A UQ economist has been invited to attend an expert workshop to discuss the development of a system for auctioning Greenhouse gas permits.
Professor Flavio Menezes from the School of Economics is an expert in auction theory and will attend an invitation only workshop next week sponsored by the Economic Design Network, the Environmental Economics Hub and the Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets.
Professor Menezes said the workshop would bring together experts in the field of auctioning and environmental and experimental economics to discuss the complex questions arising with the auction design of Greenhouse gas permits.
“There is now bipartisan support for the introduction of a national emissions trading scheme in Australia before 2012,” Professor Menezes said.
“Such schemes contain two basic elements: one, a cap on emissions; emitters need a permit to emit and the total amount of emissions is capped so permits are valuable; and two, a process, or market, to allocate the permits and potentially secondary markets where emitters can trade their permits.”
Professor Menezes said one of the key design questions the group would examine was permit allocation.
“All the design proposals currently on the table include at least partial permit auctioning; however, there is only limited international, and no Australian, experience on how such auctioning might best be implemented.
“Therefore this workshop will bring a timely opportunity to advance our understanding and exchange information over key questions of auction design.”
The workshop will be held at The Australian School of Business and the University of New South Wales on November 28. Other speakers include Professor Cramton (University of Maryland) and Professor Charles Holt (University of Virginia).
Media contact: Professor Menezes, f.menezes@economics.uq.edu.au (07) 3365 6340 or Sam Ferguson at the Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, telephone 07 3365 6662.
