Climate agreements: Emission quotas versus technology policies

Arbeitspapier

The Kyoto Agreement is the result of international negotiations over many years. However, because of a number of weaknesses, different sorts of climate agreement have been suggested: for example, coordinated R&D activities that reduce abatement costs for all firms. We will compare an agreement focusing only on emissions (a Kyoto type of agreement) with an agreement focusing only on technology, assuming that the costs of abatement are affected by R&D in all firms through technology spillovers. In an emissions agreement, emissions should be restricted to the extent that the carbon price exceeds the Pigovian level. For sufficiently low technology spillovers, an emissions agreement is more efficient than a technology agreement specifying an R&D subsidy to be imposed on all firms in all countries. The opposite may hold if technology spillovers are sufficiently large. Finally, an alternative technology agreement specifying R&D expenditure in each country is more efficient than an agreement specifying an R&D subsidy.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Memorandum ; No. 2006,21

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Taxation and Subsidies: Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies ; Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights: General ; Renewable Resources and Conservation: General ; Renewable Resources and Conservation: Government Policy ; Energy: Government Policy
• Subject: climate policy ; international climate agreements ; R&D policy ; technology spillovers ; Klimaschutz ; Umweltabkommen ; Forschungs- und Technologiepolitik ; Emissionsrechte ; Spillover-Effekt ; Theorie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Golombek, Rolf ; Hoel, Michael
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): University of Oslo, Department of Economics
• (where): Oslo
• (when): 2006

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/63209
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET