Partners and International Organizations
(English)
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ZEW (D), NTUA (EL), CES/KUL (B), ERASME (F), IER (D), MERIT (NL), SSE (S)
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Abstract
(English)
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The purpose of PSI's participation in the GEM-E3-ELITE project were to implement and apply GEM-E3 for Switzerland. Both objectives have been successfully completed. The first objective has required the development of a Swiss database for each of GEM-E3 modules (economic and environmental). For the second objective, strategies to reduce CO2 emissions have been evaluated.
The development of the economic database has proved to be more difficult than expected, due to the lack of some required disaggregated economic data for Switzerland. To overcome the encountered difficulties, PSI has collaborated with the Laboratory of Applied Economics (LEA, University of Geneva) and the Laboratory of Energy Systems (EPFL). The Swiss Federal Statistical Office and the KOF Institute (ETH) have also contributed data. The GEM-E3 economic database consists mostly of a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM). To build such a matrix, PSI has used a Swiss SAM constructed by LEA for the year 1990. This SAM is already calibrated, but its format is not consistent with the one of GEM-E3. Furthermore, it lacks many data needed in GEM-E3. PSI's work has thus consisted on the one hand in transforming the LEA's SAM into the requested nomenclature, and on the other hand in completing it with additional data. The Swiss environmental database consists mainly of an Energy Balance Table and of an Emission Coefficients Table. Both have been designed using national and international official statistics. The latter Table is also based on know-how of the PSI GaBE Project.
Using GEM-E3 Switzerland, two strategies to reduce the Swiss CO2 emissions (by 10% by 2010) have been evaluated: a carbon tax ('tax only' strategy), and the combining of a carbon tax with the buying of CO2 emission permits ('permits & tax' strategy). In the first strategy, Switzerland would impose the necessary carbon tax to achieve the reduction target, and use the tax revenue to reduce social security charges. In the second, it would impose a lower carbon tax, and use part of the tax revenue to acquire emission permits on an international market so as to fulfil the reduction target. And it would use the remaining of the tax revenue to reduce social security charges as in the first strategy. The findings of GEM-E3 Switzerland are as follows. Both reduction strategies yield a so-called 'double dividend', here a simultaneous improvement of the environmental quality and of the employment level. The employment increase is higher in the 'tax only' approach. However, the 'permits & tax' strategy yields a better situation in terms of GDP, sectoral impacts and balance of trade. Furthermore, the carbon tax it imposes is reduced compared to the 'tax only' strategy, and its implementation should thus face less political opposition. From this point of view, Switzerland should consider the combining of a 'low' national carbon tax with the participation in international schemes to curb CO2 emissions.
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