Research Project: European Union Emissions Trading System Research
EnvEcon were a partner in the European Framework 7 project – ENTRACTE, led by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) of Mannheim Germany. Our role within this important research was led by Professors Convery and Ellerman and focused upon the initial direction, final synthesis, and policy communication aspects of this ambitious project. ENTRACTE ran from 2012 to 2015, culminating in a major policy event in Brussels with participation of key stakeholders such as Jos Delbeke.
ENTRACTE analysed the European Union Emissions trading System (EU ETS) taking into account its interaction with additional policy instruments such as energy efficiency standards, renewable policies, carbon taxes, innovation policies and trade measures. Practical barriers in the implementation, such as information asymmetry, uncertainty, political and legal constraints as well as behavioural aspects were considered. The joint endeavour of all the project partners allowed for a synthesis of research results identifying strengths and weaknesses of different instrument mixes. EnvEcon provided the two major policy brief deliverables from this work, offering valuable advice and insights with regard to practically applicable recommendations for policy makers on how to design the environmentally effective, economically efficient and politically and legally feasible climate policy mix needed to achieve medium-term and long-term GHG reduction targets in Europe.
