Carbon Pricing

This course will take a deep dive into a 10-step set of decisions involved in designing and implementing an effective carbon market or tax system across a range of conditions and sectors from power and industry to transportation, waste, forestry and agriculture. The course will consider emissions trading, carbon taxes, and hybrid and complementary programs in an integrated manner. The class will highlight real-world examples throughout and identify lessons learned and common challenges based on international experiences with carbon pricing to date across Europe, North and South America, Asia and Oceania. Students will learn design principles and tradeoffs, perspectives of key stakeholders, and modeling tools and frameworks to inform policy choices and market participants’ decisions. The course will include a hands-on emissions trading simulation exercise as well as guest talks by market actors to illustrate concepts in practice. By the end of the course, students will have evaluated alternative policies and be prepared to understand, navigate, and potentially shape future carbon pricing policy developments.