Alberta's CO2 Reduction Strategy - Assessing the Environmental Integrity of Emissions Trading Schemes
Date
2014-03
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Canadian Institute of Resources Law
Abstract
National and regional emission trading schemes (ETSs) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions represent an essential policy response to climate change around the world. Witnessing a proliferation of carbon pricing schemes in different jurisdictions, the possibility of further reducing compliance costs by allowing allowances to be traded, not just within, the systems become reality. This is commonly referred as linking the systems. This process is not risk-free; as a matter of fact ill-considered links may be counter-productive, to the point that they might undercut the efforts to reduce GHG emissions. This paper signals the need to identify such ill links and points out the danger zones when linking ETSs. The paper proposes a criteria-based analysis in order to determine the degree of environmental integrity.
Description
This report was prepared as part of a research project on “The Changing Nature of Regulation in Alberta: Implications for the Public”, funded by the Alberta Law Foundation.
Keywords
CO2 Reduction Strategy
Citation
CIRL Occasional Paper #45 (Calgary: Canadian Institute of Resources Law, 2014)