Companies and Internal Carbon Pricing: Hedging Risk in the United States and Europe

An RFF/Ecofys Webinar

In 2016, more than 1,200 companies around the world disclosed that they had been pricing carbon emissions as part of their internal practices, or that they planned to do so, to mitigate the financial risks of climate change. Some companies use a price on carbon in their strategic planning and models to explore future scenarios related to potential investments or the deployment of resources. Other companies impose an internal carbon price to fund investments into carbon mitigation measures. This price (sometimes known as a “shadow price”) can drive corporate decisionmaking and is a way to hedge against the risks associated with future carbon regulation and changing energy and technology markets.

While adoption of internal carbon pricing continues to grow, companies in different regions and sectors use a wide variety of methodologies and practices. Experts at Ecofys, RFF, CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), and other organizations are analyzing how internal carbon prices are developed and used to hedge the risks of future climate change policies and spur carbon mitigation and technology innovation.

CDP’s Nicolette Bartlett opened the webinar by presenting global trends in the use of internal carbon pricing. RFF’s Joe Kruger then discussed policy drivers for internal carbon pricing in the US electric power sector, and will assess the implications of these practices for climate policy under a new administration. Finally, Long Lam from Ecofys discussed best practice approaches for companies using or considering internal carbon pricing.