Summer Course in Environmental Studies 2023
Carbon pricing policies: International Legal Context and Economic Perspective
— Singapore campus —
- Environmental Studies
- Taught in English
- July 5-14 2023
- Assas campus, Singapore
- Environmental Studies
- Taught in English
- July 5-14 2023
- Assas campus, Singapore
As the dramatic consequences of climate change are starting to unfold, ensuring energy transition is crucial. The environment is a global problem with no clearly defined international legal context. Setting a carbon price and more ambitious mitigation targets seems a simple and obvious solution. Indeed, according to a recent World Bank report, over 60 (national and subnational) jurisdictions have a price on carbon, which covers 22 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, setting the “right” price signal is challenging. Technological difficulties and economic and regulatory issues need to be addressed to spur low-cost investments and foster competition.
Course description
This cross-disciplinary course will examine the main principles of carbon price policies from legal and economic perspectives. The focus will be on comparing national legal frameworks related to the carbon-pricing system with a specific interest in carbon-market designs in Asia and Europe.
Different questions will be addressed, such as:
- What are the drivers and national legal challenges of adopting a carbon price policy?
- Which international legal obligations are associated with carbon policy?
- What are the existing international legal and economic toolkits to evaluate a carbon price policy and map out countries’ diverse interests?
- Which relative effectiveness of the different carbon price policies in terms of environmental impact and other outcomes (e.g., welfare, compliance, international treaties, European law)?
The objective of this course is to equip students with the necessary tools to apply the main concepts of (international and national) energy law and environmental economics. They will have to deal with concrete situations, e.g., international or regional treaties, the alignment between national energy laws, the legal access to energy network infrastructure, or the compliance issue of energy investments. The ultimate goal of this course is to trigger an interest in the international legal context and the economic dimension of the 21st century energy challenges.
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Format
The course will consist of a mix of conventional lectures (presentation and discussion of concepts, theoretical frameworks, research results, etc.) mingled with interactive sequences, such as game simulations, case studies, and multimedia materials (videos, infographics, etc.).
Students will also be able to develop their own carbon pricing policy for a specific industry/sector. They will design their own carbon pricing policy to address a social issue, considering governance and business models, legal and institutional contexts, scaling perspectives, and impact measurement tools.
- Targeted group: Students with law or economic background (bachelor, 2nd year). No economic or quantitative background is required.
- An excursion to a few local green businesses is planned, e.g., a wind farm operator, a carbon trader, a biomass power plant, a builder of passive houses, a bio-ethanol producer, a minister for environmental affairs, etc.
- Fees: EUR 1,500 or SGD 2,100 (early bird, register before 31 March 2023). EUR 1,800 or SGD 2,500 from 1st April onwards.
- Course duration: 32 hours (including 10 hours of tutorials with the Professors)
- Conventional lecture in the morning / Group Work in the afternoon
For accommodation or general enquiry, please contact us.
Course leaders
Chloé LE COQ
Professor of Economics
Chloé Le Coq is a Professor of Economics at the University of Paris-Pantheon-Assas, a Research Fellow at the Stockholm School of Economics, and a DIW fellow in Berlin. She has held visiting positions at Purdue University, the University of California Energy Institute at Berkeley, and the National University of Singapore. Her research investigates antitrust policy, industrial organization, and experimental economics, with a particular focus on energy markets and their regulation.
Her recent work includes empirical studies on forward power markets, energy security issues, and experimental studies of electricity auctions. Her research has been published in peer-reviewed international journals, and she regularly publishes policy briefs and research work for several governmental institutions and organizations.
Hao ZHANG
Associate Professor
Hao Zhang is an Associate Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He specializes in energy and climate law, focusing on the legal and regulatory issues surrounding energy and green economic transition.
His recent work includes the investigation of the carbon pricing mechanism and its interaction with the electricity market regulation, renewable energy law, as well as law and energy market reform. He has published widely on these issues in law and environmental studies journals. He has advised international organizations, government, and non-government organizations based on his research.
Number of participants limited
The number of participants will be limited to a maximum of 25 people
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