The PolyCarbon project’s objective was to uncover, investigate and understand the underlying mechanisms and conditions for the expansion and contraction of the global system of carbon pricing governance. It aimed to
1. chart the global system of carbon pricing policies,
2. explain the causes of adoption and rejection of (ambitious) carbon pricing policies, and
3. analyse the interaction amongst the various carbon pricing policies globally.
The global system of carbon pricing policies will become exponentially more effective as it expands since carbon leakage is reduced. This depends however on the individual policies’ level of ambition, which has remained low in most cases. For this reason, the PolyCarbon project took a critical look at carbon pricing policies, while acknowledging that carefully crafted and ambitious carbon pricing policies can be powerful tools for transitioning to a low-carbon economy in the urgent pursuit of international climate goals. Understanding the underlying mechanisms and conditions for the expansion and contraction of the global system of carbon pricing governance and of the determinants of individual carbon pricing policies’ ambitiousness and effectiveness can provide insights for fast-tracking the formation of the global carbon pricing system; thus, accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The project revealed the multiplicity of policymakers' motivations to pursue carbon pricing policy. In many cases, the main primary motivation is not necessarily climate mitigation but rather generating revenues, encouraging economic growth, and responding to international factors. The PolyCarbon project generated a nuanced understanding of local context-specific motivation for adopting carbon pricing policies.
The project also identified international factors facilitating the agenda setting and carbon pricing policy making process in several countries.
Based on the insights on local motivations and contextual factors, on the one hand, and on the international dynamics, on the other, the PolyCarbon project team developed a novel analytical framework straddling local and international processes and factors in a systematic manner.
