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From ETS to Carbon Coalitions: Carbon Market Standards Will Improve Over Time

Sara K Parker

DOI https://doi.org/10.21552/cclr/2019/3/4



As Parties to the Paris Agreement struggle to reach agreement on guidance for Article 6, a key question remains: How will jurisdictions develop standards to engage in market cooperation? One recommendation is for interested jurisdictions to form Carbon Market Coalitions to pursue high standards in order to ensure the environmental integrity of market cooperation. This paper examines 8 Emissions Trading Systems (EU, Swiss, New Zealand, RGGI, WCI, Tokyo & Saitama, Kazakhstan, and the Republic of Korea) for patterns in the development of ETS standards over time and among ETS. ETS development in the absence of robust international rules provides a useful comparison for how jurisdictions may develop rules for market-based cooperation post-2020 if the CMA fails to provide strong guidance. The results of the analysis reveal that ETS jurisdictions respond to pressures to stabilise and improve ETS over time. Globally, there are also observable trends of policy diffusion of beneficial measures and avoidance of past problems and challenges. The paper concludes that jurisdictions pursuing cooperation through carbon coalitions would likely respond to similar stimuli as existing ETS, which would result in the development of standards that would improve over time.

Sara K Parker, J.D., LL.M., International Climate Policy Consultant. Sara would like to thank Alex Hanafi, Environmental Defense Fund, for his support in developing this paper. For correspondence: <mailto:sara.kparker1@gmail.com>.

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