Governments, markets and climate change mitigation
This research programme focuses on the ways in which we can promote transitions to a low-carbon economy through different forms of public and private action.
Information
We consider the role of governments, at scales from the global to the local, and the influence that they can have through different forms of policy.
We also consider the ways in which policies for a low-carbon economy are designed and delivered, and the impacts that they can have on environmental performance, energy efficiency/carbon intensity, and also on competitiveness and economic performance.
We look at the roles that markets can play in driving low-carbon innovations. Some of these markets are created by government policy – and we pay particular attention to the ways in which efficient and effective carbon markets can be created, and to the social, economic and environmental impacts that they can have. We evaluate not only their current design, but also how they might evolve in the coming years. We consider the ways that they can be better supported: for example, through new forms of carbon accounting that allow investors and other stakeholders to engage in new forms of private or market-based carbon governance.
Throughout the programme, our research seeks to build a fuller and more robust and `evidence-based' understanding of the different ways in which society can promote transitions to a low-carbon economy.
We hope that our research will accelerate and help manage the costs and the wider implications of any transition, and build a clearer view of the longer term prospects for an ongoing transition.
Research projects
These four projects examine the impacts of low-carbon industrial strategies, carbon taxes, emissions trading schemes, information-based approaches, business support mechanisms, and so on.