How to Comply with the Paris Agreement Temperature Goal: Global Carbon Pricing According to Carbon Budgets
Open accessAbstract
Avoiding irreversible climate change as effectively as possible is one of the most pressing challenges of society. Carbon pricing that is uniformly valid on a global and cross-sectoral basis represents a cost-efficient policy tool to meet this challenge. Carbon pricing allows external costs to be allocated or internalized on a polluter-pays principle. It is shown that a global emissions cap-and-trade system is the most suitable market-based instrument for reducing global emissions levels, in line with the temperature goal set by the Paris Agreement. A proposal for its design is presented in this paper. This instrument encourages worldwide measures, with the lowest marginal abatement cost, according to a pre-defined reduction path. Thereby, it ensures compliance with a specified remaining carbon budget to meet a certain temperature limit in a cost-efficient manner. Possible reduction paths are presented in this paper. Weaknesses in the design of existing emissions trading systems (ETS), such as the EU ETS, are identified and avoided in the proposed instrument. The framework solves several problems of today’s climate change policies, like the free rider problem, carbon leakage, rebound effects or the green paradox. The introduction of a global uniform carbon pricing instrument and its concrete design should be the subject of policy, especially at the United Nations climate change conferences, as soon as possible in order to allow for rapid implementation. If a global ETS with a uniform carbon price could be introduced, additional governmental regulations with regard to carbon emissions would become obsolete.
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Almost 2.3 billion people still use dirty fuels and technologies for cooking.
“However, almost 2·3 billion people still use dirty fuels and technologies for cooking.264”
From The 2024 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: facing record-breaking threats from delayed action (2024) · cites this paper as [264]
Redirecting funds away from fossil fuels and towards activities that promote human health and wellbeing would yield net positive benefits for local communities.
“Redirecting funds away from fossil fuels and towards activities that promote human health and wellbeing would yield net positive benefits for local communities.264,311”
From The 2024 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: facing record-breaking threats from delayed action (2024) · cites this paper as [264]
Redirecting finance away from fossil fuels and towards equitable deployment of low-greenhouse gas emission technologies and infrastructures is essential for a just transition.
“Redirecting finance away from fossil fuels and towards equitable deployment of low-greenhouse gas emission technologies and infrastructures is essential for a just transition.264”
From The 2024 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: facing record-breaking threats from delayed action (2024) · cites this paper as [264]
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- Authors
- Zapf, M., Pengg, H., & Weindl, C.
- Affiliations
- Coburg University of Applied Sciences (DE)
- Audi (Germany) (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Zapf, Martin
- ORCID
- Zapf, Martin
- Venue
- Energies
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2019-08-02
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 15
- Pages
- 2983
- ISSN
- 1996-1073 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2965764092
- Cited by
- 22
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2025: 4 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 3.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Energies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Climate Change Policy and Economics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Climate Change and Geoengineering
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › International Environmental Law and Policies
- Keywords
- Paris Agreement, carbon pricing, carbon balance, emissions trading, emissions trading system, EU Emissions Trading System, free-rider problem, carbon leakage, rebound effect, green paradox, marginal abatement cost, climate policy, cost efficiency
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