The Morgan, 10 Fleet St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2
Wednesday 27th August 2008
Programme:
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10.50: |
Registration and coffee |
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11.00: |
Welcome from Professor Frank Convery |
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11.10: |
Presentation from Mark Johnson (AEA Energy and Environment) |
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11.30: |
Presentation from Cambridge Econometrics project team |
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11.50: |
Questions and answers on project presentation |
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12.00: |
Panel discussion |
David Browne (Department of Transport) |
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12.30: |
Working lunch, open forum and questions and answers | |
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13.45: |
Close |
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About the Cap and Share Project
In December 2007, Comhar Sustainable Development Council commissioned a major piece of research into how Ireland can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
The research focuses on how the ‘Cap and Share’ mechanism can be used to cut greenhouse gasses in those sectors which are excluded from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, such as the transport sector and households.
Under Cap and Share, a limit is placed on national greenhouse emissions every year. Every adult resident in Ireland is given a share of this cap as their threshold for emissions. Fuel importers, refineries and other suppliers of fossil-fuel energy would be required to purchase sufficient entitlements to match the emissions from their operations. This cap would correspond to the national target (e.g. 20 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020).
The analysis of the feasibility and potential economic effects of the Cap and Share scheme has been undertaken by AEA Energy & Environment together with Cambridge Econometrics. The project is co-funded by Comhar SDC, the Department of Transport and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Under the Cap and Share scheme, the following outcomes would be expected to arise:
The price of fossil fuels would rise throughout the economy, giving a powerful and long-term signal that greenhouse gas emissions must come down.
Residents would be compensated for the price rise by selling their emission entitlements to energy producers.
Those who use an average amount of fossil fuels will be no worse off than before. Those who use more fossil fuels will face higher costs, whereas those who reduce their fossil fuel consumption will be better off.
