Colloquium: Dr. Michael Pahle
Wednesday, Oct 13, 2021, at 12.15 - 13.30
Room RZ F 21 or Online, Zoom | Sign up here
What is the problem of solving the climate problem? Insights from implementing carbon pricing in Germany and the EU
In September 2019 the German government has adopted an Climate Action Program to achieve its 2030 climate targets. This Program constitutes a major strategic shift for the country's approach to climate action, in particular because of the prominent role of carbon pricing. While economists had modest influence on policy making in the past, this time the profession's expertise figured prominently.
With two years of hindsight, in this talk I reflect upon the process leading up to the report on carbon pricing reform options I authored together with colleagues at MCC. I will trace our thinking starting from the economic literature on climate policy, explain how the notion of "policy sequencing" has shaped our recommendations, and finally elaborate on the "blind-spot"-role of administrative and legal constraints. I will conclude with implications for the policy relevance of economic research.
About Dr. Michael Pahle
Michael Pahle holds a PhD in economics and is head of the working group “Climate and Energy Policy” in Research Domain 3 at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). His research focusses on emission trading and decarbonizing the power sector. He is regularly involved in projects to support policy implementation by state and federal agencies in Germany, covering topics such ascoal phase out, power market design, and the EU-ETS reform. In 2019 he coauthored a study on carbon pricing in reform options commissioned by the German Council of Economic Experts on behalf of the Federal Government, for which he was lead author of the EU-ETS chapter.
The presentation of the talk is available for protected pagedownload.