Canadian researchers land grant to improve carbon economic models

In Canada, researchers are developing economic models that aim to reduce the economic costs associated with implementing policies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and encourage low-carbon innovation. “The idea is to try to develop some models regarding carbon policy that can tell a story from a sound academic basis rather than the extreme views on both sides,” says one of the lead investigators, Dr. Randall Wigle, associate director of the PhD Program in Global Governance in the Department of Economics at the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA) at Wilfrid Laurier. A key goal of the project is to encourage low-carbon innovation by showing both the positive and negative impacts of policies. Dr. Wigle and his team from BSIA, the University of Calgary and the University of Ottawa will receive $400,000 over two years from Carbon Management Canada (CMC-NCE), a national Network of Centres of Excellence supporting game-changing research to reduce CO2 emissions in the fossil energy industry as well as from other large stationary emitters.