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Climate Agreements and Technology Policy

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  • Michael Hoel

    (Department of Economics, University of Oslo)

  • Rolf Golombek

    (Frisch Centre)

Abstract

We study climate policy when there are technology spillovers within and across countries, and the technology externalities within each country are corrected through a domestic subsidy of R&D investments. We compare the properties of international climate agreements when the inter-country externalities from R&D are not regulated through the climate agreement. With an international agreement controlling abatements directly through emission quotas, the equilibrium R&D subsidy is lower that the socially optimal subsidy. The equilibrium subsidy is even lower if the climate agreement does not specify emission levels directly, but instead imposes a common carbon tax. Social costs are higher under a tax agreement than under a quota agreement. Moreover, for a reasonable assumption on the abatement cost function, R&D investments and abatement levels are lower under a tax agreement than under a quota agreement. Total emissions may be higher or lower in a second-best optimal quota agreement than in the first-best optimum.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Hoel & Rolf Golombek, 2004. "Climate Agreements and Technology Policy," Working Papers 2004.90, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    • Handle: RePEc:fem:femwpa:2004.90
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Alistair Ulph & David Ulph, 2007. "Climate change—environmental and technology policies in a strategic context," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 37(1), pages 159-180, May.
    2. Golombek, Rolf & Hoel, Michael, 2008. "Endogenous technology and tradable emission quotas," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 197-208, May.
    3. De Cian, Enrica & Tavoni, Massimo, 2012. "Do technology externalities justify restrictions on emission permit trading?," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 624-646.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate policy; International environmental agreements; R&D Policy; Technology spillovers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • Q20 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - General
    • Q28 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Government Policy
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy

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