MAC curves report costs of different abatement measures
(per unit of CO^e abated) on the vertical axis and the GHG
volumes abated (annual emission savings generated by
adoption of the measure) on the horizontal axis, showing a
schedule of abatement measures ordered by their specific
costs per unit of C 0 2e abated estimated against what would
be expected to happen in a ‘business as usual’ (BAU) baseline (Moran et al, 2011). In this analysis, MAC curves report therefore only the incremental costs with respect to
BAU scenario. Moving along the graph from left to right
worsens the cost-effectiveness of technology options since
each ton of CO,e mitigated becomes more costly. It should
be noted that some options may even show negative abatement costs (i.e. the adoption of such measures will increase
profits, therefore showing a cost-saving technology opportunity).