Robert Stavins

Debate continues in the United States, Europe and throughout the world about whether the forces of the marketplace can be harnessed in the interest of environmental protection, in particular, to address the threat of global climate change. In an essay that appears in the Spring 2012 issue of

Some press accounts and various advocates have labeled the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) as near "the brink of failure" because of the recent trend of very low auction prices. Likewise, commentators have recently characterized the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) as...

In my Dec. 12 essay, following the 17^th Conference of the Parties (COP-17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which adjourned Dec. 11, 2011, I offered my assessment of the Durban climate negotiations by taking note of three...

In 2009, the U.S. Congress considered but ultimately failed to enact legislation aimed at limiting U.S. greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. The bill under consideration at that time, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, was the last in a series considered over several years. Sponsored...

The Sixth Edition of Economics of the Environment: Selected Readings has just been published by W. W. Norton & Company of New York and London. Through five previous editions, Economics of the Environment has served as a valuable supplement to environmental economics texts and...

In my previous essay -- following the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP-17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which adjourned on December 11, 2011 -- I offered my assessment of the Durban climate negotiations, addressing the frequently-posed question of...

The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP-17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adjourned on Sunday, a day and a half after its scheduled close, and in the process once again pulled a rabbit out of the hat by saving the talks...

Two weeks of international climate negotiations begin today in Durban, South Africa. These are the Seventeenth Conference of the Parties (COP-17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The key challenge at this point is to maintain the process of building...

Friday, October 21st was a significant day for climate change policy worldwide and for the use of market-based approaches to environmental protection, but it went largely unnoticed across the country and around the world, outside, that is, of the State of California. On that day, the California Air...

In a January 2009 article— "The Big Fix"—in the New York Times Magazine, David Leonhardt introduced a frequently-employed political strategy into popular political culture by identifying it with the new president's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel:

Two weeks after the election,

There's room for debate about whether U.S. government deficits justify Standard & Poor's downgrading last week of long-term U.S. debt, but the more important factor cited in S&P's report is that "the effectiveness, stability, and predictability of American policymaking and political institutions have weakened..." The S&P...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a golden opportunity to opt for a smart, low-cost approach to fulfilling its mandate under a Supreme Court decision to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions linked with global climate change.

Canada confirmed this week that it will not take on a target under an extension of the Kyoto Protocol following the completion of the first commitment period, 2008–2012. Given that Canada is likely to miss by a wide margin its current target under the first commitment...

Today, I'm pleased to offer a temporary respite from analysis of climate change policy (and other environmental policies, for that matter), while remaining well within the general province of environmental and natural resource economics. I do this through a merger of profession and avocation, in my case, economics and oenonomy...

On May 20th, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith ruled that the California Air Resources Board had not adequately explained its choice of a market-based mechanism - a cap-and-trade system -- to achieve approximately 20 percent of targeted emissions reductions by 2020 under Assembly Bill...

At a time when EPA regulations are under harsh attack, one new environmental regulation -- at least -- stands out as an impressive winner for the country. Studies of the soon-to-be-finalized Clean Air Transport Rule have consistently found that the benefits created by the rule would far outweigh its...

The latest rage in Washington policy discussions these days (that's relevant to climate change) is renewed interest in renewable electricity standards, this time in the form of so-called "clean energy standards." I've written about this policy approach recently at this blog (Renewable Energy Standards: Less Effective, More Costly,...

As the first decade of the 21st century comes to a close, the problem of the commons is more important to our lives -- and more central to economics -- than a century ago when the first issue of the American Economic Review appeared, with an examination by Professor Katharine...

California Governor Jerry Brown plans to move forward with the implementation of Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, under which California seeks to take dramatic steps to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. Questions have been raised about the wisdom of a single state trying to address a global...

The new Congress is beginning to consider various alternative energy and climate policies in the wake of last year's collapse in the U.S. Senate of consideration of a meaningful, economy-wide CO2 cap-and-trade scheme. Among the options receiving attention are various types of renewable portfolio standards, also known as renewable electricity...