Green, White and Brown Certificates Working Together: the Italian Experience

The paper presents experiences of the long-lasting and multifaceted application of market-based instruments (tradable certificates systems) in the energy sector in order to improve energy efficiency (white certificates), renewable energy sources (green certificates) and to promote the abatement of CO2 emissions (brown certificates). The paper investigates the possibility of making the three types of certificates work together; taking into account that they show similarities and synergies in spite of the fact that there are inherent differences and overlaps that can hinder their integration in a coherent framework