Emissions Trading Programs: The Recipe for Success

Off The Charts Energy Podcast

As China prepares to introduce a national emissions trading program this year, what can global leaders learn from other carbon markets? 'Off the Charts' host Jeff McMahon discusses the United States' first mandatory carbon market, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), with Sue Tierney, who served as assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Energy during the Clinton administration and is currently a senior advisor at the Analysis Group. RGGI, now almost a decade old, is made up of a collection of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states that may soon include New Jersey and Virginia. What impacts has RGGI had on emissions and on the local economies of participating states? How does its design compare to other emissions trading programs, such as the California-Quebec-Ontario market and European Union market? And, what lessons can be drawn from its successes and challenges as China and other states and countries launch or contemplate their own market?