국제 온실가스 배출권 거래시장 동향분석 및 우리나라의 대응방안

Abstract

This study reviews and evaluates various GHG emissions trading schemes, including the Kyoto mechanisms, EU emissions trading scheme (ETS), United Kingdom ETS, the New South Wales trading scheme in Australia, and the ETS plans in Canada and the United States. Existing schemes, including CDM and EU ETS, show significant impacts on decision making in a wide range of areas to promote climate friendly investments and operations. In spite of the huge uncertainty of future climate policy, emissions trading is likely to play a major role. The experience and performance of GHG emissions trading in the past, however, reveals a lot of problems and challenges, including equity and efficiency issues related to initial allowance allocations, harmonization and the coordination of regional/national schemes, and the role of CDM in the global trading market. Based on a review and analysis of existing GHG emissions trading mechanisms, this study recommends a framework for GHG emissions trading in Korea. A phased approach is required to meet the unique policy environment of Korea: A voluntary emissions trading scheme in the pre-commitment stage, and a mandatory cap-and-trade scheme in the commitment stage. For a mandatory GHG cap-and-trade scheme, the best way to allocate allowances seems to be an auction combined with revenue recycling to the participants. An auction avoids a lot of potential problems including baseline protection, compensation for early action, adverse selection, windfall profits to incumbents, entry barriers, negotiation complexity and many other equity and efficiency issues. In the pre-commitment stage, CDM can be utilized as a key driving force for developing countries to introduce a GHG emissions trading scheme. An incentive auction can be proposed as a potential CDM project. Considering the existing air pollutant cap-and-trade policy of Korea, a multi-pollutant cap-and-trade system, covering GHG and conventional air pollutants, for the Seoul Metropolitan Area may be a promising option for cost-effective GHG emissions trading in Korea. Such a multi-pollutant trading scheme also can be applied for a unilateral policy-based CDM. The regulation on mandatory reporting and disclosure of corporate GHG emissions is also a useful initial step towards successful implementation of emissions trading. Several policy implications are also suggested for the future development of emissions trading for conventional air pollutants in Korea, which is planned to start in 2007.