Cost, innovation, and emissions leakage from overlapping climate policy
研究发现，不完整的排放上限与额外气候政策叠加可能增加总排放和平均减排成本，以加州低碳燃料标准与总量控制交易为例，模拟显示排放泄漏可通过引入固定价格工具或覆盖燃料全生命周期排放来缓解。
Jurisdictions have implemented a variety of policy instruments to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. However, interactions between overlapping climate policies can lead to unintended impacts. This study demonstrates how interactions between an incomplete emissions cap and additional climate policy can result in higher emissions and higher average abatement costs relative to an emissions cap alone. This sectoral policy emissions displacement effect is then quantified through simulations using a computable general equilibrium model for the case of California's low-carbon fuel standard (LCFS) and cap-and-trade program. Emissions increase as a result of the LCFS incentivizing greater production of alternative transportation fuels with emissions not covered by the emissions cap. Emissions leakage can be mitigated by incorporating elements of a fixed-price instrument (i.e. carbon tax) to improve policy complementarity or requiring an obligation for the lifecycle GHG emissions of fuels under the emissions cap. • Overlapping climate policies can unintentionally increase emissions and cost. • Simulations find that California's LCFS with CAT drives emissions leakage. • Leakage can be mitigated by regulating lifecycle GHG emissions under the cap. • Induced innovation from LCFS reduces but fails to offset higher policy costs. • Fixed-price instruments provide greater policy complementarity than fixed-quantity.