Transition to Clean Capital, Irreversible Investment and Stranded Assets

Rozenberg, Julie ; Vogt-Schilb, Adrien ; Hallegatte, Stephane

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: ABATEMENT;    ABATEMENT COST;    ABATEMENT COSTS;    AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS;    ALLOCATION;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-6859
RP-ID  :  WPS6859

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper uses a Ramsey model with twotypes of capital to analyze the optimal transition to cleancapital when polluting investment is irreversible. The costof climate mitigation decomposes as a technical cost ofusing clean instead of polluting capital and a transitioncost from the irreversibility of pre-existing pollutingcapital. With a carbon price, the transition cost can belimited by underutilizing polluting capital, at the expenseof a loss in the value of polluting assets (stranded assets)and a drop in income. In contrast, policy instruments thatfocus on redirecting investments -- such as feebates orenvironmental standards -- prevent underutilization ofexisting capital, avoid stranded assets, and reduceshort-term losses; but they reduce emissions more slowly andincrease the intertemporal cost of the transition. The paperinvestigates inter- and intra-generational distributionalimpacts and the political acceptability of climate changemitigation policy instruments.