Tradable Energy Quotas Offer Fair and Effective Route to Low Carbon Society

To achieve public support for a transformation to a low carbon society, politicians would be advised to implement a quantity-based energy quota system, with a fixed and decreasing cap on total use, rather than relying on carbon pricing and taxation mechanisms, according to a new study.

In a wide-ranging paper published in the Carbon Management journal, researchers from the Fleming Policy Centre - including Dr Victoria Hurth from Plymouth University - set out the potential of a policy framework termed Tradable Energy Quotas (TEQs) for meeting the ambitious carbon emissions reductions targets required to address the climate crisis.

They argue that TEQs offer the most effective, equitable and expeditious way to bridge the gulf between climate science and political reality.

Since publication, the paper - Reconciling scientific reality with realpolitik: moving beyond carbon pricing to TEQs: an integrated, economy-wide emissions cap - has become the journal's second most read article ever.

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