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The Great Carbon Arbitrage

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  • Kleinnijenhuis, Alissa
  • Adrian, Tobias
  • Bolton, Patrick

Abstract

We measure the gains from phasing out coal as the social cost of carbon times the quantity of avoided emissions. By comparing the present value of the benefits from avoided emissions against the present value of costs of ending coal plus the costs of replacing it with renewable energy, our baseline estimate is that the world can realize a net gain of 77.89 trillion USD. This represents around 1.2% of current world GDP every year until 2100. The net benefits from ending coal are so large that renewed efforts, carbon pricing, and other financing policies we discuss, should be pursued. The IMF working paper can be found here: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2022/05/31/The-Great-Carbon-Arbitrage-518464

Suggested Citation

  • Kleinnijenhuis, Alissa & Adrian, Tobias & Bolton, Patrick, 2022. "The Great Carbon Arbitrage," INET Oxford Working Papers 2022-07, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    • Handle: RePEc:amz:wpaper:2022-07
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    Cited by:

    1. O'Connell, Marguerite & Abraham, Laurent & Oleaga, Iñigo Arruga, 2023. "The legal and institutional feasibility of an EU Climate and Energy Security Fund," Occasional Paper Series 313, European Central Bank.
    2. Patrick Bolton & Lee Buchheit & Mitu Gulati & Ugo Panizza & Beatrice Weder & Jeromin Zettelmeyer, 2023. "On Debt and climate," Oxford Open Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 2, pages 307-316.

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