WTO agreements discipline the use of subsidies, particularly for upstream manufacturing or exports. Unlike tariff rules, the Subsidies Code lacks exceptions for transboundary externalities like human health or resource conservation, including those related to combatting global climate change.

Support for Green Goods?

Support policies for green goods (like renewable energy) are much more popular internationally than imposing a cost on bads (like carbon taxes).

These support policies may encourage downstream consumption (renewable energy deployment) or upstream development and manufacturing of those technologies. The strategic trade literature has devoted little attention to the range of market failures related to green goods.

The market for a new environmental good 

We consider the market for a new environmental good (e.g., an alternative renewable energy technology) that when consumed downstream may provide external benefits (like reduced emissions). The technology is traded internationally, but provided by a limited set of upstream suppliers that may operate in imperfect markets, such as with market power or external scale economies.

National incentives and global rationales

We examine the national incentives and global rationales for offering production and consumption subsidies in producer countries, allowing that some of the downstream market may lie in non-regulating third-party countries. While producer countries can benefit from restraints on upstream subsidies, global welfare is higher without them, and market failures imply that optimal subsidies are even higher.

Optimal subsidies?

We supplement the analysis with numerical simulations of the case of renewable energy, exploring optimal subsidies for the major renewable energy producing and consuming regions.

Speaker: Carolyn Fischer, Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future / Senior Researcher FEEM

“Public transport, and its image, could be vastly improved with fleets of ultra-clean and silent buses. Clean, silent service and delivery vehicles could transform the quality of urban life”  Siim Kallas, 18/09/2014,The future of electromobility in Europe.

Security of energy supply as well as reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is currently high on the European policy agenda. Therefore, in any sector great support is given to strategies aimed at relieving the pressure on the supply side, namely through reduction of energy consumption, increase of energy efficiency, and diversification of the energy mix towards renewables.

The aim of the 5th Florence Urban Transport Forum is to look at energy efficiency in urban public transport, and see what are the obstacles and incentives to gradually phase out of conventionally fuelled vehicles from the urban environment. Following the usual format of the Florence School of Regulation, we aim at offering a platform to senior stakeholders from regulators, politics, operators, municipalities, authorities, associations to discuss with prominent academics and to take stock of topics relevant to urban transport regulation and policies. Four panels will focus on how the resource efficiency goal applies to urban public transport, the impact of technology, the influence of the private operators and their interaction with the public sector that is managing the tendering procedures, and the role of local governance and citizens.  Isabelle Maes (DG MOVE, Clean Transport and Sustainable Urban Mobility) will discuss the topic with relevant stakeholders representing associations ( UITP ), city administrations (Stockholm , Copenhagen , Munich ), operators ( EJRC and Car Postal ) as well as renowkned researchers, such as Claus Seibt (Programme Director Sustainable Transport and Mobility Services at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy) and Raimondo Orsini (Director of the Sustainable Development Foundation).

For more information, please contact FSR.Transport@eui.eu

Sustainability plays an increasingly important role in organising urban mobility, and many cities are taking own approaches in promoting more sustainable travel patterns. At the European level ‘indirect’ tools, such as Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP) or directives on fuel quality and air quality, try to steer the development. In addition, the European Union recognises the importance of sustainable mobility in its planned Urban Mobility Package.

Advocates of a more sustainable lifestyle attribute urban public transport a pivotal role when it comes to lowering pollution and congestions. But are the challenges and aspirations of sustainable urban transport in any way different from the earlier challenges for urban public transport? Or is it simply a new opportunity to gain more support for the traditional goal of increasing the modal share in favour of public transport?

Stakeholders from operators, authorities, the European Commission, associations and academics will identify and discuss the main challenges of sustainable urban mobility. Further, they will determine if and how public transport authorities should become active, and debate mechanisms to reach clean transport patterns. Participants will address, among others, following guiding questions:

• Sustainable Urban Mobility: New challenges or a new label for old problems?
• Are legal requirements about fuels, air quality and pollutants simplifying or complicating the organisation of public transport?
• Are ‘access restriction schemes’ a suitable tool to promote green transport? Are there best practices, which should be harmonised and followed across Europe?
• How can urban public transport contribute to the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMP)? And can the SUMP contribute to increase the modal share of urban public transport?

DOWNLOAD

European Transport Regulation Observer

Summary of the Presentations

Following the 2nd Florence Urban Transport Forum which focused on the experiences and challenges of tendering urban public transport, the Florence School of Regulation turns to the tendering of urban public transport systems as a whole.

The EC Regulation 1370/2007 leaves room for interpretation and allows the tendering of urban public transport systems as a whole. Tendering systems can bring advantages, it reduces the number of actors involved, it assigns clear responsibilities (if designed thoroughly), and gives operators the flexibility and incentive to improve the system. Nonetheless, it bears risks, competition and its advantages might be reduced, it could disproportionally favour big players, and authorities have fewer opportunities to learn and improve the tendering system.

This 3rd European Urban Transport Regulation Forum will discuss if tendering entire systems is a viable and desirable possibility for urban public transport. Does it really bring the benefits hoped for, such as innovation? Or is it an indirect way to protect incumbent operators or to favour big players? Participants will address among others following guiding questions:

• What does praxis tell us on tendering entire transport systems?
• What does the Regulation 1370/2007 mean for Tendering Urban Public Transport?
• What are necessary factors for the successful tendering of systems?

DOWNLOAD

European Transport Regulation Observer

Summary of the Presentations

The 2nd Florence Urban Transport Forum aims at a thorough discussion of the question of tendering of urban public transport services within the context of EC regulation 1370 on PSO and contracting. The Forum will give the opportunity to relevant stakeholders to address this by discussing inter alia the following questions:

• What can we learn from the past experiences of tendering of urban public services? What has worked? What has not? And why?
• How does EC regulation 1370 affect the tendering procedures?
• What other challenges have emerged over the past 20 years that need to be taken into account when tendering urban public services?
• How is tendering of urban public services likely to evolve in the years to come?
• What can we learn from other sectors about the tendering of urban public services?

 Keeping to one of FSR’s guiding principles, namely stakeholder involvement, this Forum will feature presentations from representatives of the European Commission, Ministries, regulators, operators, international associations of stakeholders and academics.

DOWNLOAD

Summary of the presentations

Following previous discussion events on rail transport, we are starting our activities on urban transport by organizing a debate on the role, the function and the status of Transport Authorities.

The discussion will be kicked-off with the following points:

• Who should perform the functions of planning, procuring and delivering urban transport in order to obtain the best possible results?
• What are/should be the exact role and functions of urban transport authorities, also in light of broader agglomerations’ transport?
• What is/should be the nature of contracts? Who is the regulator?
• What should be the relationship between transport authorities and political authorities?

Keeping to one of FSR’s guiding principles, namely stakeholder involvement, this Forum will feature presentations from transport authorities, operators, international associations of stakeholders and academics. The day will be opened, closed, and moderated by Prof Matthias Finger with the aim of fostering open discussion and exchange among all participants.

For more information, please contact FSR.Transport@eui.eu or visit the urban transport dedicated webpage.

DOWNLOAD

Summary of the presentations

Watch the video recording

With Denny Ellerman (Formerly MIT and EUI) and Ignacio Perez-Arriaga (MIT and Comillas). Chaired by Jean-Michel Glachant (FSR/EUI).

Moderator: Riccardo Galletta

The Florence School of Regulation – Climate- and the British Institute of Florence are glad to announce the lecture by Professor Lord Stern of Brentford that will take place on Friday 16 October at the European University Institute in San Domenico di Fiesole.

Professor Stern will deliver a lecture entitled “A world economy in profound structural change and the logic, urgency and promise of tackling climate change” based on his new book entitled “Why Are We Waiting? The Logic, Urgency and Promise of Tackling Climate Change” (MIT Press 2015). The book argues the urgency and importance of the transition to the low-carbon economy, and sets this in the context of a world in profound economic, geographical and technological transformation, showing the attractiveness of the alternative low-carbon path in terms of implications for cities, energy and land-use. Professor Stern will also assess where we are on the road to an international agreement at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris later this year.

Nicholas Stern is I.G. Patel Professor of Economics and Government and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at LSE and President of the British Academy. Following his lecture in Florence, Professor Stern will conclude his Italian tour by presiding over a roundtable discussion in Milan as part of the programme of events for this year’s Expo on the theme of Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.

Watch the recording of the lecture.

On 21 October Professor Martin Weitzman delivered a lecture at the European University institute, Max Weber Programme, with the title Why is the Economics of Climate Change so Difficult and Controversial?

The lecture provided a general overview of the economics of climate change, with emphasis on why this particular application of economic analysis presents special — almost unique — challenges to the economics profession.  

On 22-23 October Professor Weitzman  gave a keynote speech at the FSR Climate Annual Conference.

Watch below the recording of the lecture and interview

This workshop focused on the role of carbon and energy taxes in climate change mitigation. It was organised in three sessions on the general framework, empirical analysis for the EU, and the assessment of obstacles to policy progress. The event was designed as a scoping meeting for future research activities of FSR Climate in this area and also to explore collaborative work with other academic and non-academic institutions operating in the field.

Continue reading “Energy/Carbon Taxation and Climate Policies: a Scoping meeting for FSR Climate”

This workshop aimed to provide a general overview of the role of energy policies for climate change mitigation. It was organised in three sessions on the general framework, research needs and gaps, and ex-post analysis of applications. The event was designed as a scoping meeting for future research activities of the FSR Climate Unit in this area and also to explore collaborative work with other academic and non-academic institutions operating in the field.

Continue reading “Energy Efficiency and Climate Policies: a Scoping meeting for FSR Climate”

Led by: Andris Piebalgs (former EU Commissioner)

Keynote adress by: Maroš Šefčovič (Vice-President, European Commission)

The Context

In the ‘Energy Union’ package of February 2015, the Juncker Commission stated that “ensuring security of supply” would be the first of its five objectives. The European Council welcomed this package and, in June 2015, requested the EU High Representative Federica Mogherini to “prepare an EU global strategy on foreign and security policy” for June 2016. Lately, the EU Commission re-confirmed the central role of security in its strategy with the release of the “Energy Security Package” published on 16^th February.

Beyond the EU, the revolution in oil and gas (prompted by US shale production and deepened by an enduring price crash) has created a new and particular landscape where our Energy Union has to position itself and grow. Simultaneously, the success of Paris COP 21 has also opened a new energy era at a global level. Therefore, the “External Dimension of the Energy Union” has now become a crucial issue at the core of European policy.

The Conference

This FSR Conference on the ‘External Dimension of the Energy Union’ will investigate the current scenario, with a particular focus on the role played by gas in EU external relations.

Following the keynote address from the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, the conference will be divided into three sessions:

1. “The Global Challenges of the Security of Gas Supply”,
2. “The Internal Market: a Hostage or Saviour of the External Energy Policy?”,
3. “The Impact of the EU’s External Energy Policy on the EU Neighbourhood”.

Among the eminent speakers contributing to this event: Dmytro Vovk (Chairman of NERC Ukraine), Andrei Kortunov (Director General of Russian International Affairs Council), Mechthild Wörsdörfer (Director of DG Energy, European Commission), Walter Boltz (Vice-Chair of ACER), Stephan Kamphues, (President of ENTSOG) and Janez Kopač (Director of the Energy Community Secretariat).

Participation in this event is by invitation only.

Download the programme