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A Carbon Price Floor in the Reformed EU ETS: Design Matters!

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  • Hintermayer, Martin

Abstract

Despite the reform of the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), discussions about complementing it with a carbon price floor (CPF) are ongoing. This paper analyzes the effect of a European CPF in the reformed EU ETS using a Hotelling model of the EU ETS, amended by the market stability reserve (MSR), and the cancellation mechanism. Two CPF designs are compared: (1) a buyback program and (2) a top-up tax. The buyback program sets a minimum price for the allowances from the implementation year onwards. After the announcement, firms anticipate the CPF, which immediately increases the carbon price to the discounted CPF level. Therefore, firms emit less and bank more allowances, leading to more intake into the MSR, and more cancellation of allowances. The top-up tax imposes a tax on emissions, which enhances the market price of allowances to the CPF level from the implementation year onwards. Firms increase their short-run emissions in anticipation of the upcoming tax. Only after the implementation year firms start to lower their emissions. Thus, the effect on aggregate cancellation is ambiguous. Despite being equivalent in a static setting, the design choice for the CPF matters in a dynamic context, such as the EU ETS.

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  • Hintermayer, Martin, 2020. "A Carbon Price Floor in the Reformed EU ETS: Design Matters!," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224576, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc20:224576
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    3. Feng, Huchen & Hu, Yu-Jie & Li, Chengjiang & Wang, Honglei, 2023. "Rolling horizon optimisation strategy and initial carbon allowance allocation model to reduce carbon emissions in the power industry: Case of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    4. Schmidt, Lukas, 2020. "Puncturing the Waterbed or the New Green Paradox? The Effectiveness of Overlapping Policies in the EU ETS under Perfect Foresight and Myopia," EWI Working Papers 2020-7, Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI).
    5. Aslan, Aydin & Posch, Peter N., 2022. "Does carbon price volatility affect European stock market sectors? A connectedness network analysis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    6. Iva Ridjan Skov & Noémi Schneider & Gerald Schweiger & Josef-Peter Schöggl & Alfred Posch, 2021. "Power-to-X in Denmark: An Analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-14, February.
    7. Giacomo Di Foggia & Massimo Beccarello & Ugo Arrigo, 2023. "Assessment of the European Emissions Trading System’s Impact on Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    8. Ohlendorf, Nils & Flachsland, Christian & Nemet, Gregory F. & Steckel, Jan Christoph, 2022. "Carbon price floors and low-carbon investment: A survey of German firms," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    9. Song, Yazhi & Liu, Tiansen & Li, Yin & Zhu, Yue & Ye, Bin, 2022. "Paths and policy adjustments for improving carbon-market liquidity in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    10. Li Meng & Ke Wang & Taoyong Su & He He, 2022. "Carbon Emission Trading and Corporate Financing: Evidence from China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-13, July.
    11. Salant, Stephen & Shobe, William & Uler, Neslihan, 2022. "The effects of “nonbinding” price floors," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    12. Hao, Xinyu & Sun, Wen & Zhang, Xiaoling, 2023. "How does a scarcer allowance remake the carbon market? An evolutionary game analysis from the perspective of stakeholders," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Intertemporal Emission Trading; Carbon Price Floor; EU ETS;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • H32 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Firm
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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