The influence of the carbon price on the price of glass, within the United Kingdom glass industry, between the years 2006 and 2010.

Abstract

This research is an in-depth analysis of one of the main problems facing the planet to date and this is greenhouse gas emissions. There are various different greenhouse gases that are emitted into the planet's atmosphere such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrogen among others. Carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas that is emitted in the largest quantities annually. When carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere it forms a layer around the planet. This layer allows heat from the sun to reach the surface of the planet but does not allow this heat to get reflected back into space. This raises the temperature of the planet and causes global warming which has disastrous effects on the planet. Therefore carbon dioxide is a significant problem in the issue of climate change. There have been a number of economic policies put forward by the government in recent years in the attempt to slow climate change and decrease the amount of emissions in the atmosphere. One of the policies that has been used to try and curb the amount of carbon emitted is carbon pricing. By putting a price on carbon it is believed that industries will be encouraged into investing in more greener and less environmentally unfriendly forms of production. I shall be looking at whether the policy of putting a price on carbon has an impact on the United Kingdom glass industry. The impact I shall be looking for is the impact that the carbon price has on the price of glass within the UK glass industry. Evidence suggests that there will be an increase in the price of glass within the UK when there is an increase in the price of carbon within the UK. The glass industry is responsible for a certain amount of these emissions within the economy and the research will be looking at the effects that a price of carbon has on the glass industry of the United Kingdom and the effectiveness of this policy. Previous research has concentrated on the effects of a carbon price on the European Union as a whole. However, the United Kingdom has a very different economy from the European Union countries and the effects of a carbon price may differ between these.