Environmental Policy and Technical Change: A Comparison of the Technological Impact of Policy Instruments (New Horizons in Environmental Economics)

This work assesses the impact of environmental policy on technical change in the development of clean technologies. It focuses in particular on the possibility of inducing radical change in technology policy, in contrast to the current regulatory practices which lead to the modification of existing products. The book sheds light on the relationship between clean technology and environmental policy. It adopts an approach which combines a balance of both theoretical models of innovation and diffusion with empirical case studies. Dr Kemp examines policies such as subsidies, tradeable quotas, pollution taxes and emission standards, which are generally linked to economic incentives in order to encourage the most efficient response in meeting environmental goals. He explores how public policy may be used to reduce the use of traditional fossil fuels.