Technological Change And The EU ETS: The Case Of Ireland

Barry Anderson, Frank Convery and Corrado Di Maria

No 10-06, Economics Working Papers from Queen's Management School, Queen's University Belfast

Abstract: The European Union commenced the pilot phase of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in 2005 with the intent to enhance the adoption of existing low-carbon technologies and the development and of new ones by putting a price on CO 2 emissions. We survey Irish EU ETS firms to study the occurrence and determinants of CO 2 emissions friendly technological change during the pilot phase (2005-2007). Despite declining emissions prices and policy related uncertainty, 48% of responding Irish firms employed new machinery or equipment, 74% made process or behavioral changes, and 41% switched fuels to some degree that contributed to emissions reductions during the pilot phase. The effect of rising energy prices on these emissions and energy saving actions should not be overlooked. In general, we find that the EU ETS was effective in stimulating moderate technological change and also raising awareness about emissions reduction possibilities.

Keywords: European Union Emissions Trading System; Climate Policy; Innovation; Technological Change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q48 Q54 Q55 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 22 pages
Date: 2010
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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