Impact of timing of emissions abatement
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The Victorian Government has legislated that Victoria should achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions (emissions of CO2e) by 2050. The Government has appointed an Independent Expert Panel1 to provide advice on the path net emissions should take in achieving this target.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (the Department), on behalf of the Panel, has commissioned the CIE to review studies on emissions reductions policies and provide advice on the potential macroeconomic impacts of proposed emission reductions paths for Victoria.
For this work the Department has provided the CIE with alternate emissions reduction paths for consideration. Each of these paths meets the legislated goal of net zero emissions by 2050 and also meets an assumed emissions budget between 2017 and 2050 of 1.9 GtCO2e. Note that the reference year under the Act is 2005.
Given the dual constrains (net zero by 2050 and a fixed emissions budget), the policy question that motivates this study concerns the timing of emissions reduction. What are the relative costs of different paths for emissions reductions within these constraints? Or what are the implications of changing the timing of emissions reductions?
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