furthermore such a standard for emissions can avoid a large increase in electricity prices in the early stage of its introduction which would otherwise be necessary to trigger low carbon investments the associated argument against this approach is that it may be less effective at reducing electricity demand than a carbon price although it is not clear whether this proposal would create a more stable investment framework and will be applied in the united states see box electricity sector mechanisms may be an interesting instrument they can address the price uncertainty associated with industrial demand of quotas in an economywide cap and trade mechanism