Suchergebnisse

In the last decades supply chains emerged that stretch across many countries. This has been explained with decreasing trade and communication costs. We extend the literature by analyzing if and how unilateral environmental regulation induces offshoring to unregulated jurisdictions. We first apply an analytical partial-equilibrium model of a two-stage production process that can be distributed between two countries and investigate unilateral emission pricing and its supplementation with border carbon taxes. To get a more comprehensive picture, we subsequently apply a computable general equilibrium model that includes a better representation of international supply chains. We find heterogeneous, but mostly positive effects of a unilateral carbon emission reduction by the European Union on the degree of vertical specialisation of European industries and explain these differences by heterogeneity in the emission-intensity and pre-policy vertical specialisation of sectors. Border taxes are successful in protecting upstream industries, but with negative side effects for downstream industries.

In the last decades supply chains emerged that stretch across many countries. This has been explained with decreasing trade and communication costs. We extend the literature by analyzing if and how unilateral environmental regulation induces offshoring to unregulated jurisdictions. We first apply an analytical partial-equilibrium model of a two-stage production process that can be distributed between two countries and investigate unilateral emission pricing and its supplementation with border carbon taxes. To get a more comprehensive picture, we subsequently apply a computable general equilibrium model that includes a better representation of international supply chains. We find heterogeneous, but mostly positive effects of a unilateral carbon emission reduction by the European Union on the degree of vertical specialisation of European industries and explain these differences by heterogeneity in the emission-intensity and pre-policy vertical specialisation of sectors. Border taxes are successful in protecting upstream industries, but with negative side effects for downstream industries.

Current climate and energy policy has to operate under an ex-ante unforeseen economic crisis. An obvious consequence is the collapse of prices for carbon emission allowances as, for example, seen in the European Union. However, this price collapse may be amplified by the interaction of a carbon emission cap and supplementary policy targets such as the minimum shares for renewables in the power sector. The static interaction between climate and renewable policies has been discussed extensively. This paper extends this debate by analysing how uncertain differences in medium to long-run growth rates affect the effciency and effectiveness of a policy portfolio containing an emission trading scheme and a target for a minimum renewable share. Making use of a simple partial equilibrium model we identify an asymmetric interaction of emissions trading and renewable quotas with respect to different growth rates of an economy. The results imply that unintended consequences of the policy interaction may be particularly severe and costly when economic growth is low and that carbon prices are more sensitive to changes in economic growth if they are applied in combination with renewable energy targets. Our main example for the policy interaction is the EU, yet our research also relates particularly well to the uncertainty of economic growth in fast growing emerging economies like China.

In this paper we discuss what needs to be done in a number of key policy areas. Certainly, the EU should focus on fields where benefits for all of Europe can be produced, and should withdraw from policy areas where this is not the case. Furthermore, deeper economic and political integration is required to address future challenges in many important policy areas.

Die vorliegende Arbeit hat die übergeordnete Zielsetzung, Maßnahmenvorschläge im Bereich der Finanzierungs- und Anreizstrukturen für die Umsetzung der nationalen Anpassungsstrategie der Bundesregierung zu machen. Dazu wird der aktuelle Forschungsstand zur Ökonomie des Klimawandels und der Anpassung an den Klimawandel kritisch beleuchtet und eine Übersicht über konkrete Politikinstrumente sowie zu möglichen Kriterien der Bewertung dieser Instrumente erstellt. Mittels einer exemplarischen Multikriterienanalyse werden konkrete Instrumente bewertet und so aufgezeigt, wie dieses Werkzeug in der Politikevaluation angewandt werden könnte. Gleichzeitig wird versucht, das wichtige Kriterium der Kosteneffizienz mit der Weiterentwicklung ökonomischer Modellierungswerkzeuge auf eine besser fundierte Basis zu stellen, ohne dabei die Grenzen dieser Methoden aus den Augen zu verlieren. Daraus werden schließlich Handlungsempfehlungen zur Anpassung bestehender Politikinstrumente abgleitet und praktikable Vorschläge zur Gestaltung neuartiger Instrumente identifiziert. Diese Handlungsempfehlungen berücksichtigen dabei explizit auch die sozialen, ökonomischen und individuellen Barrieren, die eine Implementierung dieser Maßnahmen oft erschweren. Damit soll diese Arbeit einen wichtigen Beitrag in der Weiterentwicklung von Werkzeugen zur Identifikation von praktikablen Politikmaßnahmen zur Förderung der Anpassung an den Klimawandel liefern.