Ebook: Goals and Economic Instruments for the Achievement of Global Warming Mitigation in Europe: Proceedings of the EU Advanced Study Course held in Berlin, Germany, July 1997

Climate change poses important challenges to research and policy. Within three decades, an issue that was initially confined to the attention of a few scientists became the topic of large-scale research programmes, national and European policies and an international Convention. While significant uncertainties remain on the timing and scale of the changes to be expected and of their impacts, an appreci­ ation emerged of the high ecological, economic, political and social stakes involved and lead to governmental, business and citizens' initiatives. After focusing on the understanding of climate processes and the possible impacts of climate change on ecosystems, European research - and international research more generally - started addressing also the social, economic and policy causes of and responses to climate change. In the meantime, local, national and European measures started being developed to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions, a European target was agreed to achieve the stabilization of carbon dioxide by 2000 at the levels of 1990, the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) was adopted and was followed by its Kyoto Protocol.

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This book intends to bridge the gap between knowledge about global warming and practical implementation in the political process of the necessary measures for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It therefore deals with climatology, economics and political science in five sections:

• The state of scientific knowledge of climate change, the influencing factors, the man-made effects and the monitoring of GHG sources and sinks.
• The transformation of scientific results into politically achievable aims, the criteria for the allocation of the reduction goals, and the GHG inventories of European countries.
• The relevant political and economical instruments, such as voluntary approaches, the carbon/energy-tax and Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ) and their working principles.
• The instrument of tradeable emission permits (the US Acid Rain Programme as an example) and possible designs of a system for CO₂ on the national and international level.
• Comparison and summaries of the efficacy, the cost-efficiency, the achievability and political acceptability of the different instruments.

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This book intends to bridge the gap between knowledge about global warming and practical implementation in the political process of the necessary measures for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It therefore deals with climatology, economics and political science in five sections:

• The state of scientific knowledge of climate change, the influencing factors, the man-made effects and the monitoring of GHG sources and sinks.
• The transformation of scientific results into politically achievable aims, the criteria for the allocation of the reduction goals, and the GHG inventories of European countries.
• The relevant political and economical instruments, such as voluntary approaches, the carbon/energy-tax and Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ) and their working principles.
• The instrument of tradeable emission permits (the US Acid Rain Programme as an example) and possible designs of a system for CO₂ on the national and international level.
• Comparison and summaries of the efficacy, the cost-efficiency, the achievability and political acceptability of the different instruments.

Content:
Front Matter....Pages i-xiii
Front Matter....Pages 1-1
Climate and its Influential Factors, Especially the Anthropogenic Enhancement of the Greenhouse Effect and its Possible Impacts — Results of the Second Assessment Report of the IPCC....Pages 3-26
The IPCC/OECD/IEA Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme: International Methods for the Estimation, Monitoring and Verification of GHG Emission Inventories....Pages 27-38
Necessities and Problems of Coupling Climate and Socioeconomic Models for Integrated Assessments Studies from an Economist’s Point of View....Pages 39-53
Climate Change and Integrated Assessment: The Tolerable Windows Approach....Pages 55-77
Climate Change and Global Change: The Syndrome Concept....Pages 79-95
Front Matter....Pages 97-97
A Comparison of GHG Inventories and Reduction Goals for Different Countries in Europe....Pages 99-112
Allocating Emission Reduction Targets in the European Union — Issues and Proposals....Pages 113-127
The EU Position in the Negotiation Process Towards a Protocol on the Limitation and Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions....Pages 129-135
Front Matter....Pages 137-137
The Range of Possible Political and Economical Instruments for the Mitigation of Global Climate Change....Pages 139-144
A Framework for the Evaluation of Political and Economical Instruments for Global Warming Mitigation....Pages 145-157
Global and European Voluntary Approaches in Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on Municipal Level and Their Results....Pages 161-167
Voluntary Commitments to Mitigate Greenhouse Gas Emissions — The Example of German Industry and Trade....Pages 169-182
Voluntary Agreements in Climate Protection — Experiences in Germany and Future Perspectives....Pages 183-204
Carbon and Energy Taxes in OECD Countries....Pages 207-229
European Commission’s Experience in Designing Environmental Taxation for Energy Products....Pages 231-237
Limits of the Tax Approach for Mitigating Global Warming....Pages 239-251
Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ) as an Instrument for the Mitigation of Global Warming....Pages 255-271
Practical Examples of Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ) in Costa Rica....Pages 273-281
Problems and Limitations of AIJ and the JI Potential from the Perspective of a German Project Broker....Pages 283-291
Front Matter....Pages 293-293
U.S. Experience with Tradeable SO2 Allowances....Pages 295-307
Front Matter....Pages 293-293
A European Model for Tradeable SO2-Emission Permits....Pages 309-328
Efficiency, Equity and Optimal Carbon Abatement....Pages 331-337
Possibilities of an EU-System of CO2 Emission Permits....Pages 339-355
Launching a Plurilateral Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System — the UNCTAD-Earth Council Initiative....Pages 357-366
Tradeable Emissions Permits and the WTO....Pages 367-376
Status of Discussion and Negotiation for a System of Tradeable CO2 Emission Permits within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change....Pages 379-384
The United States Proposal for an International CO2 Emissions Trading System....Pages 385-393
Results of the Emission Quota Trade Simulation Experiment by the Participants....Pages 397-406
Front Matter....Pages 407-407
Assessing the Different Instruments in Climate Change Mitigation from the Perspective of Economics....Pages 409-425
Assessment of the Different Economic Instruments by the Participants....Pages 427-435
Selected Results of the Working Groups....Pages 437-439
Back Matter....Pages 441-466