News and Outreach: Sergey Paltsev

“Rather than adopting an approach similar to the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard in the United States, the European Union could achieve similar carbon dioxide emissions reductions simply by extending the existing emissions trading system to encompass transportation (in addition to the electricity generation and energy-intensive industries it currently covers), according to a new study from MIT and its research partners. Using such an approach would be far cheaper (as far as costs to the economy) than utilizing something similar to the CAFE standard, the researchers involved argue.”

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As the European Union contemplates new policies aimed at meeting its emissions-reduction commitments under last year’s Paris Agreement on climate change, a new study by researchers at MIT and elsewhere could provide some valuable guidance on the most effective strategy.

If the Paris Agreement leads to an energy transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon technologies, fossil-fuel-producing nations will likely wield far less geopolitical power than they do now. “Instead of focusing on just two major resources, oil and natural gas, low-carbon energy geopolitics may depend on many additional factors, such as access to technology, power lines, rare earth materials, patents, storage and dispatch, not to mention unpredictable government policies,” writes Sergey Paltsev, a senior research scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative and a deputy director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. “Despite uncertainty, there is no question that the balance of power in energy geopolitics is shifting from fossil-fuel owners to countries that are developing low-carbon solutions.”

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Photo: Hydro-power lines near Fontana Dam, North Carolina (Source: Dana Lane)