The Environment Group in NERA's Energy, Environment, Transport, and Water Global Practice offers world-recognized expert advice on the economics of environmental policies, including climate change, air emissions, water quality and other issues. We have developed particular expertise in emissions trading and other innovative means of achieving environmental goals. Our experience has spanned the public and private sectors and encompassed a wide range of industries.

We have evaluated the costs, benefits and market impacts of environmental regulations for virtually every area of environmental policy. These policy areas include air emissions regulations in numerous sectors (including electricity, refining, cement, steel, pulp and paper, automotive, marine, lawn and garden, recreational vehicles and others), water regulations affecting electricity and other sources, hazardous waste regulations affecting chemical and other sectors, and other regulations affecting hardrock mining, chemical and other sectors.

NERA has unparalleled experience in the evaluation, design and implementation of emissions trading programs. This involvement builds upon our participation in the development or evaluation of virtually all of the major emissions trading programs, including the acid rain trading program, the RECLAIM program for nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide emissions in the Los Angeles basin, averaging banking and trading ("ABT") programs for mobile sources, the NOx budget program for the Northeast and the emerging greenhouse gas trading program for the European Union.

We have helped governments, trade associations and firms estimate the effects of alternative climate change policies and the use of emissions trading. Our work on climate change has been presented at major domestic and international conferences.

NERA has also supported companies on the emissions increase issues in New Source Review compliance and litigation. NERA experts have appeared in new source review cases on the issue of whether the company should have anticipated that projects would lead to a net emissions increase, and advise companies on how to determine if a project can be anticipated to lead to an emissions increase.