Promoting investment in low-carbon energy technologies

Answering to the formidable challenge of climate change requires a quick transition to a future economy with a drastic reduction in GHG emissions. And this in turn requires the development and massive deployment of new low-carbon energy technologies as soon as possible. Although many of these technologies have been identified, the critical issue is how to make them happen at the global level, possibly by integrating this effort into a global climate regime. This paper discusses the preferred approaches to foster low-carbon energy technologies from a regulatory point of view, within a global climate change regime, both from an academic and industrial point of view. It also provides practical recommendations for policy makers on the design of these policies. Specific promotion policies for energy efficiency and conservation, renewable energy, carbon capture and sequestration, and nuclear are examined, as well as the interactions between technology policies and climate change policies.