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Leveling the Carbon Playing Field
International Competition and US Climate Policy Design
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- Book details for Leveling the Carbon Playing Field
- Trevor Houser (author), Rob Bradley (author), Britt Childs (author), Jacob Werksman (author), Robert Heilmayr (author)
- Paperback, 226 x 155 x 7mm , 112 pp, graphs, charts, index
- 15 Jul 2008
- The Peterson Institute for International Economics
- 0881324205
- 9780881324204
As the US Congress takes up domestic climate legislation and the administration reengages in multilateral climate negotiations, policymakers are particularly concerned about the effect of climate policy on US carbon-intensive manufacturing industries such as iron and steel, cement, paper, and chemicals. Many of these industries are already facing considerable foreign competition, particularly from large emerging economies such as China, India, and Brazil that are not bound to reduce emissions under the current international climate framework. The question for US policymakers drafting climate policy today is how to level the playing field for US carbon-intensive industries during a period of uncertainty about the shape of the multilateral framework to come.Options for addressing competitiveness and 'emissions leakage' - migration of US industrial emissions to other parts of the world - in US climate policy fall into three categories: reducing the cost of compliance for domestic producers, imposing similar costs on foreign producers indirectly through an adjustment at the border, and encouraging foreign countries to impose similar costs on their industries directly. This book evaluates these options in terms of the degree to which they create a level playing field for US industry, their effectiveness in guarding against emissions leakage, their impact on the cost of emissions reductions to the US economy, and the extent to which they would hurt or support efforts for constructive engagement with other nations.
Executive Summary; 1. Introduction; 2. Cost Containment Mechanisms; 3. Trade Measures; 4. Coordinated International Action; 5. Conclusion.
