Japanese nuclear power and the Kyoto agreement
Name
MITJPSPGC_Rpt51.pdf
Size
172.01 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
adbb2cacd64de78e5184f8e146ed09e0
Date Issued
August 1999
Publisher
MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
Series/Report no.
Report no. 51
Abstract
We find that, on an economic basis, nuclear power could make a substantial contribution for meeting the emissions target Japan agreed to in the Kyoto Protocol. It is unlikely however that the contribution would be as large as projected in official Japanese forecasts. The economic costs of the carbon constraint rise if siting, construction, and approval problems prevent the economically desirable level of expansion of nuclear power. We also evaluate the economic effects of subsidizing nuclear power to achieve the expansion projected in official forecasts. While the subsidy required is substantial, the economic welfare effects are relatively small because of second-best considerations. We use the EPPA model, a global computable general equilibrium model, in the analysis. Our estimates thus include the effects of changing world energy prices and terms of trade as they affect competitiveness of nuclear power and economic welfare.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 12).
Abstract in HTML and technical report in HTML and PDF available on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://mit.edu/globalchange/www/)
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