Marginal Abatement Cost Curves and the Quality of Emission Reductions : A Case Study on Brazil
Decision makers facing emission-reduction targets need to decide which abatement measures to implement, and in which order. This article investigates how marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves can inform such a decision. We re-analyse a MAC curve built for Brazil by 2030, and show that misinterpreting...
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Taylor and Francis
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20660 |
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okr-10986-206602021-04-23T14:03:59Z Marginal Abatement Cost Curves and the Quality of Emission Reductions : A Case Study on Brazil Vogt-Schilb, Adrien Hallegatte, Stéphane de Gouvello, Christophe carbon lock-in climate change mitigation policy low-carbon development plan sectoral policy technology policy Decision makers facing emission-reduction targets need to decide which abatement measures to implement, and in which order. This article investigates how marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves can inform such a decision. We re-analyse a MAC curve built for Brazil by 2030, and show that misinterpreting MAC curves as abatement supply curves can lead to suboptimal strategies. It would lead to (1) under-investment in expensive, long-to-implement and large-potential options, such as clean transportation infrastructure, and (2) over-investment in cheap but limited-potential options such as energy-efficiency improvement in refineries. To mitigate this issue, the article proposes a new graphical representation of MAC curves that explicitly renders the time required to implement each measure. Policy relevance: In addition to the cost and potential of available options, designing optimal short-term policies requires information on long-term targets (e.g. halving emissions by 2050) and on the speed at which measures can deliver emission reductions. Mitigation policies are thus best investigated in a dynamic framework, building on sector-scale pathways to long-term targets. Climate policies should seek both quantity and quality of abatement, by combining two approaches: a ‘synergy approach’ that focuses on the cheapest mitigation options and maximizes co-benefits, and an ‘urgency approach’ that starts from a long-term objective and works backward to identify actions that need to be implemented early. Accordingly, sector-specific policies may be used (1) to remove implementation barriers on negative- and low-cost options and (2) to ensure short-term targets are met with abatement of sufficient quality. Indeed, such policies can avoid under-investment in the long-to-implement options required to reach long-term targets, which are otherwise difficult to enforce. 2014-12-04T23:29:32Z 2014-12-04T23:29:32Z 2014-11-18 Journal Article Climate Policy 1469-3062 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20660 en_US CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Taylor and Francis Publications & Research :: Journal Article Latin America & Caribbean Brazil |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
en_US |
| topic |
carbon lock-in climate change mitigation policy low-carbon development plan sectoral policy technology policy |
| spellingShingle |
carbon lock-in climate change mitigation policy low-carbon development plan sectoral policy technology policy Vogt-Schilb, Adrien Hallegatte, Stéphane de Gouvello, Christophe Marginal Abatement Cost Curves and the Quality of Emission Reductions : A Case Study on Brazil |
| geographic_facet |
Latin America & Caribbean Brazil |
| description |
Decision makers facing emission-reduction targets need to decide which abatement measures to implement, and in which order. This article investigates how marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves can inform such a decision. We re-analyse a MAC curve built for Brazil by 2030, and show that misinterpreting MAC curves as abatement supply curves can lead to suboptimal strategies. It would lead to (1) under-investment in expensive, long-to-implement and large-potential options, such as clean transportation infrastructure, and (2) over-investment in cheap but limited-potential options such as energy-efficiency improvement in refineries. To mitigate this issue, the article proposes a new graphical representation of MAC curves that explicitly renders the time required to implement each measure.
Policy relevance: In addition to the cost and potential of available options, designing optimal short-term policies requires information on long-term targets (e.g. halving emissions by 2050) and on the speed at which measures can deliver emission reductions. Mitigation policies are thus best investigated in a dynamic framework, building on sector-scale pathways to long-term targets. Climate policies should seek both quantity and quality of abatement, by combining two approaches: a ‘synergy approach’ that focuses on the cheapest mitigation options and maximizes co-benefits, and an ‘urgency approach’ that starts from a long-term objective and works backward to identify actions that need to be implemented early. Accordingly, sector-specific policies may be used (1) to remove implementation barriers on negative- and low-cost options and (2) to ensure short-term targets are met with abatement of sufficient quality. Indeed, such policies can avoid under-investment in the long-to-implement options required to reach long-term targets, which are otherwise difficult to enforce. |
| format |
Journal Article |
| author |
Vogt-Schilb, Adrien Hallegatte, Stéphane de Gouvello, Christophe |
| author_facet |
Vogt-Schilb, Adrien Hallegatte, Stéphane de Gouvello, Christophe |
| author_sort |
Vogt-Schilb, Adrien |
| title |
Marginal Abatement Cost Curves and the Quality of Emission Reductions : A Case Study on Brazil |
| title_short |
Marginal Abatement Cost Curves and the Quality of Emission Reductions : A Case Study on Brazil |
| title_full |
Marginal Abatement Cost Curves and the Quality of Emission Reductions : A Case Study on Brazil |
| title_fullStr |
Marginal Abatement Cost Curves and the Quality of Emission Reductions : A Case Study on Brazil |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Marginal Abatement Cost Curves and the Quality of Emission Reductions : A Case Study on Brazil |
| title_sort |
marginal abatement cost curves and the quality of emission reductions : a case study on brazil |
| publisher |
Taylor and Francis |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/20660 |
| _version_ |
1764446978736914432 |