eBook Categories Economics Leveling the Carbon Playing Field
Leveling the Carbon Playing Field |
| Ebook - Economics | |
| Saturday, 08 November 2008 | |
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As political momentum surrounding climate change builds in the US, policymakers are taking a fresh look at national climate policy and American involvement in multilateral climate negotiations. And as in years past, the potential economic impact of any US effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions stands as a central question in the Washington policy debate. Of particular concern is the effect climate policy would have on carbon-intensive US manufacturing. Many of these industries are already under pressure from foreign competition, particularly large emerging economies like China, India, and Brazil that are not bound to reduce emissions under the current international climate framework. As the Congress takes up domestic climate legislation and the Administration reengages in multilateral climate negotiations, policymakers are looking for ways to avoid putting US industry at a competitive disadvantage vis-à-vis countries without similar climate policy, lest a decline in industrial emissions at home is simply replaced by increases in emissions abroad. While this would be best achieved through harmonized international climate policy, the differences between countries in level of economic development, obligations stemming from historic emissions and responsibilities arising from future emissions, mean harmonization is still a long way off. The question then, in the design of domestic US climate policy today, is how to level the playing field for carbon-intensive industries during a period of transition, where trading partners are moving at different speeds and adopting a variety of policies to reduce emissions...and how to do so in a way that doesn't threaten the prospects of broader international agreement down the road. This book, a collaboration between the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the World Resources Institute, tackles these issues through an assessment of the economics and trade flows of key carbon-intensive industries. They evaluate a wide range of policy options, including those that would impose carbon costs on foreign-produced goods at the border (currently included in draft US legislation and under consideration in the EU) in terms of their effectiveness in reducing emissions and addressing competitiveness issues and their impact on health of multilateral trade and climate negotiations. You can download full publication in PDF format. Paperback: 112 pages Contents Preface Climate change is one of the most far-reaching economic challenges of our times. Unchecked, it threatens the welfare of people around the globe. Mitigating the worst of its impacts will require mobilizing capital and technology in innovative ways that will transform the global economy. The good news is that if we do it right we can generate technologies and markets that will not only leave us a cleaner, more secure world but also create vibrant new industries and jobs. Faced with a challenge of this scale, there is a strong case for developing efficient and consistent climate policy globally. Every effort should be made to do so. But politics is always a balance of the visionary and the prosaic. Differences between countries in level of economic development, historic responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions already in the atmosphere and projected growth in emissions in the years ahead mean that climate policy will probably take different forms in different parts of the world. ... About the Authors Trevor Houser, visiting fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, is also a partner at the Rhodium Group, a specialized practice helping decision makers in the public and private sectors analyze and understand global economic and policy trends, and an adjunct professor at the City College of New York. His areas of research include energy markets, climate change, and the role emerging Asian countries play in both. His recent publications include China’s Energy Evolution: The Consequences of Powering Growth at Home and Abroad (2008), “The Roots of Chinese Oil Investment Abroad” (Asia Policy, January 2008), and China Energy: A Guide for the Perplexed (Peterson Institute/Center for Strategic and International Studies China Balance Sheet Project, May 2007). Rob Bradley is director of the International Climate Policy Initiative at the World Resources Institute (WRI). He has published research on international climate agreements, emissions trading, biofuels, rural electrification, adaptation, forests and climate and developing-country policies. Before joining WRI, he worked for 10 years on European and international climate and energy policy and was a member of the working group to design the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. He holds a BSc degree in physical sciences from University College London and an MSc degree in environmental sciences from the University of East Anglia. Jacob Werksman, an international lawyer specializing in environmental and economic law, directs the Institutions and Governance Program at the World Resources Institute. He served as associate director in the Global Inclusion Program of the Rockefeller Foundation. From 2002 to 2004, he was environmental institutions and governance adviser to the United Nations Development Programme in New York. From 1991 to 2002 he served as a lawyer, program director, and, for four years, as managing director of the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development. He is an adjunct professor of law at New York University and at Georgetown University and an active member of the State Bar of California. He is editor or coeditor of the 2001–2003 Yearbook of International Environmental Law (2002, 2003), The Earthscan Reader on International Trade and Sustainable Development (2002), Greening International Institutions (1996), and Improving Compliance with International Environmental Agreements (1996). He holds degrees from Columbia University (AB, 1986, English literature), the University of Michigan (JD, cum laude, 1990), and the University of London (LLM, 1993, public international law). Britt Childs is a research analyst in the Climate and Energy Program at the World Resources Institute. Her research primarily focuses on clean technology deployment, including regulatory and investment frameworks to facilitate market penetration of new energy technologies internationally. She also works on sustainable development issues and international climate policy. She holds a BA degree in international politics from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. Robert Heilmayr is a research assistant at the World Resources Institute. His work focuses on federal climate change policy and corporate deployment of renewable energy. As part of the Green Power Market Development Group, he draws on his experience in the private sector to develop innovative green power products and strategies for corporate consumers. His work on US policy includes analysis, both economic and political, of legislative proposals to address global warming. He holds a BA degree in environmental studies, economics, and politics from Claremont McKenna Bookmark
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Leveling the Carbon Playing Field: International Competition and US Climate Policy Design
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