Project 4a

Project staff: Ralf Martin and Andy Gouldson

This project focuses on the targeting of governmental policies for climate change mitigation.

Like project 4b, this project looks at what roles governments and markets should play in stimulating the changes that are needed to meet tougher targets for climate change mitigation.

It considers what levels of change might be possible in the way that businesses operate, and the likely side effects of such changes.

It seems that climate change policies and innovations in carbon finance and emissions trading are starting to lead to changes in performance. Are these changes real, or are carbon-intensive activities just being shifted away from the balance sheets of countries or companies?

If we are currently in a phase where some relatively easy options for carbon reduction can be exploited, how long will this phase last and what happens when further change becomes more expensive or more challenging?