Leveraging private capital for climate mitigation: evidence from the clean development mechanism

Bayer, P. , Marcoux, C. and Urpelainen, J. (2013) Leveraging private capital for climate mitigation: evidence from the clean development mechanism. Ecological Economics, 96, pp. 14-24. (doi: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2013.09.008)

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Abstract

To mitigate climate change, states must make significant investments into energy and other sectors. To solve this problem, scholars emphasize the importance of leveraging private capital. If states create institutional mechanisms that promote private investment, they can reduce the fiscal cost of carbon abatement. We examine the ability of different international institutional designs to leverage private capital in the context of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Empirically, we analyze private capital investment in 3749 climate mitigation projects under the CDM, 2003–2011. Since the CDM allows both bilateral and unilateral implementation, we can compare the two modes of contracting within one context. Our model analyzes equilibrium private investment in climate mitigation. When the cost of mitigation is high, unilateral project implementation in one host country, without foreign collaboration, draws more investment than bilateral contracting, whereby foreign investors participate in the project.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Bayer, Professor Patrick
Authors: Bayer, P., Marcoux, C., and Urpelainen, J.
College/School:College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics
Journal Name:Ecological Economics
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:0921-8009
ISSN (Online):1873-6106
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
First Published:First published in Ecological Economics 96:14-24
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher

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