This volume was prepared by Rahel Aichele while she was working at the ifo Institute. It was completed in December 2012 and accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Department of Economics at the University of Munich. It includes five self-contained chapters. The chapters investigate how, in a...

We examine the relationship between capital structure and carbon intensity in manufacturing firms using a novel dataset that combines information from the EU Emission Trading System with firm-level financial accounts. Our findings indicate that higher financial leverage is associated with lower...

Even though the Paris Agreement does not include any trade-related provisions, trade has the potential to play a major role in the implementation of the response measures enshrined by the Parties in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), while creating opportunities for many countries...

This paper explores what the first global stocktake (GST1) under the Paris Agreement could usefully do in relation to two elements of its mandate on adaptation, namely, to review the adequacy and effectiveness of adaptation, and to enhance the implementation of adaptation action. This paper also...

Climate change is generating demonstrable harm around the world. Political and legal efforts have sought to associate climate impacts with specific emissions, including in recent international policy discussion of Loss and Damage (L&D). However, no quantitative definition of L&D exists, nor does...

Domestic laws are the ideal legal instrument to regulate the mining sector’s contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Even so, as a stop-gap-measure, governments may consider updating model mining development agreements (MMDAs) or negotiating climate­-related contractual...

The paper analyses the synergies and trade-offs between emission reduction policies and sustainable development objectives. Specifically, it provides an ex-ante assessment that the impacts of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), submitted under the Paris Agreement, will have on the...

The Paris Agreement has achieved one of two key necessary conditions for ultimate success - a broad base of participation among the countries of the world. But another key necessary condition has yet to be achieved - adequate collective ambition of the individual nationally determined...

In 2017, global investment in renewables and energy efficiency declined by 3% and there is a risk that it will slow further; clearly fossil fuels still dominate energy investment. This could threaten the expansion of green energy needed to provide energy security and meet climate and clean air...

This study examines the welfare implications of border carbon adjustments (BCAs) in a globalized economy characterized by international trade and cross-border pollution (CBP). The model predicts that adopting BCAs is a weakly dominant strategy and global welfare is maximized when at least one...