background

In the past, CLPP's work covered a broader spectrum of issues, including international human rights (protecting the rights of communities particularly vulnerable to climate impacts). While those issues remain of the highest importance, CLPP's current focus is narrower: formulating and promoting domestic and international climate policies that direct expenditures by emitters towards driving actions that cost-effectively achieve emission reductions.

Such approaches could include:

  • Action fees - similar to carbon taxes, but revenues are used to achieve additional reductions, ideally via cost-effective mechanisms such as reverse auctions
  • Action caps - cap-and-trade mechanisms that use revenues from allowance sales to cost-effectively achieve additional reductions
  • Action targets / Climate emission reduction targets (CERTs) - relative emission reduction targets that require emitters to achieve or acquire a certain amount of reductions for every ton emitted (essentially a tax paid in reductions rather than money); for cost-effectiveness, reductions would be tradable

These approaches represent ways that U.S. states, the U.S. EPA, other national governments, and perhaps even Congress (someday) can achieve greater emission reductions at lower cost.


Publications

CLPP and Donald Goldberg have prepared a range of papers laying out some of these ideas, including:


Regulatory Comments

  • Comments on the 2016 RGGI Program Review, the California Discussion Draft of the 2030 Target Scoping Plan Update, and the Oregon GHG Market Study (2016)