IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v133y2019ics0301421519304367.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decoupling the EU ETS from subsidized renewables and other demand side effects: lessons from the impact of the EU ETS on CO2 emissions in the German electricity sector

Author

Listed:
  • Schäfer, Sebastian

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of the EU ETS on CO2 reduction in the German electricity sector. We find an ETS-induced emission abatement which is not exceeding 6% of total emissions with a maximum already in 2010. Thereafter the ETS has not induced additional reductions. This outcome corresponds to the recent debate about sub-optimal performance of the EU ETS caused by excessive allowances. Following up on this we develop a unilateral flexible cap to eliminate demand side effects which lead to excessive allowances. The unilateral flexible cap is based on emission intensities. Using the works of Newell and Pizer (2008); Sue Wing et al. (2009) we prove that an intensity-based emission cap is advantageous in the German electricity sector when compared to an absolute cap. An ex-post analysis shows that the amount of excessive allowances resulting from the economic crisis during the second trading period could have been significantly lowered with a unilateral flexible cap. This approach also decouples the EU ETS from a simultaneous promotion of renewable energy.

Suggested Citation

  • Schäfer, Sebastian, 2019. "Decoupling the EU ETS from subsidized renewables and other demand side effects: lessons from the impact of the EU ETS on CO2 emissions in the German electricity sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:133:y:2019:i:c:s0301421519304367
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.066
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421519304367
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.066?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Perthuis, Christian & Trotignon, Raphael, 2014. "Governance of CO2 markets: Lessons from the EU ETS," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 100-106.
    2. Tim Laing & Misato Sato & Michael Grubb & Claudia Comberti, 2013. "Assessing the effectiveness of the EU Emissions Trading System," GRI Working Papers 106, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    3. Rathmann, M., 2007. "Do support systems for RES-E reduce EU-ETS-driven electricity prices?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 342-349, January.
    4. Andreas Schröder & Friedrich Kunz & Jan Meiss & Roman Mendelevitch & Christian von Hirschhausen, 2013. "Current and Prospective Costs of Electricity Generation until 2050," Data Documentation 68, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    5. Barry Anderson & Corrado Di Maria, 2011. "Abatement and Allocation in the Pilot Phase of the EU ETS," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 48(1), pages 83-103, January.
    6. Newell, Richard G. & Pizer, William A., 2003. "Regulating stock externalities under uncertainty," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(2, Supple), pages 416-432, March.
    7. repec:dau:papers:123456789/13539 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Paul, Anthony & Myers, Erica & Palmer, Karen, 2009. "A Partial Adjustment Model of U.S. Electricity Demand by Region, Season, and Sector," RFF Working Paper Series dp-08-50, Resources for the Future.
    9. Quirion, Philippe, 2005. "Does uncertainty justify intensity emission caps?," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 343-353, November.
    10. Jake Schmidt & Ned Helme & Jin Lee & Mark Houdashelt, 2008. "Sector-based approach to the post-2012 climate change policy architecture," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(5), pages 494-515, September.
    11. Boonekamp, Piet G.M., 2007. "Price elasticities, policy measures and actual developments in household energy consumption - A bottom up analysis for the Netherlands," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(2), pages 133-157, March.
    12. Bel, Germà & Joseph, Stephan, 2015. "Emission abatement: Untangling the impacts of the EU ETS and the economic crisis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 531-539.
    13. Frank Convery, 2009. "Origins and Development of the EU ETS," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 43(3), pages 391-412, July.
    14. Richstein, Jörn C. & Chappin, Émile J.L. & de Vries, Laurens J., 2015. "Adjusting the CO2 cap to subsidised RES generation: Can CO2 prices be decoupled from renewable policy?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 693-702.
    15. Easwaran Narassimhan & Kelly S. Gallagher & Stefan Koester & Julio Rivera Alejo, 2018. "Carbon pricing in practice: a review of existing emissions trading systems," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(8), pages 967-991, September.
    16. repec:dau:papers:123456789/10174 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Jensen, Stine Grenaa & Skytte, Klaus, 2003. "Simultaneous attainment of energy goals by means of green certificates and emission permits," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 63-71, January.
    18. Rüdiger Pethig & Christian Wittlich, 2009. "Interaction of Carbon Reduction and Green Energy Promotion in a Small Fossil-Fuel Importing Economy," CESifo Working Paper Series 2749, CESifo.
    19. Rogge, Karoline S. & Schneider, Malte & Hoffmann, Volker H., 2011. "The innovation impact of the EU Emission Trading System -- Findings of company case studies in the German power sector," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 513-523, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Linn, Joshua, 2023. "Emissions Standards and Electric Vehicle Targets for Passenger Vehicles," RFF Working Paper Series 23-05, Resources for the Future.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sebastian Schaefer, 2018. "Decoupling the EU ETS from subsidized renewables and other demand side effects Lessons from the impact of the EU ETS on CO2 emissions in the German electricity sector," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201835, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    2. Marcin Rabe & Dalia Streimikiene & Yuriy Bilan, 2019. "EU Carbon Emissions Market Development and Its Impact on Penetration of Renewables in the Power Sector," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Sebastian Schaefer, 2018. "Subsidizing Renewable Energy: Higher Welfare by lower depreciation costs for fossil power plants?," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201834, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    4. Xavier Timbeau & Pawel Wiejski, 2017. "EU ETS-broken beyond repair ? An analysis based on FASTER principles," Sciences Po publications 24, Sciences Po.
    5. Frédéric Branger & Oskar Lecuyer & Philippe Quirion, 2013. "The European Union Emissions Trading System : should we throw the flagship out with the bathwater ?," Working Papers hal-00866408, HAL.
    6. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/3rqefhgkm689ibvcj2hnil8dho is not listed on IDEAS
    7. del Río, Pablo, 2017. "Why does the combination of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and a renewable energy target makes economic sense?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 824-834.
    8. Borghesi, Simone & Flori, Andrea, 2018. "EU ETS facets in the net: Structure and evolution of the EU ETS network," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 602-635.
    9. Pablo Río, 2014. "On evaluating success in complex policy mixes: the case of renewable energy support schemes," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 47(3), pages 267-287, September.
    10. Ren, Shenggang & Hu, Yucai & Zheng, Jingjing & Wang, Yangjie, 2020. "Emissions trading and firm innovation: Evidence from a natural experiment in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    11. Lecuyer, Oskar & Quirion, Philippe, 2013. "Can uncertainty justify overlapping policy instruments to mitigate emissions?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 177-191.
    12. Wang, Feng & Liu, Xiying & Nguyen, Tue Anh, 2018. "Evaluating the economic impacts and feasibility of China's energy cap: Based on an Analytic General Equilibrium Model," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 114-126.
    13. Jianfeng Guo & Bin Su & Guang Yang & Lianyong Feng & Yinpeng Liu & Fu Gu, 2018. "How Do Verified Emissions Announcements Affect the Comoves between Trading Behaviors and Carbon Prices? Evidence from EU ETS," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
    14. Sæther, Simen Rostad, 2021. "Climate policy choices: An empirical study of the effects on the OECD and BRICS power sector emission intensity," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 499-515.
    15. Marit Klemetsen & Knut Einar Rosendahl & Anja Lund Jakobsen, 2020. "The Impacts Of The Eu Ets On Norwegian Plants’ Environmental And Economic Performance," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 11(01), pages 1-32, February.
    16. Sato, Misato & Rafaty, Ryan & Calel, Raphael & Grubb, Michael, 2022. "Allocation, allocation, allocation! The political economy of the development of the European Union Emissions Trading System," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115431, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    17. Sebastian Schaefer, 2018. "Reconciling Emissions Trading and the Promotion of Renewable Energy," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201836, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    18. Fischer, Carolyn & Preonas, Louis, 2010. "Combining Policies for Renewable Energy: Is the Whole Less Than the Sum of Its Parts?," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 4(1), pages 51-92, June.
    19. Simon Quemin & Raphael Trotignon, 2018. "Competitive Permit Storage and Market Design: An Application to the EU-ETS," Working Papers 2018.19, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    20. Joltreau, Eugénie & Sommerfeld, Katrin, 2016. "Why does emissions trading under the EU ETS not affect firms' competitiveness? Empirical findings from the literature," ZEW Discussion Papers 16-062, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    21. Lehmann, Paul & Gawel, Erik, 2013. "Why should support schemes for renewable electricity complement the EU emissions trading scheme?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 597-607.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:133:y:2019:i:c:s0301421519304367. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.