
Michael Pahle
On Michael's contribution
Playing it safe or going the risky route: Europe’s Emission Trading System as a yardstick for taking (regulatory) risk to address (climate) risks
What is the crucial factor that could have taken climate policy to a new and really “serious” level in the 2020s? According to Michael Pahle the fundamental issue was the degree of risk society was willing to take to tackle climate change. Discussing the European Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS), he illustrates the risk in relying on markets to combat climate change. The upside? It could trigger disruptive technological and social innovation at a much larger scale and speed.
Michael Pahle presents his work on day 1 of T2051MCC. On this day it is assumed that global heating has surpassed 2°C.
Some background on Michael
Potsdam-Institute for Climate Impact Reseearch (PIK), Potsdam, Germany
Michael Pahle holds a PhD in economics and is head of the working group “Climate and Energy Policy” in Research Domain 3 at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). His research focusses on emission trading and decarbonizing the power sector. He is regularly involved in projects to support policy implementation by state and federal agencies in Germany, covering topics such as coal phase out, power market design, and the EU-ETS reform. In 2019 he coauthored a study on carbon pricing in reform options commissioned by the German Council of Economic Experts on behalf of the Federal Government, for which he was lead author of the EU-ETS chapter.
Find out more on Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.