Whither Markets for Environmental Regulation of Air, Water, and Land?

Date

Dec. 5, 2012

Participants

Sheila M. Olmstead, Dallas Burtraw, Arthur G. Fraas, Margaret A. Walls, and Leonard Shabman

Event Series

Event Details

Over the past 60 years, environmental economists have pioneered the idea of market-based approaches to solving environmental problems. Regulators have implemented market-based programs for air pollution, water pollution, land management, and other environmental policy problems at local, state, federal, and—in the case of greenhouse gas regulation—international levels. Some applications hew more closely than others to ideal market-based policy design, as defined by economic theory, and programs have met with varying degrees of success. As part of RFF's Resources 2020 lecture series—our 60th anniversary exploration of how economic inquiry can address future environmental challenges—panelists at this seminar discussed what we can learn from successful and unsuccessful applications of market-based policy and its desirability, feasibility, and design in the future. The panel included RFF experts on environmental markets for air, water, and land, as well as leaders in the policy community with diverse experience on these issues.

Moderator:

Sheila Olmstead, Fellow, Resources for the Future

Panelists:

Dallas Burtraw, Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future

Art Fraas, Visiting Scholar, Resources for the Future

Margaret Walls, Research Director and Thomas J. Klutznick Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future

Leonard Shabman, Resident Scholar, Resources for the Future

Sally Katzen, Senior Advisor, Podesta Group

David Doniger, Policy Director, Climate and Clean Air Program, Natural Resources Defense Council

C. Boyden Gray, Partner, Boyden Gray & Associates

Event Audio and Video:

Event Audio (MP3) click to stream and right-click to download

Topics

Participants

Sheila M. Olmstead

University Fellow

Sheila Olmstead is a university fellow at RFF. Her recent research projects focus on adaptation to the water resource implications of climate change, economic valuation of reductions in nutrient pollution in urban coastal areas, and more.

Dallas Burtraw

Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow

Dallas Burtraw is the Darius Gaskins Senior Fellow at RFF. Burtraw’s research includes analysis of the distributional and regional consequences of climate policy and the evolution of electricity markets, including renewables integration.

Arthur G. Fraas

Visiting Fellow

Arthur Fraas is a visiting fellow at Resources for the Future. At RFF, Fraas works on a variety of issues related to energy and the environment, including projects looking at issues and tradeoffs with energy efficiency regulations, and more.

Margaret A. Walls

Senior Fellow; Director, Climate Risks and Resilience Program

Margaret Walls is a senior fellow at RFF. Her current research focuses on issues related to resilience and adaptation to extreme events, ecosystem services, and conservation, parks and public lands.

Leonard A. Shabman

Senior Fellow

Len Shabman is a Senior Fellow at RFF. His current work balances time spent in research with advisory activities in order to have a direct bearing on the design and execution of water and related resources policy.

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