Under the leadership of Dr. Rachael Jonassen, Director of EEMI’s Greenhouse Management Program, the EEMI has established a strong partnership with the Carbon Pricing leadership Coalition (CPLC) of the World Bank and International Finance Corporation.
Launched at the international Conference of Parties 21 meeting conducted in Paris in December 2015, the CPLC is catalyzing wider adoption of carbon pricing systems around the world. By virtue of its partnership with the CPLC, GW’s EEMI has direct relationships with 27 governments, 132 companies and 53 additional strategic partners, a number that is continuing to grow.
EEMI Co-Director Jonathan Deason participated in the CPLC’s second High-Level Assembly on April 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. The High-Level Assembly, featuring remarks from World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, was held in conjunction with the spring meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund. The event included finance and environment ministers from more than 20 countries, as well as a number of CEOs of major multinational companies and heads of international organizations.
Dr. Jonassen and EEMI Co-Director Joe Cascio participated in an April 21, 2017 working seminar to help develop the CPLC’s research agenda to advance carbon pricing over the medium term. The discussions revolved around three thematic issues to facilitate CPLC in defining its engagement strategy towards effectively addressing challenges while exploring opportunities in achieving the global goals of doubling the coverage of carbon pricing by 2020:
· Where do we see leadership on carbon pricing emerging in the next decade?
· How can we strengthen investor and business engagement in putting a price on carbon?
· What could be a more effective outreach and engagement strategy for the diverse stakeholders involved in advancing the carbon pricing agenda?
EEMI Professor Ekundayo Shittu is leading a team in preparing a proposal for the EEMI’s first CPLC-supported research project, an effort entitled “Evaluating Carbon Pricing as a Catalyst for Competitive Innovation Investments.” In its proposal, the EEMI intends to bring to the project substantial experience in advising electricity sector regulators and policymakers through strategic partnerships with organizations such as Pepco, other utilities and public institutions. The EEMI has conducted analyses that have influenced the strategic direction and regulatory policies in the role of environmental and energy innovation in the transition to a low-carbon economy, the influence of policy and regulatory framework in the liberalized energy markets, and innovative financial mechanisms for take-up of distributed renewable energies and energy efficiency.
The CPLC emerged from the 2014 UN Secretary-General’s Climate Summit in New York, and was officially launched at COP21 in Paris. With support from World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, the CPLC works to build the case for carbon pricing, enhance and expand existing carbon pricing programs, and share best practices for carbon pricing at the local, regional, and international levels. Its work is directed at using carbon pricing and other policies to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, including the objective to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels.”
A copy if the CPLC’s current official work plan can be seen here: CPLC Work Plan