Research Fellows

What are the Drivers of Corporates’ climate transparency? Evidence from the S&P 1200 Index

Climate transparency through firms' disclosures is often considered a prerequisite for the redirection of investments toward low-carbon economy. In order to provide effective incentives to improve this transparency, it is therefore crucial to identify its drivers.

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the cattle sector: land-use regulation as an alternative to emissions pricing

Guy MeunierMaxence GérardPublicationsResearch areaResearch FellowsSectoral PoliciesWorking papersComments Off on Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from the cattle sector: land-use regulation as an alternative to emissions pricing

The cattle sector, both emissions- and land-intensive, represents a great opportunity for mitigation through reforestation. In this paper, we study the efficiency of land-use regulation. Our analytical results indicate that the subsidy is the best alternative policy to emissions tax, provided that the elasticities of land use and emissions to cattle feeding are close. Interestingly, we show that the optimal meat tax should integrate the carbon opportunity cost of land use.

Climate policy, Bioenergy and Land-use

Access to EnergyGuy MeunierResearch areaResearch FellowsComments Off on Climate policy, Bioenergy and Land-use

The workshop aims to identify the key uncertainties and debates regarding the role of bioenergy in a climate neutral economy, at national and global scales, and the challenges for the design of climate policies.

Do French firms follow a transparent or climate-friendly path?

Our analysis of the Climate Risks and Opportunities Index (CRORI) and the CDP climate score reveal a parallel improvement of these indices with different sectoral disparities over the 2015–2019 period. While our results are encouraging, they need to be put into perspective because these firms are still far from being carbon neutral.

The design flaw in Sustainability-Linked Bonds

We examine in this paper sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) whose issuance now totals more than USD 200 bn. There is a structural design flaw in the SLB mechanism: setting a significant coupon step-up does not suit the issuer’s nor the investors’ interests, considering conditionality. This creates a no win situation for the issuer and investors alike and explains the “benign” use of SLBs by current market participants.

Crop prices and deforestation in the tropics

Understanding the mechanisms of deforestation is necessary in order to slow or arrest its progress. To accomplish this requires rigorously estimating the demand for deforestation. We contribute to this endeavor by estimating the effect of crop prices on the demand for conversion of land from forest to agriculture in the tropics during the 21st century.

Coordination of sectoral climate policies and life-cycle emissions

The present paper addresses the issue of sectoral policy coordination, especially when Pigovian carbon pricing is unavailable. It analyzes the optimal allocation of mitigation effort among two vertically connected sectors, an upstream (e.g. electricity) and a downstream (e.g. transportation) one.

Extending the limits of the abatement cost

The paper examines the relevant cost benefit framework for state agencies investigating the potential of local projects to mitigate climate change. We propose a new metric that incorporates into the analytical framework the dynamic interactions between the project and its continuation.

Quantifying GHG emissions enabled by capital and labor: Economic and gender inequalities in France

Antonin PottierMacro-economical and societal challengesPublicationsPublicationsResearch areaResearch FellowsComments Off on Quantifying GHG emissions enabled by capital and labor: Economic and gender inequalities in France

Many studies have investigated the carbon footprint of households. Here we open a new field by discussing the emissions that individuals enable by providing labor and capital to companies, using the framework of income-based (downstream) responsibility. Our results show that inequalities in emissions do not strongly interact with economic inequality. Yet they are gendered because women work disproportionately in low-carbon intensive industries such as healthcare. As a result, women contribute less to GHG emissions than their wage share would seem to indicate.

Over-allocation profits and competition issues in the steel industry

Maria Eugenia SaninPublicationsResearch areaResearch FellowsSectoral PoliciesWorking papersComments Off on Over-allocation profits and competition issues in the steel industry

Sectors that are considered to be subject to international competition under the European Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) still benefit from free allocation of European Allowances (EUAs). Herein we study one of those beneficiaries: the crude steel industry. Our findings suggest the EU-ETS has failed to provide incentives for decarbonization in this sector.