Conference Agenda

Countries’ climate change mitigation policies differ in ambition and in the approaches taken. Different national contexts – be it economical, social, historical or political – result in asymmetric policy responses, which are not necessarily coordinated. This can result in carbon leakage and result in competitiveness concerns. In an interconnected world, addressing the global issue of climate change while trying to limit adverse spillovers of uncoordinated and asymmetric policies hence goes beyond climate policy to also account for food and energy security, growth and trade.

In this context, international responses to climate change are evolving. Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) have come to the forefront as a policy tool to address carbon leakage, with the European Union phasing in its carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) as it phases out free allocation of tradeable emission permits. Several countries are considering the introduction of carbon prices and border adjustment measures, partly in response to this. For instance, the United Kingdom is looking to introduce a carbon tariff that would mirror the EU CBAM, and the United States and Canada are also considering some form of a BCA. Emissions trading systems are being considered or introduced worldwide (e.g., in Argentina, Turkey, Japan, Indonesia, Brazil, Egypt...). Increasing the price of carbon emissions is one approach to mitigation, supporting low carbon options is another. The United States Inflation Reduction Act is one example. Finally, international coordination initiatives such as climate clubs (e.g., the G7 climate club) have also been launched.

This session centres around the following questions:

What are the key design elements and political economy considerations for the success of carbon pricing mechanisms in an international context, and how can these features effectively address challenges such as free- riding?

How far would you argue that such approaches can take us towards harmonised carbon prices?

Speakers:

Jos Delbeke, European University Institute

Assia Elgouacem, Acting Head of the Tax and Environment Unit, OECD

Alice Pirlot, Geneva Graduate Institute

Kurt Van Dender, Acting Head of Tax Policy and Statistics Division, OECD

Simon Black, Economist, International Monetary Fund

Emilia Skork, Manager Fiscal Policy and Sustainable Growth, World Bank

Eddy Bekkers, World Trade Organization