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Title: Tradable Fuel Economy Credits: Competition and Oligopoly

Journal Article · · Journal of Environmental Economics and Management

Corporateaveragefueleconomy(CAFE)regulationsspecifyminimumstandardsforfuel efficiencythatvehiclemanufacturersmustmeetindependently.Wedesignasystemof tradeable fueleconomycreditsthatallowstradingacrossvehicleclassesand manufacturerswithandwithoutconsideringmarketpowerinthecreditmarket.We performnumericalsimulationstomeasurethepotentialcostsavingsfrommovingfrom the currentCAFEsystemtoonewithstricterstandards,butthatallowsvehicle manufacturersvariouslevelsofincreasedflexibility.Wefindthattheabilityforeach manufacturertoaveragecreditsbetweenitscarsandtrucksprovidesalargepercentage of thepotentialsavings.Asexpected,thegreatestsavingscomefromthegreatest flexibilityinthecreditsystem.Marketpowerlowersthepotentialcostsavingstothe industryasawhole,butonlymodestly.Lossinefficiencyfrommarketpowerdoesnot eliminatethegainsfromcredittrading.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
DOE Contract Number:
DE-AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
964337
Journal Information:
Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal Name: Journal of Environmental Economics and Management; ISSN 0095-0696
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English