The Thorny Problem Of Fair Allocation | MIT Technology Review

When it comes to emissions trading, nobody agrees on how to allocate permits. But a group of physicists have a suggestion based on the distribution of things in nature Most people agree that carbon dioxide emissions need to be drastically cut. One way to do this is by emissions trading. The idea is to cap the total emissions that are allowed and then allocate permits to countries allowing them to emit up to a certain limit. If a country produces less than its limit, it will have leftover permits it can sell to countries that want to increase their emissions. The end result is a market that should encourage countries to invest in technologies that reduce emissions (provided the permits are priced correctly). One problem with emissions trading is the initial permit allocation: how should the emissions be divided between countries in a way that is fair? The two most widely discussed options are by auction and grandfathering. In an auction, countries with the deepest pockets can buy the mo

When it comes to emissions trading, nobody agrees on how to allocate permits. But a group of physicists have a suggestion based on the distribution of things in nature Most people agree that carbon dioxide emissions need to be drastically cut. One way to do this is by emissions trading. The idea is to cap the total emissions that are allowed and then allocate permits to countries allowing them to emit up to a certain limit. If a country produces less than its limit, it will have leftover permits it can sell to countries that want to increase their emissions. The end result is a market that sho