, the question of how to share the burden of providing a better climate. Everyone would like to “free ride” on the efforts of others, but there is disagreement over who is free riding. The Kyoto…
Internalizing the Climate Externality: Can a Uniform Price Commitment Help?
It is difficult to resolve the global warming free-rider externality problem by negotiating many different quantity targets. By contrast, negotiating a single internationally-binding minimum carbon price (the proceeds from which are domestically retained) counters self-interest by incentivizing agents to internalize the externality. In this contribution I attempt to sketch out, mostly with verbal arguments, the…