This article uses the European Patent Office Worldwide Patent Statistical Database to examine the geographic distribution and global diffusion of inventions in thirteen climate-mitigation technologies since 1978. The data suggest that until 1990 innovation was driven mostly by energy prices....

Carbon allowance auctions are a component of existing and proposed regional cap-and-trade programs in the United States and are also included in recent proposed bills in the U.S. Congress that would establish a national cap-and-trade program to regulate greenhouse gases ("carbon"). We discuss...

As the developed world begins efforts to limit its emissions of greenhouse gases, economic growth in developing countries is causing increased emissions from the developing world. Reducing these emissions while still enabling developing countries to grow requires the use of climate-friendly...

This article examines long-term trends and broad policy options and challenges related to the road transport sector and its congestion and environmental impacts. A brief review of long-term projections of demand for road transport suggests that problems related to road network congestion and...

Urban road transportation creates several externalities, the most important of which are congestion (time delay and extra fuel consumption), accidents, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Road pricing is widely promoted as a tool to reduce these externalities. Based on a review of theory as...

This article discusses automobile fuel economy standards in the United States and other countries. We first describe how these programs affect the automobile market, including impacts on fuel consumption and other dimensions of the vehicle fleet. We then review two different methodologies for...

Regulatory punishment for pollution violations is a mainstay of nearly every industrialized nation's environmental policy. This article reviews the existing empirical evidence on the impacts of environmental monitoring and enforcement actions. We first provide context by investigating the U.S....

It is important for policy makers to understand the extent to which the purported benefits of energy efficiency are real, and how they can be achieved. This "reflections" aims to help the policy community understand how the literature can assist them in assessing the opportunities, challenges,...

This article surveys state-mandated programs in the United States aimed at providing natural catastrophe insurance to property owners and businesses unable to find policies in the private market. The article provides an overview of ten state programs that offer wind or earthquake coverage and...