Research that Informs Business and Public Policy
Tweaking the market will help, but so will recognizing its limits. After California’s May allowance auction settled at the minimum price and generated almost no revenues for the state, the … Continue Reading Understanding and Refining Emissions Markets
Industry and utility customers should chip in to support the carbon price floor. The Covid-19 crisis has led to all sorts of dramatic changes in lifestyles and economies. The energy … Continue Reading The High Cost of Low Carbon Prices
2019 was a record year for the Mystery Surcharge, which is bad news for drivers and the state’s economy. If the price of gasoline stays inexplicably high and the media … Continue Reading California’s Mystery Gasoline Surcharge Strikes Back
A young “Climate Warrior” sails into New York with a powerful message. Christopher Columbus in 1492 found some evidence supporting the theory that the Earth is actually round. (Pythagoras “a … Continue Reading The Economic Case For Greta Thunberg
What would the Lorax say about today’s forest offsets? The race is on. Democratic presidential candidates are jockeying for position. And climate change is emerging as a top priority. Jay … Continue Reading Are Trees Getting Too Much Climate Credit…or Not Enough?
Addressing, and even measuring, EJ is harder than it looks. Lots of people are talking about environmental injustice – from the Flint drinking water crisis to claims that cap-and-trade policies … Continue Reading An Economic Perspective on Environmental Justice
This year, it will drain over $3 billion from the pockets of Californians. We need to find out why. I have written before on this blog about the mystery surcharge, … Continue Reading Trying to Unpack California’s Mystery Gasoline Surcharge
Setting prices too low is a climate problem, but so is setting prices too high. We didn’t hear much about electricity pricing at last week’s Global Climate Action Summit in … Continue Reading The Electricity Price Isn’t Right
Pricing carbon will help drive R&D, but the market will still be bumpy. Virtually all economists agree that one of the biggest selling points for pricing greenhouse gases (GHGs) – … Continue Reading Cap-and-Trade and Innovation
Unused allowances are not an existential threat to the state’s market for greenhouse gases Today’s blog is co-authored with fellow EI blogger, Jim Bushnell. One of the most prominent and most … Continue Reading California’s Carbon Cap is Not in Jeopardy, Because It’s Not Really a Cap
Since discussions of California’s cap and trade program for greenhouse gases (GHGs) began more than a decade ago, many environmental justice (EJ) leaders have voiced concerns about the fairness of … Continue Reading Fight Both Local and Global Pollution, But Separately
What will be the fate of California’s cap and trade system for GHG? This is an issue that has been flying under the radar nationally, given the hullabaloo about carbon taxes … Continue Reading Looking for Environmental Certainty in All the Wrong Places
While many Californians are spending August burning fossil fuels to travel to vacation destinations, the state legislature is negotiating with Gov. Brown over whether and how to extend the California’s … Continue Reading Fixing a major flaw in cap-and-trade
