CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Twenty of the world's top academic
experts on energy and environmental economics will share research
on how best to implement possible U.S. climate regulations during a
conference this week for federal policy analysts.
The two-day forum will explore solutions to practical problems
that could emerge if Congress adopts carbon-emission restrictions
to curb global warming, said Don Fullerton, a University of
Illinois finance professor and an organizer of the event.
"Our goal is to help make good policy. Examining the best ideas
creates the best policy," said Fullerton, a former deputy assistant
secretary with the U.S. Treasury Department and an expert on the
economic impact of environmental regulations.
Economists from Harvard, Stanford and other leading universities
will present research to about 150 government policy analysts who
would ultimately help steer U.S. climate policy, including
representatives of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Office
of Management and Budget and the energy, transportation and
treasury departments.
The conference, scheduled for Thursday and Friday at the
National Press Club in Washington, D.C., is sponsored by the
National Bureau of Economic Research, a nonpartisan think tank that
provides economic analysis for government, business and the
academic community.
Research will focus on enforcement, monitoring and other
implementation issues that could surface if the U.S. adopts a
climate policy, which has stalled in Congress but could re-emerge
by early next year, said Fullerton, who heads the NBER's
environmental and energy economics program.
"Now that the prospects are getting closer, we have to worry
about more than just big questions like whether it should be a
cap-and-trade system or a carbon tax," he said. "Either way, there
would be a lot of detailed problems with making it work."
Issues that need to be considered, Fullerton said, include:
- How any carbon taxes should be collected. Taxes could be
collected from users, such as at gasoline pumps, but Fullerton says
the government might save millions of dollars in administrative
costs if taxes were imposed at the source, such as domestic oil
wells or when imported oil arrives in the U.S.
- Whether taxes should be considered on imports from countries
with no climate policies. Carbon-emission standards would increase
production costs in the U.S., creating an unfair competitive
advantage for countries without climate policies, Fullerton
said.
- Should climate policy address issues such as zoning? Fullerton
says cities could help curb carbon emissions by encouraging urban
condominiums that reduce commuting and urban sprawl.
- How should climate policy manage the tradeoffs between
carbon-creating activities and forestry, which sequesters carbon?
For example, Fullerton said, should energy producers be able to
swap credits with tree growers and, if so, could those credits be
traded internationally?
- Should government offset the negative impact of climate policy
on the poor, who spend a higher percentage of their income on
energy? Government could ease the impact by using a portion of
climate policy revenue as subsidies, Fullerton said.
He says connecting policy analysts with academic experts will
raise potential problems ahead of time, and provide a forum that
ensures the best ideas are considered.
"There's just this long, long list of practical considerations,"
said Fullerton, a researcher with the U. of I. Institute of
Government and Public Affairs, and the Center for Business and
Public Policy in the College of Business. "I hope this conference
can help steer policymakers toward the best possible policies."
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