Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Improving Air Quality
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associated with air pollution by more than 150,000 every year. The ratio of
benefits to costs is estimated to be 30 times more benefits than costs.
The policy developments associated with the Clean Air Act have improved
the quality of life for many people. The health benefits of air pollution
regulations are discussed in Chapter 3 and in two papers that are publicly
available (Erickson, 2017; Erickson et al., 2017).
Examples of the policies that are of interest for this topic include those
related to the generation of electricity, those related to transportation, those
related to carbon emissions, and those related to air quality. The Paris
Agreement on Climate Change has resulted in policy actions by a number of
governments, and it is one of the reasons for many of the policy actions that
are described in this chapter.
Among the reasons why policies differ from place to place is that energy
policy may need to be different for developing countries compared to more
developed countries. The best pathways to reduce carbon emissions in any
given region should consider the costs and benefits of implementing renewable energy technologies, as well as the ability of the citizens to pay for
those advances. One of the truisms of economic development is that carbon
emissions will increase with growth in income per capita and with population size. This growth in emissions with economic development, though,
can be slowed by transitioning to renewable energy and electric vehicles
alongside that development. In fact, adding renewable energy generally has
a positive impact on economic development (Valadkhani et al., 2019), in addition to the reduced emissions that are beneficial for health.
Because of the impact of climate change on the quality of life and health,
many developed countries have implemented carbon taxes and emissions
trading schemes. The European Union, for instance, has been very successful
in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by almost 20% over the period from
1990 to 2012 (Villoria- Saez et al., 2016). A large proportion of that EU success
has been due to carbon taxes and emission trading schemes, implemented to
provide incentives to reduce carbon emissions.
British Columbia (Canada) introduced a revenue- neutral carbon tax in
2008. This tax covers about three- quarters of all carbon emissions in the province. The tax has resulted in a 5– 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Although the effect on the economy has been very small, there is good public
support for the tax (Murray and Rivers, 2015).
10.2 Electricity Generation Policy
Coal combustion is still extensively used in many countries to generate
electricity. Because it produces more carbon emissions than other processes
to generate electricity, there are many existing policies that are related to
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92
associated with air pollution by more than 150,000 every year. The ratio of
benefits to costs is estimated to be 30 times more benefits than costs.
The policy developments associated with the Clean Air Act have improved
the quality of life for many people. The health benefits of air pollution
regulations are discussed in Chapter 3 and in two papers that are publicly
available (Erickson, 2017; Erickson et al., 2017).
Examples of the policies that are of interest for this topic include those
related to the generation of electricity, those related to transportation, those
related to carbon emissions, and those related to air quality. The Paris
Agreement on Climate Change has resulted in policy actions by a number of
governments, and it is one of the reasons for many of the policy actions that
are described in this chapter.
Among the reasons why policies differ from place to place is that energy
policy may need to be different for developing countries compared to more
developed countries. The best pathways to reduce carbon emissions in any
given region should consider the costs and benefits of implementing renewable energy technologies, as well as the ability of the citizens to pay for
those advances. One of the truisms of economic development is that carbon
emissions will increase with growth in income per capita and with population size. This growth in emissions with economic development, though,
can be slowed by transitioning to renewable energy and electric vehicles
alongside that development. In fact, adding renewable energy generally has
a positive impact on economic development (Valadkhani et al., 2019), in addition to the reduced emissions that are beneficial for health.
Because of the impact of climate change on the quality of life and health,
many developed countries have implemented carbon taxes and emissions
trading schemes. The European Union, for instance, has been very successful
in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by almost 20% over the period from
1990 to 2012 (Villoria- Saez et al., 2016). A large proportion of that EU success
has been due to carbon taxes and emission trading schemes, implemented to
provide incentives to reduce carbon emissions.
British Columbia (Canada) introduced a revenue- neutral carbon tax in
2008. This tax covers about three- quarters of all carbon emissions in the province. The tax has resulted in a 5– 15% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Although the effect on the economy has been very small, there is good public
support for the tax (Murray and Rivers, 2015).
10.2 Electricity Generation Policy
Coal combustion is still extensively used in many countries to generate
electricity. Because it produces more carbon emissions than other processes
to generate electricity, there are many existing policies that are related to