[en] In the USA, at January 1st, 1995, the first phase of a large-scale national program of negotiable environmental permits for SO₂ emission of electric power generating plants took effect. Attention is paid to the institutional aspects of the new market for such permits, the experiences gained in the last few years by testing the market, and the bottlenecks that came to light. This promising initiative is worth to be followed by the Netherlands government. 1 fig., 2 tabs., 3 refs

[en] This paper surveys recent efforts to relax the rigid regulatory frameworks for air pollution control in Europe and the USA. European policies have mainly taken the form of bubbles and compensation or offset schemes. Emission trading has been limited to intra-firm solutions for various reasons: industry structure, absence of real scarcity, and too restrictive trading rules. Bubbles have been granted to homogenous sectors only and can be characterized as direct regulation for a group rather than tradeable permit systems. By contrast, the sulphur allowance program in the USA has laid down the foundation for a pollution permit market with few formal restrictions. Problems that arise arc mainly related to local environmental and public utility controls. Europe can learn from the USA that regular national permit markets could be installed, preferably for homogenous sectors. In designing the permit system, the differences between the USA and Europe in terms of ecosystem sensitively, stringency of regulation and differentiation of regional environmental policy have to be taken into account. 1 fig., 2 tabs., 54 refs

[en] The feasibility of tradeable carbon permits as an instrument to implement climate change policy is discussed. The design of a scheme of tradeable carbon permits, that can be implemented either in a single European Union (EU) member state, or in the EU as a whole, is presented. Its feasibility is checked by comparing it with the recent sulphur allowance programme in the USA. The possibility and probability of failures in permit markets are discussed; in particular the conditions under which tradeable carbon permits might bar the entry of potential competitors. Next, it has been analysed how tradeable carbon permits can be combined with taxation of fossil fuels and what the consequences of such combinations are for the international coordination of climate change policy. 3 figs., 3 tabs., 48 refs

[en] In March 1997 the European Commission adopted a proposal that increases existing minimum levels of taxation on mineral oils by around 10 to 25% and introduces excises for other energy products. This paper analyses the macroeconomic impacts of the proposal. It employs three models: HERMES, GEM-E3, and E3ME. All models confirm that the proposal will have positive macroeconomic impacts when the tax revenues are used to reduce social security contributions paid by employers. For the EU as a whole, both GDP and employment are expected to be higher and CO2 emissions are 0.9 to 1.6 percent lower. The positive EU-wide effects can be observed in practically all member states. The sector impacts are modest, with the energy sector expected to face the most negative impacts. Differences between model results are due to the model type (general equilibrium or macro-econometric), the EU countries covered and the way tax exemptions were handled. Crucial assumptions to obtain the 'double dividend' are the modelling of the labour market and the impacts on EU external trade. The sensitivity of the results for the use of tax revenues, tax exemptions and tax rate increases is assessed. 21 refs

No abstract available

[en] The purpose of this paper is to provide a quantitative analysis of innovation and diffusion in the European wind power sector. We derive a simultaneous model of wind power innovation and diffusion, which combines a rational choice model of technological diffusion and a learning curve model of dynamic cost reductions. These models are estimated using pooled annual time series data for four European countries (Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) over the time period 1986-2000. The empirical results indicate that reductions in investment costs have been important determinants of increased diffusion of wind power, and these cost reductions can in turn be explained by learning activities and public R and D support. Feed-in tariffs also play an important role in the innovation and diffusion processes. The higher the feed-in price the higher, ceteris paribus, the rate of diffusion, and we present some preliminary empirical support for the notion that the impact on diffusion of a marginal increase in the feed-in tariff will differ depending on the support system used. High feed-in tariffs, though, also have a negative effect on cost reductions as they induce wind generators to choose high-cost sites and provide fewer incentives for cost cuts. This illustrates the importance of designing an efficient wind energy support system, which not only promotes diffusion but also provides continuous incentives for cost-reducing innovations

[en] In this paper, we analyse the impact of carbon taxes on emission levels, when niche markets exist for new carbon-free technologies, and when these technologies experience 'learning-by-doing' effects. For this purpose, a general equilibrium model has been developed, DEMETER, which specifies two energy technologies: one based on fossil fuels and one on a composite of carbon-free energy technologies. Initially, the carbon-free technology has relatively high production costs, but niche markets ensure positive demand. Learning-by-doing decreases production costs, which increases the market share, which in turn accelerates learning-by-doing, and so forth. This mechanism allows a relatively modest carbon tax, of about 50 US$/tC, to almost stabilise carbon emissions at their 2000 levels throughout the entire 21st century. Sensitivity analysis shows that the required carbon tax for emission stabilisation crucially depends on the elasticity of substitution between the fossil fuel and carbon-free technology

[en] In this paper, we analyse the impact of carbon taxes on emission levels, when niche markets exist for new carbon-free technologies, and when these technologies experience 'learning-by-doing' effects. For this purpose, a general equilibrium model has been developed, DEMETER, that specifies two energy technologies: one based on fossil fuels and one on a composite of carbon-free technologies. Initially, the carbon-free technology has relatively high production costs, but niche markets ensure positive demand. Learning-by-doing decreases production costs, which increases the market share, which in turn accelerates learning-by-doing, and so forth. This mechanism allows a relatively modest carbon tax, of about 50 US$/tC, to almost stabilise carbon emissions at their 2000 levels throughout the entire 21st century. Sensitivity analysis shows that the required carbon tax for emission stabilisation crucially depends on the elasticity of substitution between the fossil-fuel and carbon-free technology