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The World Resources Institute calls on the re-elected President Obama to establish a strong national climate and energy strategy, including carbon pricing and stricter emissions standards for power plants, to move beyond a 'piecemeal approach' and secure a competitive position in the $2.3 trillion clean energy market.

The document explores methods to overcome stalemates in international climate negotiations, suggesting a shift from unanimous consensus to qualified majority voting, the creation of interest-based coalitions, and the integration of climate justice and diverse representation in national delegations.

The report examines how unilateral carbon pricing leads to carbon leakage—where emissions are shifted to foreign locations—across energy-intensive industries (EII) such as steel, cement, and chemicals. It evaluates the effectiveness of various policy remedies, including border adjustments and output-based free allocations, across different regional contexts. Findings indicate that while the EU can mitigate leakage from a 30% reduction target at moderate cost, a mandatory Japanese ETS would significantly impact steel and cement production. In China, a carbon price of 100 Yuan/t CO2 would most affect ferrous metals, basic chemicals, refining, and cement, potentially serving as a tool to reduce carbon intensity and restrain exports during high growth periods.

The document analyzes the divergent paths taken by Canada and Australia to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. While Australia implemented a unified national carbon pricing system (transitioning from a carbon tax to cap-and-trade), Canada adopted a decentralized, sector-by-sector regulatory approach utilizing provincial equivalency agreements. The authors argue that Canada's fragmented system is likely to result in higher regulatory costs for emitters compared to Australia's streamlined national approach, although the actual emission reductions of both schemes remain uncertain.

The document analyzes the mismatch between the stated environmental goals of biofuel policies and their actual political objectives, such as supporting agricultural constituencies. It argues that subsidies often create market distortions and unintended consequences, such as increasing food prices and harming the environment. The authors recommend phasing out support for food-based biofuels, adopting carbon pricing and the removal of fossil fuel subsidies as 'first-best' alternatives, and adhering to good governance principles and the Precautionary Principle to manage uncertainty regarding indirect land use change and food security.

The report analyzes the steel sector's transition to a low-carbon future, noting that while current carbon pricing (like the EU ETS) has had limited impact on plant location and investment, deeper emissions cuts will require breakthrough technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS). It emphasizes the need for collaborative research, development, demonstration, and deployment (RDD&D) and suggests a 'coalition of the willing' among major steel-producing nations to maintain competitiveness while decarbonizing.

The Union of Concerned Scientists identifies a significant number of U.S. coal-fired power plants that are economically uncompetitive compared to natural gas and wind power. The report argues that retiring these plants, along with those already scheduled for closure, would improve public health and reduce carbon emissions without jeopardizing grid reliability.

The Union of Concerned Scientists identifies a range of 16 to 32 coal-fired generating units in Michigan as economically uncompetitive compared to natural gas and renewable energy. The report highlights that 87 percent of the state's coal capacity exceeds its 30-year design lifetime, and many of these plants lack modern pollution controls, contributing significantly to public health issues and carbon emissions. The document advocates for retiring these plants in favor of wind, solar, and energy efficiency to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 18.7 million tons annually and stimulate the state's clean energy economy.

The report argues that institutional investors in South Africa, acting as 'universal owners', face material financial risks from climate change and water scarcity. It identifies a lack of investment-grade, liquid low-carbon products and inadequate water risk disclosure as primary barriers. The document suggests that while some progress has been made through green bonds and low-carbon indices, significant regulatory shifts—including higher renewable energy targets and standardised reporting—are needed to scale responsible investing.

The document outlines the two primary forms of carbon pricing: emissions trading schemes (ETS) and carbon taxes. It details the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme as the world's largest, alongside regional programs like the RGGI in the US and the Tokyo Cap and Trade Program. It also lists numerous national carbon taxes, noting Finland as the first to introduce one in 1990, and describes hybrid systems in Australia and New Zealand.

The document examines Australia's carbon pricing scheme, which began on July 1, 2012, targeting the largest emitters to achieve a 5 per cent emissions reduction below 2000 levels by 2020. It details the transition from a fixed-price period to a flexible cap-and-trade system, the role of the Clean Energy Regulator, and extensive compensation packages for trade-exposed industries and households. The brief highlights the importance of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme (NGERS) as a foundation for implementation and warns against locking in fixed prices during volatile international market conditions.

The document argues that rigid performance standards for Canada's oil and gas sector are likely to result in non-compliance and high costs due to the diverse abatement potentials across subsectors. By implementing flexibility mechanisms—such as in-sector credit trading and out-of-sector options like low-cost domestic reductions (LCDRs) and price ceilings—the government can achieve more stringent emissions intensity targets. Modelling suggests that while a 20% intensity improvement is achievable with in-sector flexibility, a 50% improvement requires flexibility beyond the sector to be feasible.

The submission advocates for carbon pricing in the international aviation and maritime sectors to reduce emissions and generate funds for climate action, while cautioning against the use of non-additional offsets based on experiences with JI and CDM.

The report argues that carbon pricing is likely to improve air quality in California because the most feasible GHG abatement strategies—such as energy efficiency and fuel switching—also reduce local air pollutants. Using data from the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), the authors find a statistically significant negative relationship between carbon prices and emissions of both GHGs and local air pollutants (sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter). Notably, EU oil refineries showed stronger reductions in local air pollutants than the average industrial facility. While cogeneration is identified as the only strategy that could potentially increase local emissions, the report suggests that existing air quality regulations and new source reviews in California should prevent such outcomes. The authors recommend that California regulators use industrial audits to maximize synergies between GHG and LAP abatement and consider financial incentives for high-benefit projects in poor air quality areas.

The cement sector is a major global CO2 source, with emissions projected to reach 4.0 Gt by 2030. While emissions intensity is declining due to the adoption of best available technology (BAT) and alternative fuels, these gains are offset by rising production volumes, particularly in China. The report argues that current carbon pricing, such as the EU ETS, is insufficient to drive the breakthrough technologies needed for a low-carbon future, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and new low-carbon cement forms. It suggests that a combination of public-private financing, revised building standards, and Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs) is necessary to prevent carbon leakage and incentivize deep decarbonization.

The document evaluates the British Columbia carbon tax as an effective model for low-carbon development that has reduced emissions without hindering economic growth. It compares BC's approach with other Canadian provincial and federal strategies, highlighting a closing gap in carbon pricing across the country. The briefing identifies key risks to future success, including the expansion of the natural gas sector and the lack of carbon pricing in the United States. IISD recommends retaining the tax and considering integrated mitigation and adaptation strategies.

The research paper develops a methodology for scenario analysis of consumption-based GHG emissions, moving beyond traditional production-based accounting. It introduces a framework using a modified Kaya Identity to forecast emissions by analyzing population, consumption activity, and GHG intensity. The authors provide a catalogue of low-GHG behavioral measures across food, goods, services, construction, transport, and home energy. Piloting the method in Seattle and the U.S., the study finds that while aggressive behavioral shifts and production improvements can reduce consumption-based emissions by 47% by 2030, the resulting levels remain significantly above the global average required to limit warming to 2°C.

The report argues that the EU ETS is failing due to a massive oversupply of allowances caused by the 2008 economic recession and industrial overallocation. Sandbag identifies a total excess of 3.1 billion tonnes (Gt) of allowances, including 2.2Gt from obsolete demand forecasts and 0.9Gt from industrial overallocation. The document highlights that 78% of the net surplus is concentrated among ten steel and cement companies, which have generated significant revenues from selling surplus permits. To remedy this, the report recommends the permanent cancellation of 3.1Gt of allowances from Phase 3 auctions, the establishment of a more ambitious Phase 4 carbon budget aligned with 2050 goals, and the introduction of mechanisms like a "heat exchanger" and a strategic demand-correction reserve to protect the system from future exogenous shocks.

The study finds that CCS deployment in Germany would lower spot market electricity prices and reduce imports from France, Belgium, and Poland, while increasing producer and consumer surpluses.

The research paper evaluates the economic and emissions impacts of increasing the EU's 2020 GHG reduction target to 30%. Using the E3MG model, it focuses on three energy-intensive sectors: iron and steel, aluminium, and cement. The findings indicate that while a 30% target significantly increases EU ETS allowance prices, there is no evidence of substantial carbon leakage through import substitution. Border adjustment measures partially protect EU output but have a negligible macroeconomic impact, as the affected sectors collectively account for less than 1% of EU GDP.