IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ces/ceswps/_7521.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Prices vs. percentages: use of tradable green certificates as an instrument of greenhouse gas mitigation

Author

Listed:
  • Arild Heimvik
  • Eirik S. Amundsen

Abstract

The paper analyzes the problem of achieving a target path of emission reductions in the electricity sector, using a scheme of tradable green certificates (TGC). There are two types of generation, renewable and fossil. The latter causes the emissions. The paper also examines effects from emission regulation on construction of new renewable generation capacity. Outcomes are compared with an emission fee and a subsidy. The analytical results are simulated with a numerical model and social surplus are calculated for the different instruments. Two versions of the percentage requirement are devised for the TGC scheme. Results show that the target path of emission reductions is achievable, but incentives for new renewable generation capacity will be sub-optimal, regardless of the version of the percentage requirement. The TGC scheme is neither the most accurate nor the most cost-efficient, instrument but it does lead to a smaller reduction of social surplus than a subsidy.

Suggested Citation

  • Arild Heimvik & Eirik S. Amundsen, 2019. "Prices vs. percentages: use of tradable green certificates as an instrument of greenhouse gas mitigation," CESifo Working Paper Series 7521, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7521
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp7521.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin L. Weitzman, 1974. "Prices vs. Quantities," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 41(4), pages 477-491.
    2. Susanne Dröge & Philipp Schröder, 2005. "How to Turn an Industry Green: Taxes versus Subsidies," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 177-202, November.
    3. Morthorst, P. E., 2001. "Interactions of a tradable green certificate market with a tradable permits market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 345-353, April.
    4. Fell, Harrison & MacKenzie, Ian A. & Pizer, William A., 2012. "Prices versus quantities versus bankable quantities," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 607-623.
    5. Aune, Finn Roar & Dalen, Hanne Marit & Hagem, Cathrine, 2012. "Implementing the EU renewable target through green certificate markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 992-1000.
    6. Eirik Amundsen & Fridrik Baldursson & Jørgen Mortensen, 2006. "Price Volatility and Banking in Green Certificate Markets," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 35(4), pages 259-287, December.
    7. Pizer, William A., 2002. "Combining price and quantity controls to mitigate global climate change," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(3), pages 409-434, September.
    8. Amundsen, Eirik S. & Mortensen, Jorgen Birk, 2001. "The Danish Green Certificate System: some simple analytical results," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(5), pages 489-509, September.
    9. Hoel, Michael & Karp, Larry, 2001. "Taxes and quotas for a stock pollutant with multiplicative uncertainty," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(1), pages 91-114, October.
    10. Unger, Thomas & Ahlgren, Erik O., 2005. "Impacts of a common green certificate market on electricity and CO2-emission markets in the Nordic countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(16), pages 2152-2163, November.
    11. Richard Green, 2005. "Electricity and Markets," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 21(1), pages 67-87, Spring.
    12. Fischer, Carolyn & Newell, Richard G., 2008. "Environmental and technology policies for climate mitigation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 142-162, March.
    13. 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.
    14. Torstein Bye, 2003. "On the Price and Volume Effects from Green Certificates in the Energy Market," Discussion Papers 351, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    15. Amundsen, E.S. & Mortensen, J.B., 2001. "The Danish Green Certificate System: Some Simple Analytical Results," Norway; Department of Economics, University of Bergen 226, Department of Economics, University of Bergen.
    16. Palmer, Karen & Burtraw, Dallas, 2005. "Cost-effectiveness of renewable electricity policies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 873-894, November.
    17. 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.
    18. Eirik S. Amundsen and Torstein Bye, 2018. "Simultaneous use of black, green, and white certificate systems," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4).
    19. Amundsen, Eirik S. & Andersen, Peder & Mortensen, Jørgen Birk, 2018. "Addressing the climate problem: Choice between allowances, feed-in tariffs and taxes," Working Papers in Economics 3/18, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    20. Stavins, Robert N., 1996. "Correlated Uncertainty and Policy Instrument Choice," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 218-232, March.
    21. Christoph Böhringer & Knut Rosendahl, 2010. "Green promotes the dirtiest: on the interaction between black and green quotas in energy markets," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 316-325, June.
    22. Georg Meran & Nadine Wittmann, 2012. "Green, Brown, and Now White Certificates: Are Three One Too Many? A Micro-Model of Market Interaction," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 53(4), pages 507-532, December.
    23. Carolyn Fischer, 2010. "Renewable Portfolio Standards: When Do They Lower Energy Prices?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1), pages 101-120.
    24. Eirik S. Amundsen & Peder Andersen & Jørgen Birk Mortensen, 2018. "Addressing the Climate Problem: Choice between Allowances, Feed-in Tariffs and Taxes," CESifo Working Paper Series 6926, CESifo.
    25. Amundsen, Eirik S. & Mortensen, Jorgen Birk, 2002. "Erratum to "The Danish Green Certificate System: some simple analytical results": [Energy Economics 23 (2001) 489-509]," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 523-524, September.
    26. Cameron Hepburn, 2006. "Regulation by Prices, Quantities, or Both: A Review of Instrument Choice," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 22(2), pages 226-247, Summer.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Heimvik, Arild & Amundsen, Eirik S., 2019. "Prices vs. percentages: Use of tradable green certificates as an instrument of greenhouse gas mitigation," Working Papers in Economics 1/19, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    2. Heimvik, Arild & Amundsen, Eirik S., 2021. "Prices vs. percentages: Use of tradable green certificates as an instrument of greenhouse gas mitigation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Jägemann, Cosima & Fürsch, Michaela & Hagspiel, Simeon & Nagl, Stephan, 2013. "Decarbonizing Europe's power sector by 2050 — Analyzing the economic implications of alternative decarbonization pathways," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 622-636.
    4. Thomas P. Tangerås, 2015. "Renewable Electricity Policy and Market Integration," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4).
    5. Aune, Finn Roar & Dalen, Hanne Marit & Hagem, Cathrine, 2012. "Implementing the EU renewable target through green certificate markets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 992-1000.
    6. Lecuyer, Oskar & Quirion, Philippe, 2013. "Can uncertainty justify overlapping policy instruments to mitigate emissions?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 177-191.
    7. Fridolfsson, Sven-Olof & Tangerås, Thomas P., 2013. "A reexamination of renewable electricity policy in Sweden," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 57-63.
    8. Samuel Fankhauser & Cameron Hepburn & Jisung Park, 2010. "Combining Multiple Climate Policy Instruments: How Not To Do It," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(03), pages 209-225.
    9. Rohling, Moritz & Ohndorf, Markus, 2012. "Prices vs. Quantities with fiscal cushioning," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 169-187.
    10. Amundsen, Eirik Schrøder & Bye, Torstein, 2016. "Simultaneous use of black, green, and white certificates systems: A rather messy business," Working Papers in Economics 06/16, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    11. Florian Habermacher & Paul Lehmann, 2017. "Commitment vs. Discretion in Climate and Energy Policy," CESifo Working Paper Series 6355, CESifo.
    12. Ciarreta, Aitor & Espinosa, Maria Paz & Pizarro-Irizar, Cristina, 2017. "Optimal regulation of renewable energy: A comparison of Feed-in Tariffs and Tradable Green Certificates in the Spanish electricity system," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 387-399.
    13. Eirik S. Amundsen & Peder Andersen & Jørgen Birk Mortensen, 2018. "Addressing the Climate Problem: Choice between Allowances, Feed-in Tariffs and Taxes," CESifo Working Paper Series 6926, CESifo.
    14. Eirik S. Amundsen & Torstein Bye, 2016. "Simultaneous use of black, green, and white certificates systems: A rather messy business," IFRO Working Paper 2016/03, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    15. Joseph E. Aldy & Alan J. Krupnick & Richard G. Newell & Ian W. H. Parry & William A. Pizer, 2010. "Designing Climate Mitigation Policy," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(4), pages 903-934, December.
    16. Christoph Böhringer & Manuela Behrens, 2015. "Interactions of emission caps and renewable electricity support schemes," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 48(1), pages 74-96, August.
    17. Amundsen, Eirik S. & Andersen, Peder & Mortensen, Jørgen Birk, 2018. "Addressing the climate problem: Choice between allowances, feed-in tariffs and taxes," Working Papers in Economics 3/18, University of Bergen, Department of Economics.
    18. Wolfgang, Ove & Jaehnert, Stefan & Mo, Birger, 2015. "Methodology for forecasting in the Swedish–Norwegian market for el-certificates," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 322-333.
    19. Martin Zapf & Hermann Pengg & Christian Weindl, 2019. "How to Comply with the Paris Agreement Temperature Goal: Global Carbon Pricing According to Carbon Budgets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-20, August.
    20. Reinhard Madlener & Weiyu Gao & Ilja Neustadt & Peter Zweifel, 2008. "Promoting renewable electricity generation in imperfect markets: price vs. quantity policies," SOI - Working Papers 0809, Socioeconomic Institute - University of Zurich.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    emission regulation; energy policy; green certificates; Pigouvian taxes; subsidies;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C70 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - General
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ces:ceswps:_7521. 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: Klaus Wohlrabe (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cesifde.html .

    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.