Analyzing the effectiveness of international environmental policies: The case of the Kyoto Protocol

Christian Almer and Ralph Winkler

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2017, vol. 82, issue C, 125-151

Abstract: We study the effectiveness of emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol with respect to reducing CO2 emissions. Using country-level and US state-level panel data and employing the synthetic control method, we find very little evidence for an emission reduction effect for the major emitters among the Annex B countries with binding emission targets. More generally, we also show that evaluating the effectiveness of international environmental policies at the country level comes with a number of empirical challenges that may invalidate findings based on more traditional panel data approaches.

Keywords: Climate policy; International environmental agreements; Kyoto Protocol; Synthetic control method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: K33 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (43)

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Working Paper: Analysing the Effectiveness of International Environmental Policies: The Case of the Kyoto Protocol (2015)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:82:y:2017:i:c:p:125-151

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2016.11.003

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