The Energy Forum of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy is hosting the second in a series of workshops examining the consequences of potential greenhouse gas emissions regulations for the U.S. energy market. We are considering the influence of a wide range of scenarios, including the adoption of a national carbon management initiative as well as a continuation of the current trend toward a piecemeal, regional policy with particular states taking a lead. The modeling work is the foundation of research toward the release of a major energy study, entitled Energy Market Consequences of an Emerging U.S. Carbon Management Policy, in early 2010. This workshop is a follow up on the workshop of August 2008.
Utilizing its world gas trade model, the Baker Institute plans to investigate how different carbon management schemes will influence natural gas demand, supply and pricing in the United States, as well as overall trends in the North American energy market. Using a scenario-based approach, we will examine the effects of carbon constraints being discussed (i) at the state level, (ii) at the national level to reflect future policy that may umbrella those being considered by individual states, and (iii) at the international level as part of an integrated policy framework. This strategy will be used to examine and compare various outcomes under different sets of assumptions.
To this end, we will be holding a workshop to present some preliminary modeling results and some new ideas for adding economic modeling elements to project costs and pace of technological change for peer review and discussion. Topics to be discussed will include: scenarios for analyzing the effect of various carbon policies on natural gas demand; scenarios for considering the impact of sequestration technologies; scenarios for considering the impact of various technological changes, including those that affect the costs for investments in alternative energy, the wide-spread adoption of carbon sequestration techniques, and the potential role of efficiency.
The study was made possible through the generous support of ConocoPhillips Foundation and the Baker Institute Energy Forum.
Event Agenda and Presentations
Welcoming Remarks and Introduction
Amy Myers Jaffe, Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy
Presentations
"Energy Market Consequences of an Emerging U.S. Carbon Management Policy - Progress to Date"
Kenneth B. Medlock III, Ph.D., Fellow in Energy Studies, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy; Adjunct Professor of Economics, Rice University
Peter Hartley, Ph.D., Rice Scholar, James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy; George and Cynthia Mitchell Chair and Professor of Economics, Rice University
"Research and Development, Energy and Growth"
Ted Temzelides, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, Rice University
Lunch
