Policy Instruments for Decarbonizing Energy (Climate Governance)

The Climate Governance project compared the potential of alternative national and regional policy instruments to decarbonize the world's energy supply.

Climate Governance

Climate Governance

The Climate Governance project examined climate governance at national and regional scales, examining the theoretical and empirical justifications for different strategic approaches and policy instruments to respond to climate change.

The basic question was whether an approach built around carbon pricing was suited to the immediate challenges associated with decarbonization of the energy supply, or whether instruments more commonly associated with technology policy were likely to be more effective.

In the decades to come, the current movement toward global environmental governance will probably become stronger. However, it is unlikely in the short term that any international regime will have the power to stipulate and enforce the energy mix of individual countries.

Nevertheless, pricing will play an important role. The relative prices of different energy technologies are expected to evolve quickly, with wind and concentrated solar power expected to become economically competitive with coal in the next 15 years. 



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Last edited: 12 June 2012

Timeframe

2011 - 2014

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
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