Depiction of Climate Commitment

Climate Commitment

We’re committed to being a net zero business.

The climate challenge is one of the biggest questions that business and society are facing globally. Together, we can make a difference.

Industries, organisations, governments and businesses are seeking answers to the questions that they are facing in their individual efforts to ensure a sustainable future. Our people offer solutions and toolkits to facilitate these crucial changes as economics is at the heart of understanding what interventions are needed and how to ensure the transition is achieved in a fair and equitable way.

As a growing and responsible business, we have also examined our own behaviours, considered our impact and made a commitment.

Our pathway to net zero

Evaluate

In 2021, we undertook a detailed exercise measuring our carbon footprint and setting economic based reduction targets for the next five years.

Commit

We’ve committed to achieving at least a 25% reduction* in carbon emissions by 2025 through changes to our working practices and working environment. We’ve joined the Race To Zero SME Climate Commitment, a UN-backed global campaign, to halve global emissions by 2030.

*from a 2019 baseline.

Progress

We’ll monitor our progress and outcomes, and act as a catalyst for better, more sustainable business practices with our clients and suppliers.

View our carbon reduction plan (CRP) as compliant with procurement policy note (PPN) basics 06/21.

Climate Commitment: 25 posts

Articles
< 1 minute read
Depiction of Water regulation in Italy: considerations on the new MTI-4

Water regulation in Italy: considerations on the new MTI-4

Ahead of the new regulatory period for the integrated water service, in December 2023, ARERA (Autorità di Regolazione per Energia Reti e Ambiente) published the decision setting the new regulatory framework for Italian water networks, the so-called MTI-4. According to the latest evidence, the regulation contributed to improve the outcomes… Read More

Articles
2 minute read
Depiction of Green agreements: Oxera’s perspective on the new UK guidelines

Green agreements: Oxera’s perspective on the new UK guidelines

The CMA has launched its Green Agreements Guidance to help businesses co-operate on environmental goals. This new guidance will help businesses understand how they can collaborate on environmental sustainability goals while adhering to the law.1 Oxera welcomed the opportunity provided by the CMA to comment on the draft… Read More

Articles
8 minute read
Depiction of Rethinking HS2

Rethinking HS2

On 4 October 2023, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirmed that Phase 2 of High Speed Two (HS2) would not go ahead.1 Was this the right call? How do we make the most of where we are now? To answer these questions, we need to understand why HS2 was… Read More

Articles
4 minute read
Depiction of The Oxera Energy Model: price coupling in the European energy mix

The Oxera Energy Model: price coupling in the European energy mix

Oxera’s new Energy Model enables detailed analysis of a range of future scenarios involving the energy generation mix in Europe. The interactive map below showcases one example relating to price coupling. (For an introduction to this topic, see Oxera’s Agenda article from April 2023.)… Read More

Articles
8 minute read
Depiction of Carbon prices: working together or pulling apart?

Carbon prices: working together or pulling apart?

Carbon pricing is often recommended by economists as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, in practice, several different carbon prices are used in the aviation sector. What are each of these prices, and why do they differ? And are carbon markets even working correctly? Given the unfolding… Read More

Articles
13 minute read
Depiction of The GHG Protocol: measuring firms’ carbon footprints

The GHG Protocol: measuring firms’ carbon footprints

Like a growing number of businesses, Oxera has made an explicit commitment to reducing our carbon emissions and becoming a net zero organisation. As part of this, we have estimated our annual carbon emissions using the most widely used method: the GHG Protocol. Carbon reporting is still in its… Read More

Articles
5 minute read
Depiction of Will the end of a golden age for UK transport infrastructure be a catalyst for a green era?

Will the end of a golden age for UK transport infrastructure be a catalyst for a green era?

Arguably, the UK has gone through a golden age of transport infrastructure planning and delivery in recent years. Since the turn of the millennium, transport capital budgets have grown and grown, with the £96bn integrated rail plan for upgrades in the Midlands and the North, £27.4bn announced for the second… Read More

Articles
9 minute read
Depiction of Fit for 55? The impact of the EU’s  climate package on the aviation industry

Fit for 55? The impact of the EU’s climate package on the aviation industry

What will be the impact of the EU’s Fit for 55 package on European aviation? The policies are likely to affect passenger demand, fares and emissions, but a number of questions remain over potential distortions and how the policies can help to achieve ambitious net zero targets. Oxera was… Read More

Articles
10 minute read
Depiction of Ticking the boxes on a green self-assessment, and the risk of greenwashing

Ticking the boxes on a green self-assessment, and the risk of greenwashing

In EU competition law, the key criteria for green self-assessments for companies are ‘fair share’ and ‘indispensability’. But how can we assess these from an economics perspective? And how can we distinguish legitimate sustainability agreements from greenwashing? We consider how the European Commission deals with consumer benefits in its… Read More

Articles
9 minute read
Depiction of Grounded? The environmental implications of modal shift from air to rail

Grounded? The environmental implications of modal shift from air to rail

With growing pressure on economies to decarbonise in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement, transport—and particularly air transport—has come under increased scrutiny. Moving passengers from air to rail has been proposed as one way to decarbonise the sector. To this end, the EU and national governments have invested in high-speed rail lines and discussed restrictions on short-haul flights. But does rail always trump air from an environmental perspective? Read More

Articles
7 minute read
Depiction of Bidding for a more sustainable future: carbon trading in the EU

Bidding for a more sustainable future: carbon trading in the EU

In the context of a rapid increase in global energy and carbon prices since September 2021, questions have emerged around the functioning of the EU carbon market and the role of carbon prices in public policy. How can we assess whether the carbon market is functioning well? What does the evidence tell us, and is there a need for further policy intervention? Read More

Articles
6 minute read
Depiction of Creating a market for negative emissions

Creating a market for negative emissions

As the curtain dropped on last year’s COP26 summit, many were heartened by the agreements made. Yet more needs to be done to fast-track the roll-out of negative emissions technologies that will be vital in addressing irreversible global damage from carbon emissions. Oxera research for Drax found a range of market design mechanisms through which these technologies could figure in the UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme. Angela Hepworth, Innovation Commercial Director at Drax Group, looks at the role of negative emissions technologies in reaching net zero targets. Read More

Articles
11 minute read
Depiction of Anticipating future public policy changes in environmental cost–benefit analysis

Anticipating future public policy changes in environmental cost–benefit analysis

In pursuit of net zero targets, public entities worldwide are increasingly employing environmental cost–benefit analysis (CBA). The outcome of such an analysis depends on the public environmental policy standards applicable at that time. But what if these standards change? Ilaria Noviello, Oxera Analyst, and Shaun Tey, Economist at Ofcom, draw on a case study involving the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) to explore how policymakers can account for potential changes to public policy when conducting environmental CBA. Read More

Articles
7 minute read
Depiction of Washing out greenwashing: regulation and investment for a net zero future

Washing out greenwashing: regulation and investment for a net zero future

What is the role of regulation in nurturing new markets for environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment? ESG investing has grown significantly in recent years as investors look for sustainable and ethical opportunities. This has generated issues such as financial ‘greenwashing’, whereby products are mis-sold as being more sustainable… Read More

Articles
9 minute read
Depiction of Decarbon-nudge?

Decarbon-nudge?

Decarbonisation is one of the largest challenges facing societies across the world, and consumer behaviour has an important role to play in achieving this goal. Behavioural economics shows us that consumer behaviour can be influenced by ‘nudges’ and choice architecture. So what role can nudges play in helping us to decarbonise? Read More

Articles
9 minute read
Depiction of High time for hydrogen: establishing a hydrogen value chain in Europe (part 2)

High time for hydrogen: establishing a hydrogen value chain in Europe (part 2)

Across Europe and around the world, hydrogen is gaining traction as a low-carbon energy source with new use cases. In this two-part series, we provide an overview of key strategic developments for hydrogen in the EU and the UK. Our first article introduced the hydrogen value chain and associated upstream issues (i.e. production). Here, we focus on the midstream (i.e. storage and transportation) and downstream (i.e. usage) elements of the value chain. Read More

Articles
7 minute read
Depiction of Economics of Climate Change—how economics can enable the transition to net zero

Economics of Climate Change—how economics can enable the transition to net zero

to finance, slow policy and regulatory coordination, and insufficient adoption of decarbonisation solutions by businesses and consumers. In this article, we reflect on the session chaired by Oxera on the Economics of Climate Change at COP26 on one of the World Leader’s Summit days, to explore how economics can help to remove these barriers, as well as helping to make any net zero transition a fair one. Read More

1 minute read
Depiction of The Economics of Climate Change

The Economics of Climate Change

The UN Climate Conference, COP26, provides the perfect backdrop for our latest episode of the Agenda podcast. Many countries around the world are signing up to targets aimed at achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions, while the world is also in the grip of an energy crisis. On this podcast,… Read More

Articles
7 minute read
Depiction of High time for hydrogen: establishing a hydrogen value chain in Europe (part 1)

High time for hydrogen: establishing a hydrogen value chain in Europe (part 1)

Across Europe and around the world, hydrogen is gaining traction as a low-carbon solution to our energy and transport needs. This is the first of two articles investigating the key strategic developments for hydrogen in the EU and the UK, and identifying the potential regulatory challenges that accommodating a hydrogen transition might entail. In this article, we introduce the hydrogen value chain and examine some upstream production issues. The second article will focus on the midstream (storage and transportation) and downstream (usage) elements of the value chain. Read More

Articles
11 minute read
Depiction of How do policymakers make the climate transition just?

How do policymakers make the climate transition just?

Many different organisations, including the European Commission, the United Nations and the International Labour Organization (ILO), have expressed a desire to ensure that decarbonisation involves a ‘just transition’. The organisations have often focused on the ‘workers’ rights’ element of the transition, without giving other aspects of a just transition the same level of consideration. In this article, we identify these other aspects and, in particular, we explain why current methods of funding decarbonisation are often ‘regressive’ rather than ‘progressive’. Read More

Articles
16 minute read
Depiction of When to give the green light to green agreements

When to give the green light to green agreements

Should companies be allowed to cooperate—or ‘collude’—on socially beneficial environmental behaviour? Do companies even have the incentive to cooperate on socially beneficial behaviour? In this article, we reconcile apparently divergent views concerning the law and economics of the value of sustainability agreements, by illustrating how the presence of sustainability spillovers between firms can generate both socially and privately beneficial cooperation. Read More

Articles
8 minute read
Depiction of New game, new rules: the draft guidelines for ‘green’ state aid measures

New game, new rules: the draft guidelines for ‘green’ state aid measures

On 7 June, the European Commission published its draft climate, energy and environmental aid guidelines (CEEAG). More comprehensive than the previous version, these guidelines cover new technologies (such as hydrogen) and state aid for the phasing out of coal. We explore the role of economic and financial analysis in assessing the compatibility of ‘green’ aid measures under the guidelines. Read More

Articles
11 minute read
Depiction of Promoting the green transition: the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility

Promoting the green transition: the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility

Over the next five years, significant funding will be made available through the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) to support member states’ recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. A large part of this funding will be allocated to the ‘green transition’, supporting the EU’s goal to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. We take a look at some of the investments, and the role of economic and financial analysis in ensuring that they are in line with state aid rules. Read More

Articles
6 minute read
Depiction of Trade-offs for take-off: domestic aviation in a post-pandemic world

Trade-offs for take-off: domestic aviation in a post-pandemic world

Several European governments have provided support to their national airlines and airports amid the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, they have committed to a green recovery, pledging to decarbonise their domestic transport sectors in order to reach their net-zero goals. What decisions and trade-offs might governments need to make in order to support domestic aviation and meet their environmental targets in a post-pandemic world? Read More

Articles
5 minute read
Depiction of The role of sustainability in merger control

The role of sustainability in merger control

The recent focus on sustainability in the context of coordination agreements and in state aid cases1 has now spread to merger control.2 This article addresses how sustainability fits into the merger assessment framework and what we can learn from environmental economics and the economics of climate change… Read More

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