As many as 66 carbon pricing policies (including both taxes and emissions trading systems) have been adopted by polities with varying levels of development and diverse political systems.
Although the factors that influence adoption of carbon pricing are highly dependent on particular country contexts, Skovgaard, Sack Ferrari and Knaggard (2019) have been able to identify some key determinants for adoption by using a cluster analysis.
Their research finds that economic and fiscal crises, international commitments (including financial and technical assistance), and regional ‘bandwagon effect’ (whereby geographically close polities benefit from each other’s learning and experience) provide windows of opportunity for promoting carbon pricing. Read the full study here.