Environmental Policy Analysis: Emissions Trading and Carbon Tax

This assignment analyzes two key environmental policies: Emissions Trading and Carbon Tax. The first section examines the preconditions for successful emissions trading, including attracting decision-makers, enabling companies to utilize opportunities, achieving environmental objectives cost-effectively, and addressing limitations like carbon offset misuse and lack of emission measurement standards. It also highlights the regulatory role of government. The second section focuses on carbon taxes, discussing their strengths in reducing carbon fuel impacts and limitations such as measurement problems. It emphasizes the government's role in ensuring fairness, supporting lower-income groups, and setting tax limits for price certainty. The assignment concludes by stressing the importance of a blueprint for analyzing energy needs to guide the transition to a low-emission future in electricity markets.

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Environmental Policy
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

2ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
Question1
a. The preconditions necessary for the proper implementation of the Emissions Trading can
be done properly by following some of the preconditions, like
 The policy implemented must be such so that it should attract the attention of the
important decision makers (Choi 2013). This is because of the fact that the decision
makers play a very important role in designing the plan and the implementation of the
policy.
 The policy must be instrumental in allowing the companies to utilize the new
opportunities, the challenges and also all the available resources in order to make the
policy much more systematic, operational and strategic in nature.
b. Coverage
 Achieving of the environmental objective
The policy is so designed that it would be able to control properly the harmful
emissions of the carbon dioxide in a very cost effective manner (Yang et al 2016).
 .
 emission trading incentives
 In order to reduce the emission of the harmful gases, the emission trading system
uses several methods of reducing the emission on site. One such method is
making considerable amount of investment in energy efficiency. It is this
approach that can make the business much more sustainable in the recent future.
This is also because of the fact that investment in cost saving technologies will
lead to a reduction in the overheads as well (Yang et al 2016).

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C limitations
Companies that try to implement this particular policy often can undertake the
purchasing of carbon offsets. However, after the purchase of these carbon offsets, the
companies do not properly implement the carbon dioxide reduction methods. As a
result of which, the companies are just interested in purchasing the carbon offsets
rather than reducing the harmful emissions by the application of new technologies
(Wang et al 2016).
There is also a lack of standard methods of measuring the harmful emissions from the
oil sands, which comprises of polluted water and can cause harmful emissions and
pollution (Yang et al 2016).
d. It is a regulatory policy as
The government has to play a major role in the implementation of the policy.
e. The government must make sure that
 While designing the emissions trading policy, there must be the selling or the auctioning
of the permits by the regulator. This is helpful because while selling or auctioning the
regulator can generate the revenues which are usually redistributed or recyclable in
nature. This can be used to reduce other taxes. The government also must make sure that
the way in which the policy is being designed is suitable enough with the jurisdiction’s
overall climate.
 There is proper identification of the sources that emit the harmful carbon dioxide gases.

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 There must be proper accumulation of funds in order to endure that the modern and
advanced scientific tools can be used for controlling the emissions from the electricity
units.
Question2
 a. The policy implemented must be such so that it should attract the attention of the
important decision makers (Choi 2013).
 The policy must be instrumental in allowing the companies to utilize the new
opportunities, the challenges and also all the available resources in order to make the
policy much more systematic, operational and strategic in nature.
B. strengths
 Carbon taxes can be used as a very essential tool of reducing the harmful impacts of the
carbon containing fuels.
 As there is a tax imposed on all the fuels that contains carbon elements, all the firms are
naturally inclined towards using more environments friendly production processes.
C. Limitations
 There can be problems in measuring in how much carbon is being used.
 Countries may also carry on their business free of cost in other countrie’s carbon
taxations.
D. It is a regulatory policy as

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The government has to play a major role in the implementation of the policy.
E. The role played by Government
 The Government must make sure that there is fairness present in the imposition of the
taxes on the carbon containing fuels. In other words, the Government must make sure that
the companies are not able to avoid payment of proper taxes (Yang et al 2016).
 This taxation system must also benefit the lower income groups in a positive way.
Carbon tax must not necessarily turn out to be a bad news for the poor section of the
society or the coal mining communities. Rather it must be helpful towards them by
providing them sufficient amount of fund for a transition, or for a better and improved
life.
 The Government must set the limit of the carbon tax programs on the different companies
in such a way so that there is proper price certainty. This can be done by specifying a
certain tax rate for a particular specific year. Apart from this, the taxation on carnon
containing fuels must be such so as to allow all the industries in adjusting their emission
rates according to their current conditions.
Question3
a. In order to lower the emissions, a proper blueprint must be developed for the proper
analyzing of the different energy needs or electricity needs in the electricity market of
dfferent countries.
b. yes

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This is because of the fact that there must be proper strategies implemented to look after
and guide the proper operation and the evolution of the national electricity market to look
after and guide the change towards a low emission future (Orlov et al 2013).

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References
Choi, T.M., 2013. Optimal apparel supplier selection with forecast updates under carbon
emission taxation scheme. Computers & Operations Research, 40(11), pp.2646-2655.
Orlov, A., Grethe, H. and McDonald, S., 2013. Carbon taxation in Russia: Prospects for a double
dividend and improved energy efficiency. Energy Economics, 37, pp.128-140.
Wang, Q., Hubacek, K., Feng, K., Wei, Y.M. and Liang, Q.M., 2016. Distributional effects of
carbon taxation. Applied Energy, 184, pp.1123-1131.
Yang, M., Zou, Y., Lo, M. and Chao, Y., 2016. Integrated Supply Chain Inventory Model with
Progressive Carbon Taxation. In Proceedings of the International MultiConference of Engineers
and Computer Scientists (Vol. 2). IMECS.