Misato Sato
Assistant Professorial Research Fellow
Misato’s research aims to provide a robust evidence base on how regulated companies and sectors respond to energy and climate change policies, in an effort to help improve the design and effectiveness of current polices to better support industries in their low-carbon transition. Her recent work uses economic and econometric methods to evaluate how climate policies such as the EU Emissions Trading System affect the economic performance of cement, steel and other sectors, and how they influence business decisions or outcomes on the various dimensions of competitiveness such as trade, innovation, employment, costs, profitability and investment.
Misato currently holds an ESRC Future Research Leaders award for the project “Assessing the trade and innovation impacts of climate change policies: do they help UK firms or competitors abroad?” (2016-2018).
Background
Misato has a Ph.D. in Environmental Economics from the LSE, titled Carbon emissions and bilateral trade (2013). Prior to her doctoral studies, she held roles as a research assistant at the Faculty of Economics, Cambridge University and Providence University, Taiwan. She has a MSc in Environmental and Resource Economics from UCL and an MA (Joint Hons) in Economics and Chinese from Edinburgh University.
Research interests
- Environmental and Resource Economics
- Environment and Trade
- Applied Econometrics
Demand for offsetting and insetting in the EU Emissions Trading System
International carbon offsetting can help reduce compliance costs in emissions trading schemes and at the same time support carbon mitigation projects in developing countries. A surprising observation from the European … read more »
2015
Asymmetric industrial energy prices and international trade
This paper measures the response of bilateral trade flows to differences in industrial energy prices across countries. Using a rich panel dataset with 42 countries, 62 manufacturing sectors over 16 … read more »
Asymmetric industrial energy prices and international trade
This paper measures the response of bilateral trade flows to differences in industrial energy prices across countries. Using a rich panel dataset with 42 countries, 62 manufacturing sectors over 16 … read more »
EU ETS, Free Allocations, and Activity Level Thresholds: The Devil Lies in the Details
It is well known that discontinuous jumps or thresholds in tax or subsidies are socially inefficient, because they create incentives to make strategic behavioral changes that lead to substantial increases … read more »
Solving the clinker dilemma with hybrid output-based allocation
This paper proposes an innovative solution to distribute free allowances to the cement sector under emissions trading systems. read more »
International and sectoral variation in energy prices 1995-2011: how does it relate to emissions policy stringency?
New research analsying major trends in global energy prices and the extent to which energy prices are a good proxy for emissions policy stringency. New dataset available. read more »
Asymmetric industrial energy prices and international trade
This paper measures the response of bilateral trade flows to differences in industrial energy prices across countries. Using a panel for the period 1996-2011 including 42 countries, 62 sectors and … read more »
2014
EU ETS, free allocations and activity level thresholds, the devil lies in the details
Energy intensive and trade exposed sectors receive a proportion of their allowances (EUAs) for the European Union emissions trading system (EU ETS) free of charge to prevent carbon … read more »
Product level embodied carbon flows in bilateral trade - includes dataset
As increasingly complex modelling approaches to quantifying embodied carbon in trade have become popular, the lack of disaggregation has been identified as a key weakness. This paper quantifies embodied carbon in bilateral trade at the product level. read more »
The effects and side‐effects of the EU emissions trading scheme
As many countries, regions, cities, and states implement emissions trading policies to limit CO2 emissions, they turn to the European Union's experience with its emissions trading scheme since 2005. read more »
Sectors under scrutiny: evaluation of indicators to assess the risk of carbon leakage in the UK and Germany
One of the central debates surrounding the design of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme is the approach to address carbon leakage concerns. read more »
2013
Who will win the green race? In search of environmental competitiveness and innovation
Fankhauser, Samuel, Bowen, Alex, Calel, Raphael, Dechezlepretre, Antoine, Grover, David, Rydge, James and Sato, Misato (2013) Who will win the green race? In search of environmental competitiveness and innovation. Global … read more »
Embodied carbon in trade: a survey of the empirical literature
This paper critically reviews the literature on embodied carbon in trade and evaluates our present empirical understanding of these flows. read more »
Sectors under scrutiny – Evaluation of indicators to assess the risk of carbon leakage in the UK and Germany
One of the central debates surrounding the design of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is the approach to addressing carbon leakage. Correctly identifying the economic activities … read more »
Assessing the effectiveness of the EU Emissions Trading System
As an increasing number of countries, regions, cities and states implement emission trading policies to limit cap CO2 emission, many turn to the experience of the … read more »
2012
Who will win the green race? In search of environmental competitiveness and innovation
As the world considers greener forms of economic growth, countries and sectors are beginning to position themselves for the emerging green economy. This paper combines patent … read more »
Embodied carbon in trade: a survey of the empirical literature
Measuring consumption-based emissions and the implied embodied emissions in trade (EET) has seen a resurgence in recent years, with a growing number of papers reporting country-level … read more »
Inclusion of Consumption of carbon intensive materials in emissions trading – An option for carbon pricing post-2020
A project led jointly by Climate Strategies and DIW Berlin has been exploring whether inclusion of domestic sales of selected energy intensive commodities (e.g. steel) in domestic emission trading schemes … read more »
2015
Methods for Evaluating the Performance of Emission Trading Schemes
This report provides a short summary of assessment methodologies that have been used to evaluate different operational aspects and outcomes of existing trading schemes, a literature which to date draws primarily from the EU ETS experience. read more »
Modernization and innovation in the materials sector: lessons from steel and cement
This report analyses the effectiveness of climate and other related policies in the steel and cement sector over the last 15 years and explores what policy options are available for carbon intensive materials. read more »
2014
The impacts of environmental regulations on competitiveness
Report shows that environmental regulations have only a a marginal impact on competiviveness and that the benefits often outweigh the costs read more »
Steel Report: Carbon Control Post 2020 in Energy Intensive Industries
Study demonstrates how a portfolio of low-carbon opportunities exists which can modernize the steel industry and achieve climate benefits at the same time. The study concludes that the European steel industry has to be highly energy-efficient and innovative to secure its future and that low-carbon transformation offers such a perspective. read more »
Carbon control and competitiveness post 2020: the cement report
Cement industry top management now has little confidence in the EU ETS; structural reform is needed to help investment in energy efficiency and innovation, and reduce energy costs and carbon … read more »
Staying with the leaders: Europe's path to a successful low-carbon economy
Neuhoff, K., Acworth, W., Dechezleprêtre, A., Dröge, S., Sartor, O., Sato, M., Schleicher, S., and Schopp, A. 2014. Climate Strategies. Berlin, Germany and London, UK.
2013
The position of the UK in the emerging green economy
GEPC, 2013. Download paper
Position of the Netherlands in the emerging green economy
Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2013. Download paper
Do higher energy prices affect international trade?
UK Data Service – Case Study, 18 July 2016
Offsetting emissions: It’s not just the cost of carbon that matters to businesses
This commentary reflects on a recent report which looked at why some companies offset their emissions outside of Europe and why others don’t. read more »
EU ETS reform: How to tackle climate change and avoid carbon leakage
With MEPs currently considering the reform of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for Phase 4 (2021-2030), Misato Sato makes the case for revised free allocation of emissions permits. read more »
2015
The EU has the power to drive innovation
Business Green, 8 July (article requires subscription to access)
2014
Green regulations cripple the economy? Show me the proof
If environmental red tape is the source of so many economic woes, why is the evidence of the harm they cause so sketchy? read more »
Opinion: exposing myths about green regulations
Dr Antoine Dechezleprêtre and Dr Misato Sato explain the findings of their latest report, ‘The impacts of environmental regulations on competitiveness’ published by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at London School of Economics and Political Science. read more »
'Green tape' can boost growth, study finds
Grantham Institute report says environmental regulations can drive economic growth by encouraging business innovation read more »
2015
International and sectoral variation in energy prices 1995-2011: how does it relate to emissions policy stringency?
New research analsying major trends in global energy prices and the extent to which energy prices are a good proxy for emissions policy stringency. New dataset available. read more »
2014
Product level embodied carbon flows in bilateral trade - includes dataset
As increasingly complex modelling approaches to quantifying embodied carbon in trade have become popular, the lack of disaggregation has been identified as a key weakness. This paper quantifies embodied carbon in bilateral trade at the product level. read more »
