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Tradeable emission permits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Switzerland
This thesis addresses the potential of tradeable emission permits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions of Swiss agriculture, especially in animal husbandry as climate change mitigation strategy. Tradeable emission permits are not yet used in Swiss agricultural policy but could possibly reduce the problem of stagnating emissions.
In 2019, the Federal Council declared that Switzerland should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. To achieve the net zero target, greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production in Switzerland are to be reduced by at least 40% compared to 1990. By 2018, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by almost 13% to 7.3 million tonnes of CO2eq. The development of greenhouse gas emissions over time reflects in particular the changes in cattle numbers and nitrogen fertiliser use, with emissions stagnating since the 2000s (Federal Council).
Different measures are taken by the Federal Office for Agriculture to reduce emissions from agriculture. These include measures of the ecological performance standards (ÖLN) as well as the farm-level direct payments for environmental-friendly production systems. However, as the past trends of emissions show, these measures are insufficient to achieve the net zero target, especially in regions with high livestock densities.
This thesis investigates the potential role of trading permits, where each farmer receives a certain amount of transferable emission permits from the government and is free to trade these permits with other farmers. Market demand and supply determines the market-clearing permit price.
The aim of this thesis is threefold: i) to describe the functioning of tradeable emission permits as a market-based instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. Bakam et al., 2012), ii) to systematically review the published literature on approaches, as well as pros and cons, and iii) to discuss its potential in the context of Swiss agricultural policy. More specifically, the potential of tradeable emission permits to effectively and efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions by e.g. reducing the number of animals through the purchase of permits by governmental cantonal or national authorities. The latter may involve the use of farm-level data from Swiss farmers and simulation modeling approach.
This thesis is co-supervised by Agroscope that provides farm-level data and expertise in policy modeling.
References
Bundesrat. Langfristige Klimastrategie der Schweiz 65077.pdf (admin.ch)
Bakam, I., Balana, B.B., Matthews, R. (2012). Cost-effectiveness analysis of policy instruments for greenhouse gas emission mitigation in the agricultural sector, Journal of Environmental Management 112, 33-44, Cost-effectiveness analysis of policy instruments for greenhouse gas emission mitigation in the agricultural sector - ScienceDirect
Vermont, B., & De Cara, S. (2010). How costly is mitigation of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture?: A meta-analysis. Ecological Economics, 69(7), 1373-1386.
In 2019, the Federal Council declared that Switzerland should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. To achieve the net zero target, greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production in Switzerland are to be reduced by at least 40% compared to 1990. By 2018, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced by almost 13% to 7.3 million tonnes of CO2eq. The development of greenhouse gas emissions over time reflects in particular the changes in cattle numbers and nitrogen fertiliser use, with emissions stagnating since the 2000s (Federal Council). Different measures are taken by the Federal Office for Agriculture to reduce emissions from agriculture. These include measures of the ecological performance standards (ÖLN) as well as the farm-level direct payments for environmental-friendly production systems. However, as the past trends of emissions show, these measures are insufficient to achieve the net zero target, especially in regions with high livestock densities. This thesis investigates the potential role of trading permits, where each farmer receives a certain amount of transferable emission permits from the government and is free to trade these permits with other farmers. Market demand and supply determines the market-clearing permit price. The aim of this thesis is threefold: i) to describe the functioning of tradeable emission permits as a market-based instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. Bakam et al., 2012), ii) to systematically review the published literature on approaches, as well as pros and cons, and iii) to discuss its potential in the context of Swiss agricultural policy. More specifically, the potential of tradeable emission permits to effectively and efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions by e.g. reducing the number of animals through the purchase of permits by governmental cantonal or national authorities. The latter may involve the use of farm-level data from Swiss farmers and simulation modeling approach.
This thesis is co-supervised by Agroscope that provides farm-level data and expertise in policy modeling.
References
Bundesrat. Langfristige Klimastrategie der Schweiz 65077.pdf (admin.ch) Bakam, I., Balana, B.B., Matthews, R. (2012). Cost-effectiveness analysis of policy instruments for greenhouse gas emission mitigation in the agricultural sector, Journal of Environmental Management 112, 33-44, Cost-effectiveness analysis of policy instruments for greenhouse gas emission mitigation in the agricultural sector - ScienceDirect Vermont, B., & De Cara, S. (2010). How costly is mitigation of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture?: A meta-analysis. Ecological Economics, 69(7), 1373-1386.
The aim of this thesis is threefold: i) to describe the functioning of tradeable emission permits as a market-based instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. Bakam et al., 2012), ii) to systematically review the published literature on approaches, as well as pros and cons, and iii) to discuss its potential in the context of Swiss agricultural policy. More specifically, the potential of tradeable emission permits to effectively and efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions by e.g. reducing the number of animals through the purchase of permits by governmental cantonal or national authorities. The latter may involve the use of farm-level data from Swiss farmers and simulation modeling approach.
The aim of this thesis is threefold: i) to describe the functioning of tradeable emission permits as a market-based instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. Bakam et al., 2012), ii) to systematically review the published literature on approaches, as well as pros and cons, and iii) to discuss its potential in the context of Swiss agricultural policy. More specifically, the potential of tradeable emission permits to effectively and efficiently reduce greenhouse gas emissions by e.g. reducing the number of animals through the purchase of permits by governmental cantonal or national authorities. The latter may involve the use of farm-level data from Swiss farmers and simulation modeling approach.
Robert Finger: rofinger@ethz.ch Nadja El Benni (Agroscope) nadja.el-benni@agroscope.admin.ch
Robert Finger: rofinger@ethz.ch Nadja El Benni (Agroscope) nadja.el-benni@agroscope.admin.ch