Linking International Emissions Trading Schemes

1. Linking International Emissions Trading Schemes Charis A. van den Berg, LL.M. Fitsum G. Tiche, LL.M.

2. ExistingandproposedETSs EU ETS Switzerland South Korea WCI RGGI MGGA Australia New Zealand

3. Research questions • What are the underlyingsocio-economic, legalandpolitical factors of barrierstolinkinginternationalemissionstradingschemes? • Sub-questions: • What are the major barriers to linking • What inefficiencies may arise • What are the underlying socio-economic, legal and political factors?

4. Relevance • Competing policy considerations and linking emissions trading schemes • Solving barriers to linking requires socio-economic and politically feasible solutions • Thusthe needtounderstand the socio-economic, legalandpolitical factors behindbarrierstolinking

5. Approaches • FunctionalComparativeLaw • Mapping out barrierstolinkingandunderstandingtheir background from a comparativelawperspective • Transaction CostEconomics • Problem of linking as a contractingproblem • Emissionstradingschemes as basic units of analysis havingtheirownspecificattributes • The linkingframework as a governancestructuretosolvecontractingproblems

6. Methodology • Mapping out barrierstolinking: • Identifying similarities and differences • Laws and other policy instruments • Literature analysis • Unbundlingsocio-economic, legalandeconomic factors: • Lookingintolegislativeintentions in a historicalandpolitical sense • Discussionswith stakeholders • Interest groups’ position papers • Mapping out inefficiencies: • Contractual problems posed by linking and how these affect linking

7. Linking Framework