Links: Global Issue 1 Platform Debate on Carbon Policy

This page provides links to various web pages related to the issue of economic policy towards carbon emissions.  Please take a look at some of these links to get some ideas for policy proposals and for economic arguments to support your proposals.

Particular Types of Policies (Note a particular platform in a discussion section could come out in favor or against one of these policies. Also your discussion section is free to consider other related policies not listed below, such as subsidizing public transit.)

1. Command and Control. The Obama administration was unable to get any kind of climate change legislation through Congress. President Obama instead used his executive power to impose limitations in carbon production. The legal basis for his actions stems from a court case which recognized carbon as a harmful pollutant. This gave him authority to use the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate carbon. In 2015 the EPA adopted the “Clean Power Plan” which set rules requiring each state to cut carbon emissions in the power industry. Here is a video in which President Obama explains his administration adopted the policy. The Trump administration has discontinued the “Clean Power Plan” and has proposed replacing it with the “Affordable Clean Energy” rule. See this fact sheet from the EPA. The administration’s announced policy objective is to promote the use of coal. It has revamped EPA regulations to make it easier for coal power plants to make investments to improve fuel efficiency, without also being required as part of the investment to install costly scrubbers that mitigate particulate pollution. When various pollution regulations get adopted, they are often only applicable to new power plants. Old plants are often “grandfathered in.” One justification for letting existing power plants off the hook on the new regulations is that that the old power plants will be retired eventually, and when that happens, the more stingent pollution regulations can be applied to the replacement plant. With the EPA’s new policy, firms can make investments that extend the life of old power plants, without forcing them to address the pollution caused by the plants.. Here are two newpaper articles about the Trump’s new plan: One critical: “The 6 things you most need to know about Trump’s new climate plan,” the other from the Wall Street Journal that is positive, “The Clean Power Plan’s Counterfeit Benefits.”

2.  Cap and Trade.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has previously maintained a web site explaining cap and trade programs. It has been taken down by the Trump administration, but an archived copy is still available here. See also “The Cap and Trade Success Story” by the Environmental Defense Fund. China is initiating pilot cap and trade programs. See this news article and the actual policy document.

3. Subsidizing Clean Energy. Germany’s energiewende (energy transition) is taking place through aggressive policies to support renewable energy. See this New York Times article and video from September 2014 on the topic.

4.  A Gas Tax. Many economists support raising the gas tax but this is less popular with the general public.  For a discussion, see the New York Times article (Sept 11, 2012), "Taxes show one way to save fuel." Our textbook author Greg Mankiw, who advised the Romney campaign in 2012, makes the case for a gas tax in “The Pigou Club Manifesto.”. See also various arguments by Minnesota native Thomas Friedman, : “Real Men Tax Gas,” “Win, Win, Win, Win…”

Other Links

One place to look for information about climate change policy is a web page from the United Nations.