Political Assessments for Carbon Markets Through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The year 2015 is a crucial year in international climate change negotiations, as the world's 196 countries will meet in Paris in December in hopes of crafting a new global climate agreement. Carbon pricing mechanisms- such as emissions trading systems or carbon taxes- play an important role in mitigating climate change, and could feature prominently in a new agreement, which will go into effect in 2020.

This Capstone team consulted with the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (UK DECC) to examine domestic views on carbon pricing mechanisms. Focusing on seven key countries, Brazil, China, India, Japan, South Africa, South Korea, and the United States, this report considered the domestic contexts surrounding carbon pricing and climate change ambition. Nationwide or sub-national cap-and-trade systems or taxes were explored in detail, as well as the political parties, leaders, and stakeholders interacting with them at the domestic level. The team also analyzed public opinion, media coverage and international negotiating position of each country.  Finally, the team analyzed the seven countries together and explored opportunities for linked international carbon markets and collective ambition for the 2015 climate change agreement.