Piece-by-piece approach to emissions policies can be effective

New analysis shows that policies addressing energy consumption and technology choices individually can play an important part in reducing emissions. Discussions on curbing climate change tend to focus on comprehensive, emissions-focused measures: a global cap-and-trade scheme aimed at controlling carbon, or a tax on all carbon emissions. But a new study by researchers at MIT finds that a "segmental" approach - involving separate targeting of energy choices and energy consumption through regulations or incentives - can play an important role in achieving emission reductions. The new study, by assistant professor of engineering systems Jessika Trancik, is being published this week in the journal Environmental Science and Technology . Trancik is joined on the paper by three MIT graduate students: Michael Chang and Christina Karapataki of the Engineering Systems Division and Leah Stokes of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. "A policy that's focused on controlling carbon emissions is a different kind of policy than one that's focused on the underlying demand-side and supply-side technology drivers," Trancik says. And while those calling for sweeping, emission-focused policies have often faced uphill battles in regions, states, and nations, a wide variety of segmental policies have been adopted by such jurisdictions, making it important to understand the effectiveness of such approaches, she says.