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Federal Coal Program Reform, the Clean Power Plan, and the Interaction of Upstream and Downstream Climate Policies

Author

Listed:
  • Todd D. Gerarden
  • W. Spencer Reeder
  • James H. Stock

Abstract

Can supply-side environmental policies that limit the extraction of fossil fuels reduce CO2 emissions? This paper studies interactions between a specific supply-side policy—a carbon surcharge on federal coal royalties—and regulation of emissions from the power sector under the Clean Air Act. Estimates from a detailed dynamic model of the power sector suggest that, absent new downstream regulation, a royalty surcharge equal to the social cost of carbon would generate three-quarters of the emissions reductions originally projected for the Clean Power Plan (CPP), with an average abatement cost roughly equal to the social cost of carbon. Were the CPP in place, the royalty surcharge would reduce emissions by reducing leakage and causing the CPP to be nonbinding in some scenarios.

Suggested Citation

  • Todd D. Gerarden & W. Spencer Reeder & James H. Stock, 2020. "Federal Coal Program Reform, the Clean Power Plan, and the Interaction of Upstream and Downstream Climate Policies," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 167-199, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejpol:v:12:y:2020:i:1:p:167-99
    DOI: 10.1257/pol.20160246
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    Cited by:

    1. Prest, Brian C., 2022. "Partners, Not Rivals: The Power of Parallel Supply-Side and Demand-Side Climate Policy," RFF Reports 22-06, Resources for the Future.
    2. Prest, Brian C. & Stock, James H., 2023. "Climate royalty surcharges," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    3. Böhringer, Christoph & Rosendahl, Knut Einar, 2022. "Europe beyond coal – An economic and climate impact assessment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    4. Nathan Ratledge & Laura Zachary & Chase Huntley, 2022. "Emissions from fossil fuels produced on US federal lands and waters present opportunities for climate mitigation," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 1-8, March.
    5. Brett Watson & Ian Lange & Joshua Linn, 2023. "Coal demand, market forces, and U.S. coal mine closures," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 61(1), pages 35-57, January.
    6. Michael Lazarus & Harro van Asselt, 2018. "Fossil fuel supply and climate policy: exploring the road less taken," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 1-13, September.
    7. Mei Lu & Michael G. Pollitt & Ke Wang & Yi-Ming Wei, 2023. "The incremental impact of China’s carbon trading pilots," Working Papers EPRG2316, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    8. Lassi Ahlvik & Jørgen Juel Andersen & Jonas Hveding Hamang & Torfinn Harding, 2022. "Quantifying supply-side climate policies," Working Papers No 01/2022, Centre for Applied Macro- and Petroleum economics (CAMP), BI Norwegian Business School.
    9. Zhang, Duan & Chen, Yihsu & Tanaka, Makoto, 2018. "On the effectiveness of tradable performance-based standards," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 456-469.
    10. Grischa Perino & Robert A. Ritz & Arthur van Benthem, 2019. "Overlapping Climate Policies," NBER Working Papers 25643, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Lu & Pollitt, M. G. & Wang, K. & Wei, Y-M., 2023. "The Incremental Impact of China's Carbon," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2349, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    12. Peszko,Grzegorz & Van Der Mensbrugghe,Dominique & Golub,Alexander Alexandrovich, 2020. "Diversification and Cooperation Strategies in a Decarbonizing World," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9315, The World Bank.
    13. Kacker, Kanishka & Lange, Ian, 2022. "Inter-regional coal mine competition in the US: Evidence from rail restrictions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    14. Sun, Wen & Hao, Xinyu & Zhang, Xiaoling, 2024. "Climate policy interactions: Capturing game signals in carbon markets," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    15. Kenneth T. Gillingham & Marten Ovaere & Stephanie M. Weber, 2025. "Carbon Policy and the Emissions Implications of Electric Vehicles," Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(2), pages 313-352.
    16. Bielen, David A., 2018. "Do differentiated performance standards help coal? CO2 policy in the U.S. electricity sector," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 79-100.
    17. Peter Erickson & Michael Lazarus, 2018. "Would constraining US fossil fuel production affect global CO2 emissions? A case study of US leasing policy," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 29-42, September.
    18. Bergholt, Drago & Røisland, Øistein & Sveen, Tommy & Torvik, Ragnar, 2023. "Monetary policy when export revenues drop," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    19. Prest, Brian C., 2020. "Supply-Side Reforms to Oil and Gas Production on Federal Lands: Modeling the Implications for Climate Emissions, Revenues, and Production Shifts," RFF Working Paper Series 20-16, Resources for the Future.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q35 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Hydrocarbon Resources
    • Q38 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Nonrenewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy (includes OPEC Policy)
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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