IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/engenv/v14y2003i5p677-703.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Interactions between the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the UK Renewables Obligation and Energy Efficiency Commitment

Author

Listed:
  • Steve Sorrell

    (SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research), University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, Sussex, BN1 9RF, UK)

Abstract

The recent agreement by European environment ministers on the ground rules for an EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) represents a landmark in the evolution of EU climate policy. But this scheme will be introduced into a crowded ‘policy space’ within each Member State in which complex interactions between the EU ETS and existing instruments appear unavoidable. This paper explores one aspect of the problems created by the EU ETS for the UK – namely the potential interactions with the UK Renewables Obligation and the UK Energy Efficiency Commitment. Both these instruments have objectives which go beyond the least-cost abatement of carbon emissions and both utilise trading arrangements in which the trading commodity is denominated in MWh rather than tonnes of carbon. The paper explores the potential interactions between the EU ETS and the UK instruments by comparing in turn their scope, timing, objectives and operation. The coexistence of the EU ETS with the RO and EEC is shown to raise three important issues, namely target setting and double counting, double regulation of electricity and the fungibility of trading commodities. The paper concludes that the coexistence of the RO and EEC with the EU ETS is both possible and justifiable, but more attention should be paid to the non-CO 2 objectives of each instrument.

Suggested Citation

  • Steve Sorrell, 2003. "Interactions between the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the UK Renewables Obligation and Energy Efficiency Commitment," Energy & Environment, , vol. 14(5), pages 677-703, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:14:y:2003:i:5:p:677-703
    DOI: 10.1260/095830503322663401
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1260/095830503322663401
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1260/095830503322663401?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Morthorst, P. E., 2001. "Interactions of a tradable green certificate market with a tradable permits market," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(5), pages 345-353, April.
    2. Stirling, Andrew, 1994. "Diversity and ignorance in electricity supply investment : Addressing the solution rather than the problem," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 195-216, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Grösche, Peter, 2006. "Marktkonforme Möglichkeiten zur Forcierung privatwirtschaftlicher Investitionen in den Wohngebäudebestand zum Zwecke einer effizienteren Energieverwendung: Endbericht, April 2006," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 70901, November.
    2. Hal Nelson, 2008. "Planning implications from the interactions between renewable energy programs and carbon regulation," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(4), pages 581-596.
    3. Lehmann, Paul & Gawel, Erik, 2013. "Why should support schemes for renewable electricity complement the EU emissions trading scheme?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 597-607.
    4. Charnovitz, Steve & Fischer, Carolyn, 2015. "Canada–Renewable Energy: Implications for WTO Law on Green and Not-So-Green Subsidies," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(2), pages 177-210, April.
    5. Sorrell, Steve & Harrison, David & Radov, Daniel & Klevnas, Per & Foss, Andrew, 2009. "White certificate schemes: Economic analysis and interactions with the EU ETS," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 29-42, January.
    6. Fischer, Carolyn & Preonas, Louis, 2010. "Combining Policies for Renewable Energy: Is the Whole Less Than the Sum of Its Parts?," International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, now publishers, vol. 4(1), pages 51-92, June.
    7. Thema, Johannes & Suerkemper, Felix & Grave, Katharina & Amelung, Adrian, 2013. "The impact of electricity demand reduction policies on the EU-ETS: Modelling electricity and carbon prices and the effect on industrial competitiveness," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 656-666.
    8. Mengfei Jiang & Xi Liang & David Reiner & Boqiang Lin & Maosheng Duan, 2018. "Stakeholder Views on Interactions between Low-carbon Policies and Carbon Markets in China: Lessons from the Guangdong ETS," Working Papers EPRG 1805, Energy Policy Research Group, Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge.
    9. Zeng, Yingying, 2017. "Indirect double regulation and the carbon ETSs linking: The case of coal-fired generation in the EU and China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 268-280.
    10. Foxon, T.J. & Pearson, P.J.G., 2007. "Towards improved policy processes for promoting innovation in renewable electricity technologies in the UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1539-1550, March.
    11. Paolo Bertoldi & Silvia Rezessy & Diana Ãœrge-Vorsatz, 2005. "Tradable Certificates for Energy Savings: Opportunities, Challenges, and Prospects for Integration with other Market Instruments in the Energy Sector," Energy & Environment, , vol. 16(6), pages 959-992, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nielsen, Lene & Jeppesen, Tim, 2003. "Tradable Green Certificates in selected European countries--overview and assessment," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 3-14, January.
    2. Costantini, Valeria & Gracceva, Francesco & Markandya, Anil & Vicini, Giorgio, 2007. "Security of energy supply: Comparing scenarios from a European perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 210-226, January.
    3. Delarue, Erik & Van den Bergh, Kenneth, 2016. "Carbon mitigation in the electric power sector under cap-and-trade and renewables policies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 34-44.
    4. Reinhard Madlener & Weiyu Gao & Ilja Neustadt & Peter Zweifel, 2008. "Promoting renewable electricity generation in imperfect markets: price vs. quantity policies," SOI - Working Papers 0809, Socioeconomic Institute - University of Zurich.
    5. Gesine Bökenkamp & Wan-Jung Chou & Olav Hohmeyer & Wouter Nijs & Alistair Hunt & Anil Markandya, 2010. "Policy Instruments," Chapters, in: Anil Markandya & Andrea Bigano & Roberto Porchia (ed.), The Social Cost of Electricity, chapter 6, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    6. Andy Stirling & Go Yoshizawa & Tatsujiro Suzuki, 2009. "Electricity System Diversity in the UK and Japan - a Multicriteria Diversity Analysis," SPRU Working Paper Series 176, SPRU - Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex Business School.
    7. Ioannidis, Alexis & Chalvatzis, Konstantinos J. & Li, Xin & Notton, Gilles & Stephanides, Phedeas, 2019. "The case for islands’ energy vulnerability: Electricity supply diversity in 44 global islands," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 440-452.
    8. Boots, M., 2003. "Green certificates and carbon trading in the Netherlands," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 43-50, January.
    9. del Rio Gonzalez, Pablo & Hernandez, Felix & Gual, Miguel, 2005. "The implications of the Kyoto project mechanisms for the deployment of renewable electricity in Europe," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(15), pages 2010-2022, October.
    10. Molyneaux, Lynette & Brown, Colin & Wagner, Liam & Foster, John, 2016. "Measuring resilience in electricity generation: An empirical analysis," MPRA Paper 72884, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Nagl, Stephan, 2013. "Prices vs. Quantities: Incentives for Renewable Power Generation - Numerical Analysis for the European Power Market," EWI Working Papers 2013-4, Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI).
    12. Chuang, Ming Chih & Ma, Hwong Wen, 2013. "Energy security and improvements in the function of diversity indices—Taiwan energy supply structure case study," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 9-20.
    13. Molyneaux, Lynette & Wagner, Liam & Froome, Craig & Foster, John, 2012. "Resilience and electricity systems: A comparative analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 188-201.
    14. Rubio-Varas, Mar & Muñoz-Delgado, Beatriz, 2017. "200 years diversifying the energy mix? Diversification paths of the energy baskets of European early comers vs. latecomers," Working Papers in Economic History 2017/01, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), Department of Economic Analysis (Economic Theory and Economic History).
    15. Gupta, Sandeep Kumar & Purohit, Pallav, 2013. "Renewable energy certificate mechanism in India: A preliminary assessment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 22(C), pages 380-392.
    16. Van den Bergh, Kenneth & Delarue, Erik & D'haeseleer, William, 2013. "Impact of renewables deployment on the CO2 price and the CO2 emissions in the European electricity sector," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1021-1031.
    17. Sáenz de Miera, Gonzalo & del Ri­o González, Pablo & Vizcaino, Ignacio, 2008. "Analysing the impact of renewable electricity support schemes on power prices: The case of wind electricity in Spain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3345-3359, September.
    18. Vithayasrichareon, Peerapat & MacGill, Iain F. & Nakawiro, Thanawat, 2012. "Assessing the sustainability challenges for electricity industries in ASEAN newly industrialising countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(4), pages 2217-2233.
    19. Yanqing Shi & Si Chen & Lele Kang, 2021. "Which questions are valuable in online Q&A communities? A question’s position in a knowledge network matters," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(10), pages 8239-8258, October.
    20. Nihal Ahmed & Adnan Ahmed Sheikh & Farhan Mahboob & Muhammad Sibt e Ali & Elżbieta Jasińska & Michał Jasiński & Zbigniew Leonowicz & Alessandro Burgio, 2022. "Energy Diversification: A Friend or Foe to Economic Growth in Nordic Countries? A Novel Energy Diversification Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-15, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:14:y:2003:i:5:p:677-703. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.