An integrated system of CO2 reduction policies for Environmental Liberals

Extreme weather events, natural disasters and failure in mitigating or adapting to the changing climate. All these societal risks have become more likely and impactful over the last couple of decades. It is important to limit the excessive human emission of greenhouse gases such as CO2, because they contribute to the changing climate. In order to gain support for CO2 reduction policies, environmental concerns must be reconciled with the prevailing political ideology. The focus is on liberal democracy because it is the dominant political system in western society. One of the difficulties in combining environmental concerns with liberal democracy is that policies to protect nature put limits on what people are allowed to do and thereby limit the individual liberty of citizens. In this thesis I investigate witch CO2 policies fit best with Liberal-democratic positions about the environment. I will answer the following questions: Why does the market fail to ensure an efficient amount of...Show moreExtreme weather events, natural disasters and failure in mitigating or adapting to the changing climate. All these societal risks have become more likely and impactful over the last couple of decades. It is important to limit the excessive human emission of greenhouse gases such as CO2, because they contribute to the changing climate. In order to gain support for CO2 reduction policies, environmental concerns must be reconciled with the prevailing political ideology. The focus is on liberal democracy because it is the dominant political system in western society. One of the difficulties in combining environmental concerns with liberal democracy is that policies to protect nature put limits on what people are allowed to do and thereby limit the individual liberty of citizens. In this thesis I investigate witch CO2 policies fit best with Liberal-democratic positions about the environment. I will answer the following questions: Why does the market fail to ensure an efficient amount of CO2 emissions? Which kind of CO2 reduction policies are most suitable to reduce excessive emissions? How can CO2 policies be combined with liberal democratic values? Which policy is preferable based on liberal democratic positions about the environment? The two most discussed market-based CO2 policies are excise tax and emission trading. This thesis argues for an integrated approach, formed by both policies. This system is preferable because it internalizes externalities to reduce excessive emissions, and simultaneously enforces a maximum amount of emissions to prevent an environmental crisis.Show less

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An integrated system of CO2 reduction policies for Environmental Liberals