Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/82608.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

When starting with the most expensive option makes sense: optimal timing, cost and sectoral allocation of abatement investment

Author

Listed:
  • Vogt-Schilb, Adrien
  • Meunier, Guy
  • Hallegatte, Stéphane
Abstract
This paper finds that it is optimal to start a long-term emission-reduction strategy with significant short-term abatement investment, even if the optimal carbon price starts low and grows progressively over time. Moreover, optimal marginal abatement investment costs differ across sectors of the economy. It may be preferable to spend $25 to avoid the marginal ton of carbon in a sector where abatement capital is expensive, such as public transportation, or in a sector with large abatement potential, such as the power sector, than $15 for the marginal ton in a sector with lower cost or lower abatement potential. The reason, distinct from learning spillovers, is that reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires investment in long-lived abatement capital such as clean power plants or public transport infrastructure. The value of abatement investment comes from avoided emissions, but also from the value of abatement capital in the future. The optimal levelized cost of conserved carbon can thus be higher than the optimal carbon price. It is higher in sectors with higher investment needs: those where abatement capital is more expensive or sectors with larger abatement potential. We compare our approach to the traditional abatement-cost-curve model and discuss implications for policy design.

Suggested Citation

  • Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Meunier, Guy & Hallegatte, Stéphane, 2017. "When starting with the most expensive option makes sense: optimal timing, cost and sectoral allocation of abatement investment," MPRA Paper 82608, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:82608
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/82608/1/MPRA_paper_82608.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kolstad, Charles D., 1996. "Learning and Stock Effects in Environmental Regulation: The Case of Greenhouse Gas Emissions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 1-18, July.
    2. Audoly, Richard & Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Guivarch, Céline & Pfeiffer, Alexander, 2018. "Pathways toward zero-carbon electricity required for climate stabilization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 884-901.
    3. Rozenberg, Julie & Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Hallegatte, Stephane, 2020. "Instrument choice and stranded assets in the transition to clean capital," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    4. Nordhaus, William D, 1991. "To Slow or Not to Slow: The Economics of the Greenhouse Effect," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 101(407), pages 920-937, July.
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Philippe Aghion & Leonardo Bursztyn & David Hemous, 2012. "The Environment and Directed Technical Change," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 131-166, February.
    6. Dale Jorgenson, 1967. "The Theory of Investment Behavior," NBER Chapters, in: Determinants of Investment Behavior, pages 129-175, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Adrien Vogt-Schilb & St�phane Hallegatte & Christophe de Gouvello, 2015. "Marginal abatement cost curves and the quality of emission reductions: a case study on Brazil," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(6), pages 703-723, November.
    8. Carolyn Fischer & Cees Withagen & Michael Toman, 2004. "Optimal Investment in Clean Production Capacity," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 28(3), pages 325-345, July.
    9. Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Hallegatte, Stéphane, 2014. "Marginal abatement cost curves and the optimal timing of mitigation measures," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 645-653.
    10. Etienne Espagne & Baptiste Perrissin Fabert & Antonin Pottier & Franck Nadaud & Patrice Dumas, 2012. "Disentangling the Stern/Nordhaus Controversy: Beyond the Discounting Clash," Working Papers 2012.61, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    11. Derek Lemoine & Christian Traeger, 2014. "Watch Your Step: Optimal Policy in a Tipping Climate," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 137-166, February.
    12. Julie Rozenberg & Adrien Vogt-Schilb & Stephane Hallegatte, 2017. "Instrument Choice and Stranded Assets in the Transition to Clean Capital," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 98039, Inter-American Development Bank.
    13. Robert S. Pindyck, 2013. "Climate Change Policy: What Do the Models Tell Us?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(3), pages 860-872, September.
    14. Francesco Bosello & Carlo Carraro & Enrica De Cian, 2010. "Climate Policy And The Optimal Balance Between Mitigation, Adaptation And Unavoided Damage," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 1(02), pages 71-92.
    15. Malte Schwoon & Richard S.J. Tol, 2006. "Optimal CO2-abatement with Socio-economic Inertia and Induced Technological Change," The Energy Journal, , vol. 27(4), pages 25-60, October.
    16. Lecocq, Franck & Hourcade, Jean-Charles & Ha Duong, Minh, 1998. "Decision making under uncertainty and inertia constraints: sectoral implications of the when flexibility," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(5-6), pages 539-555, December.
    17. Riahi, Keywan & Kriegler, Elmar & Johnson, Nils & Bertram, Christoph & den Elzen, Michel & Eom, Jiyong & Schaeffer, Michiel & Edmonds, Jae & Isaac, Morna & Krey, Volker & Longden, Thomas & Luderer, Gu, 2015. "Locked into Copenhagen pledges — Implications of short-term emission targets for the cost and feasibility of long-term climate goals," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 90(PA), pages 8-23.
    18. In Hwang & Frédéric Reynès & Richard Tol, 2013. "Climate Policy Under Fat-Tailed Risk: An Application of Dice," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 56(3), pages 415-436, November.
    19. Hoel, Michael, 1996. "Should a carbon tax be differentiated across sectors?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 17-32, January.
    20. H. Damon Matthews & Nathan P. Gillett & Peter A. Stott & Kirsten Zickfeld, 2009. "The proportionality of global warming to cumulative carbon emissions," Nature, Nature, vol. 459(7248), pages 829-832, June.
    21. Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Meunier, Guy & Hallegatte, Stephane, 2012. "How inertia and limited potentials affect the timing of sectoral abatements in optimal climate policy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6154, The World Bank.
    22. Myles R. Allen & David J. Frame & Chris Huntingford & Chris D. Jones & Jason A. Lowe & Malte Meinshausen & Nicolai Meinshausen, 2009. "Warming caused by cumulative carbon emissions towards the trillionth tonne," Nature, Nature, vol. 458(7242), pages 1163-1166, April.
    23. Alan Manne & Richard Richels, 1992. "Buying Greenhouse Insurance: The Economic Costs of CO2 Emission Limits," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 026213280x, April.
    24. Nicholas Stern, 2013. "The Structure of Economic Modeling of the Potential Impacts of Climate Change: Grafting Gross Underestimation of Risk onto Already Narrow Science Models," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(3), pages 838-859, September.
    25. J. P. Gould, 1968. "Adjustment Costs in the Theory of Investment of the Firm," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 35(1), pages 47-55.
    26. Keller, Klaus & Bolker, Benjamin M. & Bradford, D.F.David F., 2004. "Uncertain climate thresholds and optimal economic growth," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 723-741, July.
    27. Nordhaus, William D., 1993. "Rolling the 'DICE': an optimal transition path for controlling greenhouse gases," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1), pages 27-50, March.
    28. Bramoulle, Yann & Olson, Lars J., 2005. "Allocation of pollution abatement under learning by doing," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(9-10), pages 1935-1960, September.
    29. Rosendahl, Knut Einar, 2004. "Cost-effective environmental policy: implications of induced technological change," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 1099-1121, November.
    30. Popp, David, 2004. "ENTICE: endogenous technological change in the DICE model of global warming," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 742-768, July.
    31. repec:bla:econom:v:44:y:1977:i:174:p:163-78 is not listed on IDEAS
    32. Slechten, Aurélie, 2013. "Intertemporal links in cap-and-trade schemes," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 319-336.
    33. Roberton C. Williams III, 2011. "Setting the Initial Time-Profile of Climate Policy: The Economics of Environmental Policy Phase-Ins," NBER Chapters, in: The Design and Implementation of US Climate Policy, pages 245-254, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. Etienne Espagne, 2012. "Disentangling the Stern-Nordhaus controversy : Beyond the discounting clash," Post-Print hal-00804297, HAL.
    35. Henry D. Jacoby & Ian Sue Wing, 1999. "Adjustment Time, Capital Malleability and Policy Cost," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Special I), pages 73-92.
    36. Steffen Brunner & Christian Flachsland & Robert Marschinski, 2012. "Credible commitment in carbon policy," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 255-271, March.
    37. [multiple or corporate authorship]., 2014. "Cities chapter: better growth, better climate: the new climate economy report," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 60480, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    38. van der Zwaan, B. C. C. & Gerlagh, R. & G. & Klaassen & Schrattenholzer, L., 2002. "Endogenous technological change in climate change modelling," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 1-19, January.
    39. Philippe Ambrosi & Jean-Charles Hourcade & Stéphane Hallegatte & Franck Lecocq & Patrice Dumas & Minh Ha Duong, 2009. "Optimal Control Models and Elicitation of Attitudes towards Climate Damages," International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, in: Jerzy A. Filar & Alain Haurie (ed.), Uncertainty and Environmental Decision Making, chapter 0, pages 177-209, Springer.
    40. Goulder, Lawrence H. & Mathai, Koshy, 2000. "Optimal CO2 Abatement in the Presence of Induced Technological Change," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 1-38, January.
    41. Jaccard, Mark & Rivers, Nic, 2007. "Heterogeneous capital stocks and the optimal timing for CO2 abatement," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16, January.
    42. Kverndokk, Snorre & Rosendahl, Knut Einar, 2007. "Climate policies and learning by doing: Impacts and timing of technology subsidies," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 58-82, January.
    43. World Bank, 2012. "Inclusive Green Growth : The Pathway to Sustainable Development," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 6058.
    44. DAVID McCOLLUM & YU NAGAI & KEYWAN RIAHI & GIACOMO MARANGONI & KATHERINE CALVIN & ROBERT PIETZCKER & JASPER VAN VLIET & BOB VAN DER ZWAAN, 2013. "Energy Investments Under Climate Policy: A Comparison Of Global Models," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(04), pages 1-37.
    45. Franck Lecocq & Zmarak Shalizi, 2014. "The economics of targeted mitigation in infrastructure," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(2), pages 187-208, March.
    46. Robert E. Lucas & Jr., 1967. "Adjustment Costs and the Theory of Supply," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(4), pages 321-321.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Renaud Coulomb & Oskar Lecuyer & Adrien Vogt-Schilb, 2019. "Optimal Transition from Coal to Gas and Renewable Power Under Capacity Constraints and Adjustment Costs," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(2), pages 557-590, June.
    2. Oskar Lecuyer & Adrien Vogt-Schilb, 2013. "Assessing and ordering investments in polluting fossil-fueled and zero-carbon capital," CIRED Working Papers hal-00850680, HAL.
    3. Rozenberg, Julie & Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Hallegatte, Stephane, 2014. "Transition to clean capital, irreversible investment and stranded assets," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6859, The World Bank.
    4. Jean Charles Hourcade & Michel Aglietta & Baptiste Perrissin-Fabert, 2014. "Transition to a Low-Carbon society and sustainable economic recovery, a monetary-based financial device," Post-Print hal-01692593, HAL.
    5. Adrien Vogt-Schilb & St�phane Hallegatte & Christophe de Gouvello, 2015. "Marginal abatement cost curves and the quality of emission reductions: a case study on Brazil," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 15(6), pages 703-723, November.
    6. Adrien Vogt-Schilb & Guy Meunier & Stéphane Hallegatte, 2013. "Should marginal abatement costs differ across sectors? The effect of low-carbon capital accumulation," Post-Print hal-00816796, HAL.
    7. Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Meunier, Guy & Hallegatte, Stephane, 2012. "How inertia and limited potentials affect the timing of sectoral abatements in optimal climate policy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6154, The World Bank.
    8. Adrien Vogt-Schilb & Guy Meunier & Hallegatte Stéphane, 2013. "Should marginal abatement costs differ across sectors? The effect of low-carbon capital accumulation," Post-Print hal-00829420, HAL.
    9. Perrissin Fabert, Baptiste & Espagne, Etienne & Antonin, Pottier & Patrice, Dumas, 2014. "The Comparative Impact of Integrated Assessment Models' Structures on Optimal Mitigation Policies," Climate Change and Sustainable Development 177304, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    10. Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Hallegatte, Stephane, 2011. "When starting with the most expensive option makes sense : use and misuse of marginal abatement cost curves," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5803, The World Bank.
    11. repec:hal:wpaper:hal-00916328 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Hallegatte, Stéphane, 2014. "Marginal abatement cost curves and the optimal timing of mitigation measures," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 645-653.
    13. repec:hal:ciredw:hal-00916328 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Halvor B. Storrøsten, 2020. "Emission Regulation of Markets with Sluggish Supply Structures," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 77(1), pages 1-33, September.
    15. Havranek, Tomas & Irsova, Zuzana & Janda, Karel & Zilberman, David, 2015. "Selective reporting and the social cost of carbon," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 394-406.
    16. Rozenberg, Julie & Vogt-Schilb, Adrien & Hallegatte, Stephane, 2020. "Instrument choice and stranded assets in the transition to clean capital," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    17. Wei, Yi-Ming & Mi, Zhi-Fu & Huang, Zhimin, 2015. "Climate policy modeling: An online SCI-E and SSCI based literature review," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 57(PA), pages 70-84.
    18. Campiglio, Emanuele & Dietz, Simon & Venmans, Frank, 2022. "Optimal climate policy as if the transition matters," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 117609, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    19. Acemoglu, Daron & Rafey, Will, 2023. "Mirage on the horizon: Geoengineering and carbon taxation without commitment," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    20. Richard S J Tol, 2018. "The Economic Impacts of Climate Change," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 12(1), pages 4-25.
    21. Gerlagh, Reyer & Kverndokk, Snorre & Rosendahl, Knut Einar, 2014. "The optimal time path of clean energy R&D policy when patents have finite lifetime," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 2-19.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    climate change mitigation; transition to clean capital; path dependence; social cost of carbon; marginal abatement cost; timing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:pra:mprapa:82608. 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: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    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.