New model for pricing carbon will help meet net-zero climate change
goals
Near-term to net zero pricing approach avoids pitfalls of the social cost
of carbon

Date:
August 17, 2020
Source:
Earth Institute at Columbia University
Summary:
In a new article, researchers introduce a new approach for pricing
carbon: Near-term to Net Zero.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
An article released today by researchers at Columbia University's Center
on Global Energy Policy in the journal Nature Climate Change introduces a
new approach for pricing carbon -- Near-term to Net Zero. As policymakers
and advocates increasingly focus on net-zero emissions by midcentury,
the Near-term to Net Zero approach is a method of setting carbon prices
that could ensure net-zero emissions goals are met as one piece of comprehensive climate policies.


==========================================================================
A carbon price is a fee on carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere
that is unique in encouraging emissions reductions wherever and however
they can be achieved at a low cost. How much to charge for each ton
of emissions is perhaps the most crucial element of a carbon pricing
policy. Economists have long focused on the social cost of carbon to
calculate "correct" carbon prices because, in theory, it balances the
benefits and costs of emissions reductions.

The article highlights how the social cost of carbon, however, cannot
be estimated with sufficient precision to provide any practical value
to policymakers setting carbon prices.

The Near-term to Net Zero approach estimates the carbon prices needed
for consistency with a pathway to a net-zero emissions target, or the
point where the overall balance between emissions produced and emissions
taken out of the atmosphere equals zero. It uses the reliable information
we have now and avoids the uncertainties of long-term changes we can't
predict.

"The social cost of carbon is a useful concept, but the risks of climate
change are far too complex for credible comprehensive damage estimates,"
said lead author Noah Kaufman, a research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy.

"Near-term to Net Zero enables policymakers to use both climate science
and economics to chart an effective and efficient pathway to net-zero emissions." By pairing a net-zero emissions target with policies that
can rapidly reduce emissions right away, the Near-term to Net Zero
approach aligns with current climate policy discussions in the United
States and the world. Carbon pricing developed using the Near-term to
Net Zero approach complements the investments and other policy tools
needed to constrain global warming from rising beyond dangerous levels,
said Kaufman.

The article provides illustrative estimates for Near-term to Net Zero
carbon prices for the United States assuming three possible net-zero
targets: 2040, 2050, and 2060. The energy model GCAM-USA is used to
estimate carbon prices over the next 10 years needed to follow a straight
line pathway to those goals, assuming that the carbon price is combined
with complementary policies that address separate market failures: energy-efficiency policies, air-pollution regulations, and early-stage
support for the deployment of low-carbon technologies.

Near-term to Net Zero carbon prices in 2025, are $32, $52 and $93 per
metric ton (in 2018 dollars) for net-zero targets in 2060, 2050, and
2040, respectively.

"There's no debate about the fact that climate change is happening
now, and reducing our contribution to a warming planet is critical to
our efforts to avoid the worst impacts of climate change," said Jason
Bordoff, professor of practice in Columbia's School of International
and Public Affairs, and founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy. "This important research gives us another tool in the toolbox to
figure out how we can get to net-zero as quickly as possible, and no later
than 2050, by setting a price on carbon that, along with complementary policies, discourages continued pollution and creates incentives for
innovation to deliver the clean energy the world needs."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
Earth_Institute_at_Columbia_University. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Noah Kaufman, Alexander R. Barron, Wojciech Krawczyk, Peter
Marsters,
Haewon McJeon. A near-term to net zero alternative to the social
cost of carbon for setting carbon prices. Nature Climate Change,
2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41558-020-0880-3 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200817123101.htm

--- up 4 weeks, 5 days, 1 hour, 55 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1337:3/111)