Debates over post-Kyoto Protocol climate change policy often take note of two issues: the feasibility and desirability of international cooperation on climate change policies, given the failure of the United States to ratify Kyoto, and the very limited involvement of developing countries; and the optimal timing of climate policies. These essays by leading international economists in The Design of Climate Policy offer insights on both these concerns.The Design of Climate Policy first considers the appropriate institutions for effective international cooperation on climate change, proposing an alternative to the Kyoto arrangement and a theoretical framework for such a scheme.
The discussions then turn to the stability of international environmental agreements, emphasizing the logic of coalition forming (including the applicability of game-theoretical analysis). Finally, contributors address both practical and quantitative aspects of policy design, offering theoretical analyses of such specific policy issues as intertemporal aspects of carbon trade and the optimal implementation of a sequestration policy and then using formal mathematical models to examine policies related to the rate of climate change, international trade and carbon leakage, and the shortcomings of the standard Global Warming Potential index.
Roger Guesnerie is Professor at the College de France and President of the Paris School of Economics. He is the author of Assessing Rational Expectations and Assessing Rational Expectations 2 (MIT Press, 2001, 2005).
Henry Tulkens is Professor of Economics and Public Finance and a member of the Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE) at Universite Catholique de Louvain.
Contributors:
- Philippe Ambrosi
- David F. Bradford
- Barbara Buchner
- Carlo Carraro
- Parkash Chander
- Stéphane De Cara
- Damien Demailly
- A. Denny Ellerman
- Johan Eyckmans
- Michael Finus
- Elodie Galko
- Roger Guesnerie
- Jean-Charles Hourcade
- Pierre-Alain Jayet
- Gilles Lafforgue
- Bernard Magné
- Sandrine Mathy
- Michel Moreaux
- Sushama Murty
- William A. Pizer
- Philippe Quirion
- Katrin Rehdanz
- P. R. Shukla
- Jaemin Song
- Ian Sue Wing
- Sylvie Thoron
- Richard S. J. Tol
- Henry Tulkens
"Given the long term, global nature of the climate change problem, designing practical, effective policies to address carbon emissions remains a challenge. This book presents a comprehensive theoretical perspective and also practical advice for economists working in this field."
– David Popp, Department of Public Administration, Center for Policy Research, The Maxwell School, Syracuse University
"The book offers an in depth, often formal, and always useful coverage of many facets of the complex and pressing problem of global warming. It presents valuable scholarship for all those who wonder about the possible role of the US and China in the post Kyoto period. Original studies of more specific problems such as the dynamic allocation of quotas, carbon leakage, the impact of uncertainty on policies, and the storage of CO2 complete the book and provide new avenues for research at academic and industrial levels. In short, this book will be a rich source of inspiration and understanding for all those interested in rigorous analysis of climate policies."
– Yves Smeers, Tractebel Professor of Energy Economics, Universite Catholique de Louvain