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On the efficiency of climate policies international coordination. This article analyses the economic efficiency of climate policies international coordination acknowledging long term perspectives and political constraints. It questions the economic and political viability of emission trading with respect to market power and dynamic distortions. The latter proves more worrying. While one may reasonably expect national positions being decentralized, the Climate Convention cannot commit on long term emission objectives. As a consequence, there is room for strategic behaviour by governments. Structural public programs, crucial to curb long term emissions, are likely to be scaled down because governments expect post-2012 quotas to be revised according to observed trends. This might jeopardize the climate action and further weaken the political consensus it requires. Are carbon taxes a better policy option ? It might be the case provided the tax is levied at the international level, but this option faces political obstacles. A hybrid scheme should realise a good compromise between economic efficiency and political acceptability. ; Cet article propose une analyse économique de la coordination internationale contre le réchauffement planétaire intégrant les perspectives de long terme et les contraintes politiques. Il s'interroge ainsi sur les risques économiques et politiques auxquels les permis d'émission négociables pourraient être exposés du fait de pouvoirs de marché ou de distorsions dynamiques. Les seconds s'avèrent les plus difficiles à contrôler. Si la déconcentration des positions nationales est envisageable, aucun organisme international ne peut prétendre fixer, une fois pour toutes, les objectifs à long terme. Dès lors, anticipant que le montant des quotas futurs sera toujours ajusté au vu des tendances réelles, beaucoup de pays ne s'engageront pas dans des programmes structurels suffisamment ambitieux. Cela risque de compromettre l'efficacité de l'action climatique et de fragiliser plus encore le consensus qui lui est nécessaire. La solution alternative, la taxation internationale du carbone, ne présente pas de tels défauts d'incitation, mais elle pose des difficultés politiques. Une combinaison des deux instruments pourrait toutefois, à terme, s'avérer fructueuse.

On the efficiency of climate policies international coordination. This article analyses the economic efficiency of climate policies international coordination acknowledging long term perspectives and political constraints. It questions the economic and political viability of emission trading with respect to market power and dynamic distortions. The latter proves more worrying. While one may reasonably expect national positions being decentralized, the Climate Convention cannot commit on long term emission objectives. As a consequence, there is room for strategic behaviour by governments. Structural public programs, crucial to curb long term emissions, are likely to be scaled down because governments expect post-2012 quotas to be revised according to observed trends. This might jeopardize the climate action and further weaken the political consensus it requires. Are carbon taxes a better policy option ? It might be the case provided the tax is levied at the international level, but this option faces political obstacles. A hybrid scheme should realise a good compromise between economic efficiency and political acceptability. ; Cet article propose une analyse économique de la coordination internationale contre le réchauffement planétaire intégrant les perspectives de long terme et les contraintes politiques. Il s'interroge ainsi sur les risques économiques et politiques auxquels les permis d'émission négociables pourraient être exposés du fait de pouvoirs de marché ou de distorsions dynamiques. Les seconds s'avèrent les plus difficiles à contrôler. Si la déconcentration des positions nationales est envisageable, aucun organisme international ne peut prétendre fixer, une fois pour toutes, les objectifs à long terme. Dès lors, anticipant que le montant des quotas futurs sera toujours ajusté au vu des tendances réelles, beaucoup de pays ne s'engageront pas dans des programmes structurels suffisamment ambitieux. Cela risque de compromettre l'efficacité de l'action climatique et de fragiliser plus encore le consensus ...

On the efficiency of climate policies international coordination. This article analyses the economic efficiency of climate policies international coordination acknowledging long term perspectives and political constraints. It questions the economic and political viability of emission trading with respect to market power and dynamic distortions. The latter proves more worrying. While one may reasonably expect national positions being decentralized, the Climate Convention cannot commit on long term emission objectives. As a consequence, there is room for strategic behaviour by governments. Structural public programs, crucial to curb long term emissions, are likely to be scaled down because governments expect post-2012 quotas to be revised according to observed trends. This might jeopardize the climate action and further weaken the political consensus it requires. Are carbon taxes a better policy option ? It might be the case provided the tax is levied at the international level, but this option faces political obstacles. A hybrid scheme should realise a good compromise between economic efficiency and political acceptability. ; Cet article propose une analyse économique de la coordination internationale contre le réchauffement planétaire intégrant les perspectives de long terme et les contraintes politiques. Il s'interroge ainsi sur les risques économiques et politiques auxquels les permis d'émission négociables pourraient être exposés du fait de pouvoirs de marché ou de distorsions dynamiques. Les seconds s'avèrent les plus difficiles à contrôler. Si la déconcentration des positions nationales est envisageable, aucun organisme international ne peut prétendre fixer, une fois pour toutes, les objectifs à long terme. Dès lors, anticipant que le montant des quotas futurs sera toujours ajusté au vu des tendances réelles, beaucoup de pays ne s'engageront pas dans des programmes structurels suffisamment ambitieux. Cela risque de compromettre l'efficacité de l'action climatique et de fragiliser plus encore le consensus ...

On the efficiency of climate policies international coordination. This article analyses the economic efficiency of climate policies international coordination acknowledging long term perspectives and political constraints. It questions the economic and political viability of emission trading with respect to market power and dynamic distortions. The latter proves more worrying. While one may reasonably expect national positions being decentralized, the Climate Convention cannot commit on long term emission objectives. As a consequence, there is room for strategic behaviour by governments. Structural public programs, crucial to curb long term emissions, are likely to be scaled down because governments expect post-2012 quotas to be revised according to observed trends. This might jeopardize the climate action and further weaken the political consensus it requires. Are carbon taxes a better policy option ? It might be the case provided the tax is levied at the international level, but this option faces political obstacles. A hybrid scheme should realise a good compromise between economic efficiency and political acceptability. ; Cet article propose une analyse économique de la coordination internationale contre le réchauffement planétaire intégrant les perspectives de long terme et les contraintes politiques. Il s'interroge ainsi sur les risques économiques et politiques auxquels les permis d'émission négociables pourraient être exposés du fait de pouvoirs de marché ou de distorsions dynamiques. Les seconds s'avèrent les plus difficiles à contrôler. Si la déconcentration des positions nationales est envisageable, aucun organisme international ne peut prétendre fixer, une fois pour toutes, les objectifs à long terme. Dès lors, anticipant que le montant des quotas futurs sera toujours ajusté au vu des tendances réelles, beaucoup de pays ne s'engageront pas dans des programmes structurels suffisamment ambitieux. Cela risque de compromettre l'efficacité de l'action climatique et de fragiliser plus encore le consensus qui lui est nécessaire. La solution alternative, la taxation internationale du carbone, ne présente pas de tels défauts d'incitation, mais elle pose des difficultés politiques. Une combinaison des deux instruments pourrait toutefois, à terme, s'avérer fructueuse.

this article provides an economic analysis of international coordination against global warming, integrating long-term perspectives and political constraints. It thus questions the economic and political risks to which tradable emission permits might be exposed as a result of market powers or dynamic distortions. The latter prove to be the most difficult to check. While deconcentration of national positions is possible, no international body can claim to set long-term objectives once and for all. Therefore, anticipating that the amount of future quotas will always be adjusted in the light of real trends, many countries will not engage in sufficiently ambitious structural programmes. This risks undermining the effectiveness of climate action and further weakening the consensus it needs. The alternative solution, international carbon taxation, does not present such a lack of incentives, but poses political difficulties. However, a combination of the two instruments could prove successful in the long term. ; On the efficiency of climate policies international coordination. This article analyses the economic efficiency of climate policies international coordination acknowledging long term perspectives and political constraints. It questions the economic and political viability of emission trading with respect to market power and dynamic distortions. The latter proves more worrying. While one may reasonably expect national positions being decentralized, the Climate Convention cannot commit on long term emission objectives. As a consequence, there is room for strategic behaviour by governments. Structural public programs, crucial to curb long term emissions, are likely to be scaled down because governments expect post-2012 quotas to be revised according to observed trends. This might jeopardize the climate action and further weaken the political consensus it requires. Are carbon taxes a better policy option ? It might be the case provided the tax is levied at the international level, but this option faces political ...

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