Dr Federica Genovese contributes to World Bank report on carbon pricing in the Global South

DPIR’s Professor of Political Science and International Relations Dr Federica Genovese has contributed to a recently published World Bank report examining the opportunities and hurdles of carbon pricing in the Global South.

Carbon pricing is a way for governments to tackle climate change by attaching a monetary cost to greenhouse gas emissions. It is one of the central types of climate policies discussed around the world yet it is unclear what type of uptake it has had. 

In the report - Balancing Act: Political Economy and the Pursuit of Ambitious Carbon Pricing in Developing Countries - Dr Genovese and her team members (led by LSE Consulting) explore the literature that points to the political economic drivers of carbon pricing adoption and implementation as well as the challenges. They also present new findings from original research.

The project began in December 2022 and, besides the review of thousands of academic papers, Dr Genovese assisted with the expert interviews that underline the research as well as the design and analysis of the experts’ survey in the report.

The report provides several important policy recommendations for those advocating carbon pricing. For example, their meta-analysis of the relevant literature and original interview data indicate that the vast majority of experts agree that the hardest barrier to ambitious carbon pricing in Global South countries is the backlash of high-emitting firms. 

Additionally, it is evident from the collected evidence that credible and sustained international commitments in the form of trade and aid programs will matter a great deal for the rate of success of carbon pricing — much more than these countries experiencing increasing climate change disasters.

Dr Genovese said: 

“I am proud of this report, and grateful to the World Bank to trust a team of political scientists to spearhead this effort. 

I learned a lot about the work that the World Bank does in the climate policy space in the Global South, and feel empowered by the opportunity to be able to translate my knowledge and expertise in this hands-on, practical document that will hopefully reach many important stakeholders in the Global South (and not only).”