The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), presented as the “flagship” of European climate policy, is subject to many criticisms from different stakeholders: it does not reduce carbon emissions nor generate enough low-carbon innovation, it induces competitiveness losses and carbon leakage, its distributional effects are unfair and finally, it is susceptible to fraud. We review these ...

The European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) limits CO2 emissions from covered sectors, especially electricity until December 2007, after which a new set of Allowances will be issued. The paper demonstrates that the impact of controlling the quantity rather than the price of carbon is to reduce the elasticity of demand for gas, amplifying the market power of gas suppliers, and also amplifying th...

It is difficult to resolve the global warming free-rider externality problem by negotiating n different quantity targets. By contrast, negotiating a single internationally binding minimum carbon price (the proceeds from which are domestically retained) counters self-interest by incentivizing agents to internalize the externality. The model of this article indicates an exact sense in which each ...

This paper questions whether UK competitive electricity markets, as currently configured, will deliver the low carbon power sector that is a necessary condition of meeting ambitious UK CO2 emission targets. It analyses their historical development within an essentially fossil based system, and potential weaknesses in relation to low carbon investments. These include concerns over operational, c...