carbon leakage

California Climate Policy: A Preliminary Report Card

It’s a bit complicated, but California definitely has made substantial progress.

We all know that California’s climate policies have led the nation. But how well have these policies actually worked?  That’s not as easy to answer as you might think.  You have to do some digging to come up with the numbers, and their meaning isn’t always completely clear.  If you compare California with the country …

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Here’s a New Acronym: CBAM. You’re Going to be Seeing It a Lot.

European Union flag

The EU has taken a major step to pressure global industries to clean up their act.

In December, the EU provisionally adopted a carbon tariff on imports. The official name is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, or CBAM for short. The purpose of the mechanism is that EU companies, unlike many in other countries, have to pay a price for the carbon emitted in manufacturing. They need a border adjustment to …

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How “Leakage” Will Undermine Trump’s War Against Renewables

Trying to stop renewables is like playing whack-a-mole.

When you try to reduce use of fossil fuels in one place, you can actually increase emissions elsewhere, because some of the same fuels may just move to another country.  In a sense, the carbon that used to be emitted in your country has “leaked” outside your borders.  This is a well-known headache for climate …

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Making Climate Policy While Congress Sleeps

In our system of government, Congress is the institution with the greatest power to address issues of national importance.  Unfortunately, Congress has been AWOL on the issue of climate change. The election has made it marginally more likely that Congress might wake up and take action on climate change, possibly even including a carbon tax …

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Climate Strategies: “One Step at a Time” or “Don’t Jump the Gun”??

In some situations, voluntary efforts leads other people to join in, whereas in others, it encourages them to hold back.  There’s a similar issue about climate mitigation efforts at the national, regional, or state level.  Do these efforts really move the ball forward?  Or are they counterproductive, because other places increase their own carbon emissions …

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Putting a Cap on the Green Paradox

The Green Paradox holds that emission control measures scheduled for the future can backfire.  Foreseeing a smaller market in the future, fossil fuel sellers decide to unload more of their reserves now by cutting prices.  A recent report from Resources for the Future provides more details if you’re interested (though the details don’t matter for …

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