IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/reggov/v6y2012i4p524-544.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Market making via regulation: The role of the state in carbon markets

Author

Listed:
  • Markus Lederer

Abstract

Proponents as well as critics of carbon trading underestimate the institutional and political underpinnings of evolving carbon markets. Based on institutionalist approaches, this paper argues that the strong embeddedness of carbon markets explains why certain characteristics (positive and negative) materialize. Focusing on the actors who initiate and who influence carbon markets, this article also shows that currently only states and intergovernmental agreements provide the necessary regulation for carbon markets to exist and to work. Today, neither market actors nor NGOs nor public private partnerships have the political power to set up, regulate or capture evolving market structures. Thus, whether or not market‐based instruments bring about the desired results depends on good public regulation, which is – at least up to now – represented by the state. Four instances of the commodification of carbon serve as illustrations: the European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS); the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM); the voluntary market; and new sectoral approaches, particularly Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+).

Suggested Citation

  • Markus Lederer, 2012. "Market making via regulation: The role of the state in carbon markets," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(4), pages 524-544, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:reggov:v:6:y:2012:i:4:p:524-544
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-5991.2012.01145.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-5991.2012.01145.x
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1748-5991.2012.01145.x?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stern,Nicholas, 2007. "The Economics of Climate Change," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521700801, September.
    2. Ruggie, John Gerard, 1982. "International regimes, transactions, and change: embedded liberalism in the postwar economic order," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 36(2), pages 379-415, April.
    3. 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.
    4. Joyeeta Gupta & Lasse Ringius, 2001. "The EU's Climate Leadership: Reconciling Ambition and Reality," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 1(2), pages 281-299, April.
    5. Green Jessica F, 2010. "Private Standards in the Climate Regime: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol," Business and Politics, De Gruyter, vol. 12(3), pages 1-39, October.
    6. Michael Grubb & Karsten Neuhoff, 2006. "Allocation and competitiveness in the EU emissions trading scheme: policy overview," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 7-30, January.
    7. Williamson, Oliver E, 1991. "Economic Institutions: Spontaneous and Intentional Governance," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 7(0), pages 159-187, Special I.
    8. Green, Jessica F., 2010. "Private Standards in the Climate Regime: The Greenhouse Gas Protocol," Business and Politics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(3), pages 1-37, October.
    9. Callon, Michel, 2009. "Civilizing markets: Carbon trading between in vitro and in vivo experiments," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(3-4), pages 535-548, April.
    10. Adam G. Bumpus & Diana M. Liverman, 2008. "Accumulation by Decarbonization and the Governance of Carbon Offsets," Economic Geography, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 84(2), pages 127-155, April.
    11. Adam G. Bumpus & Diana M. Liverman, 2008. "Accumulation by Decarbonization and the Governance of Carbon Offsets," Economic Geography, Clark University, vol. 84(2), pages 127-155, April.
    12. Jørgen Wettestad, 2005. "The Making of the 2003 EU Emissions Trading Directive: An Ultra-Quick Process due to Entrepreneurial Proficiency?," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 5(1), pages 1-23, February.
    13. Spash, Clive L., 2009. "The Brave New World of Carbon Trading," MPRA Paper 19114, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. MacKenzie, Donald, 2009. "Making things the same: Gases, emission rights and the politics of carbon markets," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 34(3-4), pages 440-455, April.
    15. Emma Lund, 2010. "Dysfunctional delegation: why the design of the CDM's supervisory system is fundamentally flawed," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(3), pages 277-288, May.
    16. Hall, Peter A. & Taylor, Rosemary C. R., 1996. "Political science and the three new institutionalisms," MPIfG Discussion Paper 96/6, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    17. Ha-Joon Chang, 2002. "Breaking the mould: an institutionalist political economy alternative to the neo-liberal theory of the market and the state," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 26(5), pages 539-559, September.
    18. Hoffmann, Matthew J., 2011. "Climate Governance at the Crossroads: Experimenting with a Global Response after Kyoto," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195390087.
    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. Sharma, Kavita & Walters, Gretchen & Metzger, Marc J. & Ghazoul, Jaboury, 2023. "Glocal woodlands – The rescaling of forest governance in Scotland," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).

    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. Spash, Clive L. & Theine, Hendrik, 2016. "Voluntary Individual Carbon Trading," SRE-Discussion Papers 2016/04, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business.
      • Clive L. Spash & Hendrik Theine, 2016. "Voluntary Individual Carbon Trading," SRE-Disc sre-disc-2016_04, Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    2. Lauren Gifford, 2020. "“You can’t value what you can’t measure”: a critical look at forest carbon accounting," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 291-306, July.
    3. Mark H Cooper, 2015. "Measure for measure? Commensuration, commodification, and metrology in emissions markets and beyond," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 47(9), pages 1787-1804, September.
    4. Jayme Walenta, 2020. "Climate risk assessments and science‐based targets: A review of emerging private sector climate action tools," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(2), March.
    5. Janina Grabs & Graeme Auld & Benjamin Cashore, 2021. "Private regulation, public policy, and the perils of adverse ontological selection," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(4), pages 1183-1208, October.
    6. Jason Thistlethwaite & Matthew Paterson, 2016. "Private governance and accounting for sustainability networks," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 34(7), pages 1197-1221, November.
    7. Anderson, Blake & M'Gonigle, Michael, 2012. "Does ecological economics have a future?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 37-48.
    8. Shaozeng Zhang, 2017. "From externality in economics to leakage in carbon markets: An anthropological approach to market making," Economic Anthropology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(1), pages 132-143, January.
    9. Brett Christophers & Patrick Bigger & Leigh Johnson, 2020. "Stretching scales? Risk and sociality in climate finance," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(1), pages 88-110, February.
    10. Svenja Keele, 2019. "Consultants and the business of climate services: implications of shifting from public to private science," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 157(1), pages 9-26, November.
    11. Nicolas Schmid & Leonore Haelg & Sebastian Sewerin & Tobias S. Schmidt & Irina Simmen, 2021. "Governing complex societal problems: The impact of private on public regulation through technological change," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(3), pages 840-855, July.
    12. Francisco Ascui & Heather Lovell, 2011. "As frames collide: making sense of carbon accounting," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(8), pages 978-999, October.
    13. Eva Lövbrand & Johannes Stripple, 2012. "Disrupting the Public–Private Distinction: Excavating the Government of Carbon Markets Post-Copenhagen," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 30(4), pages 658-674, August.
    14. MacKerron, George J. & Egerton, Catrin & Gaskell, Christopher & Parpia, Aimie & Mourato, Susana, 2009. "Willingness to pay for carbon offset certification and co-benefits among (high-)flying young adults in the UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 1372-1381, April.
    15. Burke, Joshua & Gambhir, Ajay, 2022. "Policy incentives for greenhouse gas removal techniques: the risks of premature inclusion in carbon markets and the need for a multi-pronged policy framework," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115010, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    16. Esteve Corbera & Katrina Brown, 2010. "Offsetting Benefits? Analyzing Access to Forest Carbon," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(7), pages 1739-1761, July.
    17. Chua, Wai Fong & Fiedler, Tanya & Boedker, Christina, 2024. "Projecting, infrastructuring and calculating: From an In vitro to an In vivo carbon market," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    18. Evangelia Apostolopoulou & Elisa Greco & William M Adams, 2019. "Biodiversity Offsetting and the Production of 'Equivalent Natures': A Marxist Critique," Post-Print halshs-02441026, HAL.
    19. Sam Hartmann & Sebastian Thomas, 2020. "Applying Blockchain to the Australian Carbon Market," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 39(2), pages 133-151, June.
    20. Wim Carton & Adeniyi Asiyanbi & Silke Beck & Holly J. Buck & Jens F. Lund, 2020. "Negative emissions and the long history of carbon removal," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(6), November.

    More about this item

    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:wly:reggov:v:6:y:2012:i:4:p:524-544. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1111/(ISSN)1748-5991 .

    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.