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on Energy Economics |
| By: | Fraas, Arthur G. (Resources for the Future); Joiner, Emily (Resources for the Future); Lee, Brielle; Liu, Krystal |
| Abstract: | Growing demand for electricity and increased interest in affordable clean energy sources have created a rich economic opportunity for renewable energy developers in recent years. However, developers have long expressed frustration with the myriad obstacles to building new generation projects—in particular, selecting a site and securing the necessary leases and federal permits. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) establishes a process of environmental review that is compulsory for any major action, including the financing of solar and wind projects and construction of utility-scale renewable energy projects on federal lands. Utility -scale projects are projects with a capacity greater than 20 megawatts (AC), as FERC has adopted 20 megawatts as the cut-off for large merchant generators. 20 megawatt or greater capacity is considered competitive for wholesale power markets (NARUC and U.S. AID n.d.; Urban Grid 2019). Its requirements are often mentioned as a major obstacle to renewable energy development, but does the NEPA process significantly delay renewable energy projects? Would adjustments to NEPA accelerate the clean energy transition? We examine the experience for solar, wind, and geothermal power plants that completed the NEPA process from 2009 to 2023 to provide new insights into these questions. Over this period, we find that the solar and wind projects subject to NEPA review account for only a small fraction of the total utility-scale renewable capacity brought online from 2010 through 2023. These renewable projects completed the formal NEPA process in less time than the average time for all project types across all federal agencies. Almost two-thirds of these solar and wind projects did so within one to two years; however, a number of the remaining projects required substantially longer. |
| Date: | 2025–08–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-14 |
| By: | Merlinda Andoni; Benoit Couraud; Valentin Robu; Jamie Blanche; Sonam Norbu; Si Chen; Satria Putra Kanugrahan; David Flynn |
| Abstract: | Amid global interest in resilient energy systems, green hydrogen is considered vital to the net-zero transition, yet its deployment remains limited by high production cost. The cost is determined by the its production pathway, system configuration, asset location, and interplay with electricity markets and regulatory frameworks. To compare different deployment strategies in the UK, we develop a comprehensive techno-economic framework based on the Levelised Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) assessment. We apply this framework to 5 configurations of wind-electrolyser systems, identify the most cost-effective business cases, and conduct a sensitivity analysis of key economic parameters. Our results reveal that electricity cost is the dominant contributor to LCOH, followed by the electrolyser cost. Our work highlights the crucial role that location, market arrangements and control strategies among RES and hydrogen investors play in the economic feasibility of deploying green hydrogen systems. Policies that subsidise low-cost electricity access and optimise deployment can lower LCOH, enhancing the economic competitiveness of green hydrogen. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2509.00136 |
| By: | Robertson, Molly (Resources for the Future); Krupnick, Alan (Resources for the Future); Look, Wesley (Resources for the Future); Ko, Eunice; Bambrick, Conor; Perez, Celeste; Bautista, Eddie |
| Abstract: | New York State is working to implement policies that will decarbonize the state’s economy and meet the full requirements of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). The CLCPA requires the state to reduce statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050 (relative to 1990 levels) and to achieve net-zero GHG emissions economy-wide. Additionally, the state must direct at least 35 to 40 percent of climate investments and benefits to disadvantaged communities, as defined by the Climate Justice Working Group.Since 2023, the state has been designing a cap-trade-and-invest (CTI) program to help meet its emissions reduction requirements. CTI would encourage decarbonization by pricing emissions and increasing the costs of using fossil fuels while also subsidizing (the “invest” side) the adoption of low-carbon technologies, such as heat pumps and electric vehicles. The program would establish an auction for emissions allowances and require emitting entities to purchase allowances based on their emissions.Analyses from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Resources for the Future (RFF) offer evidence that a CTI program, alongside other emissions reduction investments and policies the state has adopted or is considering, can significantly reduce GHG and conventional air pollution emissions in New York State, compared with both a business-as-usual scenario and the historical baseline of emissions (NYSERDA and DEC 2024; Krupnick et al. 2024). Additional work by RFF has found that program guardrails like facility-specific caps can further reduce harmful emissions near disadvantaged communities and improve air quality across much of the state without adding significantly to costs (Krupnick et al. 2024; Robertson et al. 2024a, 2024b).Despite the air quality and health improvements that could result from a CTI program (Krupnick et al. 2024; Robertson et al. 2024a, 2024b; NYSERDA and DEC 2024), some state policymakers and business groups, expressing concern about the affordability of the program and the additional costs that New York households could incur, have argued for dampening the program’s ambition on emissions reductions to ensure lower costs (Marcus 2024). This paper analyzes the affordability of CTI for different income groups and communities by exploring how the program may affect the cost of fossil fuels and deliver benefits to households in the form of program subsidies and what we call “dividends”—payments not tied to particular energy-saving behaviors or investments.We investigate how different allowance-funded investment and dividend strategies can affect transportation and residential energy costs (both gross and net) faced by New York households. We analyze two allowance price ceilings (informed by Scenarios A and C in the NYSERDA and DEC 2024 analysis) and potential strategies for distributing revenues and decarbonization incentives. Across these scenarios, we consider how different distributions from the Consumer Climate Action Account (CCAA) could affect average costs for low- and middle-income households. We find the following:A CTI program can financially benefit households across most income groups and geographies in New York State.New Yorkers across income groups could pay less to operate an electrified household than to operate a household that runs on fossil fuels.Compared with a low allowance price (NYSERDA-DEC Scenario C), a high allowance price (NYSERDA-DEC Scenario A) could make many New Yorkers better off by increasing the revenue available for dividends to households.Targeting dividends by geography and income can help cover costs and create more savings for households earning up to $200, 000 per year.The electrification observed in our study is largely driven by existing federal and state policies, but investment of CTI revenues can lower costs for households transitioning to heat pumps for heating and cooling and electric vehicles. Investments to reduce structural barriers that prevent certain households from electrifying could encourage further heat pump adoption.A high allowance price (Scenario A) would result in significantly greater reductions in GHG and copollutant emissions (i.e., SO2, NOX, and direct PM2.5) compared with the low allowance price scenario (Scenario C). |
| Date: | 2025–01–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-01 |
| By: | Arega Getaneh Abate; Xiaobing Zhang; Xiufeng Liu; Dogan Keles |
| Abstract: | Integrating electric mobility (electric vehicles (EVs), electric trucks (ETs)) and renewable energy sources (RES) with the power grid is paramount for achieving decarbonization, efficiency, and stability. Given the rapid growth of decentralized technologies and their critical role in decarbonization, two critical challenges emerge: first, the development of a digital platform for operational coordination; and second, rigorous research into their cost-benefit profile. This paper addresses this by presenting a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of an AI-driven operational digital platform (ODP) designed for holistic, cross-sectoral optimization. The ODP aims to enhance energy efficiency, grid reliability, and environmental sustainability. A seven-step CBA framework, aligned with EU guidelines, quantifies economic, reliability, and environmental benefits against capital and operational expenditures, explicitly linking benefit magnitude to AI-driven ODP and optimization efficiencies, such as quantified improvements in market arbitrage from ODP, enabled forecasting, and enhanced operational efficiencies across various services. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2506.20631 |
| By: | Riya Kinnarkar; Mansur Arief |
| Abstract: | Traditional power grid infrastructure presents significant barriers to renewable energy integration and perpetuates energy access inequities, with low-income communities experiencing disproportionately longer power outages. This study develops a Markov Decision Process (MDP) framework to optimize renewable energy allocation while explicitly addressing social equity concerns in electricity distribution. The model incorporates budget constraints, energy demand variability, and social vulnerability indicators across eight major U.S. cities to evaluate policy alternatives for equitable clean energy transitions. Numerical experiments compare the MDP-based approach against baseline policies including random allocation, greedy renewable expansion, and expert heuristics. Results demonstrate that equity-focused optimization can achieve 32.9% renewable energy penetration while reducing underserved low-income populations by 55% compared to conventional approaches. The expert policy achieved the highest reward, while the Monte Carlo Tree Search baseline provided competitive performance with significantly lower budget utilization, demonstrating that fair distribution of clean energy resources is achievable without sacrificing overall system performance and providing ways for integrating social equity considerations with climate goals and inclusive access to clean power infrastructure. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2509.00008 |
| By: | Jonas Heim; Thomas Nitschka |
| Abstract: | This paper evaluates whether CO2 emission levels or emission intensities are firm characteristics that drive Swiss firms’ stock returns. We show that standard characteristics such as size and the book-to-market equity ratio are more important determinants of firm-level stock returns than are CO2 levels (intensities). Brown firms (high CO2 levels or intensities) tend to be large and exhibit low book-to-market equity ratios, whereas their green counterparts are small and exhibit high book-to-market equity ratios. This explains why return differences between brown and green firms are statistically indistinguishable from zero after controlling for exposures to standard risk factors. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, CO2 emissions, Event study, Risk premium |
| JEL: | G12 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:snb:snbwpa:2025-13 |
| By: | Paul, Arindam; Sahoo, Dukhabandhu; Mohapatra, Souryabrata; Behera, Manash Kumar |
| Abstract: | Amidst the growing issues of global warming and non-inclusiveness, inclusive green growth (IGG) has become an aspiration for all countries. Countries worldwide, including those in the European Union (EU), are transitioning from non-renewable to renewable energy to preserve the environment. However, there is currently a lack of comprehensive research investigating the nexus between energy transition and IGG. This paper aims to explore the impact of energy transition on IGG in 25 EU countries from 1995–2021. We develop composite indices for both IGG and renewable energy transition targeted to EU economies and employ advanced econometric approaches such as the pooled mean group-autoregressive distributed lag (PMG-ARDL) model, Driscoll-Kraay standard errors (DKSE) method, feasible generalised least square (FGLS) method, panel corrected standard errors (PCSE) method, to uncover relevant associations. The PMG-ARDL deals with potential endogeneity and simultaneously provides short-run and long-run estimates, while the DKSE, FGLS, and PCSE methods provide consistent outcomes in the presence of cross-sectional dependence, autocorrelation, and heteroscedasticity among the error terms. Results indicate that the renewable energy transition hampers IGG in the short run but fosters it in the long run in the EU economies. Additionally, financial development and internet access enhance IGG, whereas government expenditure, inflation, and economic globalisation have negative impacts. The findings suggest that EU countries should stimulate investment by public-private partnerships in renewable energy technologies and promote the use of renewable energy to make their economic growth green and inclusive. |
| Keywords: | Energy transition, Inclusive green growth, European Union, Panel analysis |
| JEL: | C23 N34 O44 Q30 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125807 |
| By: | Hitchcock, Ian; Raimi, Daniel (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Wyoming is heavily dependent on the extraction of fossil fuels, particularly coal, to support its economy. As the United States seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the federal government has begun to implement policies designed to support fossil fuel–dependent “energy communities.” This report, based on interviews with experts and policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels, examines whether—and to what extent—current federal policies are supporting Wyoming’s goals of an energy transformation to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.Our interviews and analysis suggest that current federal efforts, while helpful, could do more to boost Wyoming’s communities during the energy transition. A leading cause is the lack of capacity among local and state officials to access the considerable array of federal resources made available through recent legislation. This lack of access has hindered Wyoming’s strategy of developing new technologies that take advantage of the state’s coal resources but avoid the associated emissions. However, some federal efforts, particularly the federal Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization (the “Energy Communities IWG”) and its Wyoming Rapid Response Team (RRT) appear promising and can offer lessons for policymakers seeking to support fossil fuel–dependent communities across the country. In particular, the community-focused approach of the RRT, which emphasizes relationship building, strengthening local governance capacity, and flexibility in program design, can create the conditions that lead to progress in the energy transformation. This progress is particularly notable in Wyoming, where fossil fuels have dominated state economics, culture, and politics for decades.Our main findings are as follows:Wyoming is pursuing a strategy of energy transformation that seeks to continue coal use while developing new technologies that avoid greenhouse gas emissions.The federal IWG, and particularly the Wyoming RRT, has provided useful resources and offers a model for success in place-based policymaking and implementation.Despite the support of the IWG, many local stakeholders still lack the capacity to access complex federal funding opportunities. |
| Date: | 2024–12–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-24-25 |
| By: | Georges da Costa (IRIT-SEPIA - Système d’exploitation, systèmes répartis, de l’intergiciel à l’architecture - IRIT - Institut de recherche en informatique de Toulouse - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Toulouse INP - Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) - UT - Université de Toulouse - TMBI - Toulouse Mind & Brain Institut - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse); Atom Deutsch-Filippi (IRIT-SEPIA - Système d’exploitation, systèmes répartis, de l’intergiciel à l’architecture - IRIT - Institut de recherche en informatique de Toulouse - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Toulouse INP - Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) - UT - Université de Toulouse - TMBI - Toulouse Mind & Brain Institut - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse); Igor Fontana de Nardin (IRIT-SEPIA - Système d’exploitation, systèmes répartis, de l’intergiciel à l’architecture - IRIT - Institut de recherche en informatique de Toulouse - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Toulouse INP - Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) - UT - Université de Toulouse - TMBI - Toulouse Mind & Brain Institut - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse, UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse); Jean-Marc Nicod (FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174) - UTBM - Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard - ENSMM - Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UFC - Université de Franche-Comté - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE]); Veronika Rehn-Sonigo (FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174) - UTBM - Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard - ENSMM - Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UFC - Université de Franche-Comté - UBFC - Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE]); Patricia Stolf (IRIT-SEPIA - Système d’exploitation, systèmes répartis, de l’intergiciel à l’architecture - IRIT - Institut de recherche en informatique de Toulouse - UT Capitole - Université Toulouse Capitole - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Toulouse INP - Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) - UT - Université de Toulouse - TMBI - Toulouse Mind & Brain Institut - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès - UT - Université de Toulouse - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - UT - Université de Toulouse) |
| Abstract: | Abstract Since the Paris Agreement, there has been increased focus on decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions related to power supply. Data centers are a huge energy consumer sector due to their continuous operational demand. A way to reduce their impact on GHG is by using renewable energy in their power supply. However, renewable energy introduces production intermittence since it depends on the climate conditions. Geo-distributed data centers can exploit diverse climate conditions to diminish the problem. This work presents a geo-distributed data center marketplace only supplied by renewable energies. In our marketplace model, the data centers are independent and compete for the users' jobs. The winner data center is defined using a reverse auction process. We compare different aspects, such as centralized/distributed architectures and cooperative/non-cooperative marketplaces. Our results show that the cooperative and distributed data center model earns more money (5.39% more money), wastes less energy (3.81% less energy), and provides higher QoS (improvement of 4.31% for services and 2.71% for tasks). |
| Keywords: | Renewable energy, Auction, Marketplace, Cloud computing |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05239473 |
| By: | Semieniuk, Gregor; Weber, Isabella M.; Weaver, Iain S.; Wasner, Evan; Braun, Benjamin; Holden, Philip B.; Salas, Pablo; Mercure, Jean-Francois; Edwards, Neil R. |
| Abstract: | The 2022 oil and gas crisis resulted in record fossil-fuel profits globally that rehabilitated the oil and gas industry, obstructed the energy transition and contributed to inflation, but their magnitude and beneficiaries have been insufficiently understood. Here we show the size of profits across countries and their distribution across socio-economic groups within the United States, using company income statements, comprehensive ownership data and a network model for propagating profits via shareholdings. We estimate that globally, net income in publicly listed oil and gas companies alone reached US$916 billion in 2022, with the United States the biggest beneficiary with claims on US$301 billion, more than U.S. investments of US$267 billion in the low carbon economy that year. In a network of U.S. shareholdings with 252, 433 nodes including privately held U.S. companies, 50 % of profits went to the wealthiest 1 % of individuals, predominantly through direct shareholdings and private company ownership. In contrast the bottom 50 % only received 1 %. The incremental U.S. fossil-fuel profits in 2022 relative to 2021 were enough to increase the disposable income of the wealthiest Americans by several percent and compensate a substantial part of their purchasing power loss from inflation that year, thereby exacerbating inflation inequality. These profits also reinforced existing racial and ethnic inequalities and inequalities between groups with different educational attainments. We discuss how an excess profit tax could be used to both lower inequality and accelerate the energy transition as increasing geopolitical tensions and climate impacts threaten continued volatility in oil and gas markets. |
| JEL: | R14 J01 N0 |
| Date: | 2025–09–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:129170 |
| By: | Sebastian G. Nosenzo; Rafael Kelman |
| Abstract: | Agricultural residues represent a vast, underutilized resource for renewable energy. This study combines empirical analysis from 179 countries with a case study of a pelletization facility to evaluate the global potential of agricultural pelletization for fossil fuel replacement. The findings estimate a technical availability of 1.44 billion tons of crop residues suitable for pellet production, translating to a 4.5% potential displacement of global fossil fuel energy use, equating to 22 million TJ and equivalent to 917 million tons of coal annually. The economically optimized scenario projects annual savings of $163 billion and a reduction of 1.35 billion tons of CO2 equivalent in emissions. Utilizing the custom-developed CLASP-P and RECOP models, the study further demonstrates that agricultural pellets can achieve competitive pricing against conventional fossil fuels in many markets. Despite logistical and policy challenges, agricultural pelletization emerges as a scalable, market-driven pathway to support global decarbonization goals while fostering rural economic development. These results reinforce the need for targeted investment, technological advancement, and supportive policy to unlock the full potential of agricultural pellets in the renewable energy mix. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2508.12457 |
| By: | Minh Phuong Nguyen ("Research Group Innovation for Sustainable and Responsible Mining (ISRM), Hanoi University of Mining and Geology, Hanoi, 100000, Vietnam" Author-2-Name: Nga Nguyen Author-2-Workplace-Name: Research Group Innovation for Sustainable and Responsible Mining (ISRM), Hanoi University of Mining and Geology, Hanoi, 100000, Vietnam Author-3-Name: Author-3-Workplace-Name: Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | " Objective - This study analyzes the development of renewable energy in ASEAN and delves into specific promotion instruments for solar energy in Vietnam. Method Cost-benefit analysis was conducted to compare economic benefits with investment and operating costs. Methodology - Vietnam was entering a period of transformation in the field of renewable energy, especially solar energy (installed solar power capacity was 16, 000 MW in 2023, intending to increase to 25, 320 MW in 2030). Compared to ASEAN countries with many similarities in developing this industry, such as Indonesia (solar power capacity was 2, 100 MW in 2023), Vietnam faced an excellent opportunity to surpass. Findings - The results of the study show that government instruments had different levels of influence on various aspects, and the most influential were the FIT tariff (243.75 points) and tax exemption (49.71 points). Novelty - Although solar energy in Vietnam is developing rapidly, it is still necessary to improve and develop reasonable allocation strategies for supporting policies and incentive mechanisms to optimize economic benefits. Type of Paper - Empirical" |
| Keywords: | Policy Instruments, Solar Energy, Renewable Energy, Energy Transition, Sustainable Development, Sustainability Goals, FIT. |
| JEL: | E16 E27 O11 O13 O32 |
| Date: | 2025–06–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:jber257 |
| By: | Zakirov, Bekzod |
| Abstract: | Critical raw materials (CRMs) and rare earth elements (REEs) are emerging as strategic resources driving the global energy transition and digital transformation, with demand projected to rise sharply over the coming decades. This paper examines Uzbekistan’s growing role in the critical minerals economy, analyzing its mineral endowments, policy reforms, and positioning within shifting geopolitical supply chains. It reviews global strategies of major powers, assesses Uzbekistan’s assets, governance challenges, and foreign investment patterns, and identifies risks related to environmental standards and overreliance on single partners. The study argues that Uzbekistan can leverage its resource base to advance green industrialization and economic diversification if it adopts transparent governance, strengthens domestic processing capacity, and pursues a balanced, multipolar partnership strategy. Policy recommendations are offered to integrate the sector into sustainable development objectives and avoid the pitfalls of resource dependency. |
| Keywords: | critical minerals, rare earth elements, Uzbekistan, supply chains, green industrialization, resource governance |
| JEL: | F52 |
| Date: | 2025–08–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125749 |
| By: | Zhu, Yuqi (Resources for the Future); Raimi, Daniel (Resources for the Future); Joiner, Emily (Resources for the Future); Holmes, Brandon (Resources for the Future); Prest, Brian C. (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | As 2025 unfolds, the global economy, international alliances, and the rules-based international order face new questions and challenges. Energy markets and international climate negotiations are not immune to this turmoil and may undergo profound change as global markets and geopolitical dynamics adapt to new realities. Amid deep uncertainty on these and many other fronts, the world continues to face the enormous and pressing challenge of transforming its energy system to address global climate change.To understand how our energy system is evolving and how it needs to change to reach net-zero emissions, each year, a variety of organizations produce projections that imagine a wide range of futures based on divergent visions about policies, technologies, prices, and geopolitics. Because these vary widely and depend heavily on varied assumptions and methodologies, they are difficult to compare on an apples-to-apples basis. In this report, we apply a detailed harmonization process to compare 13 scenarios across seven energy outlooks published in 2024 (and two historical data sources). Taken together, these scenarios offer a broad scope of potential changes to the energy system as envisioned by some of its most knowledgeable organizations. Table 1 shows the historical datasets, outlooks, and scenarios, with additional detail provided in Section 4. |
| Date: | 2025–04–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-07 |
| By: | Mehdi Davoudi; Junjie Qin; Xiaojun Lin |
| Abstract: | This study investigates market-driven long-term investment decisions in distributed solar panels by individual investors. We consider a setting where investment decisions are driven by expected revenue from participating in short-term electricity markets over the panel's lifespan. These revenues depend on short-term markets equilibria, i.e., prices and allocations, which are influenced by aggregate invested panel capacity participating in the markets. We model the interactions among investors by a non-atomic game and develop a framework that links short-term markets equilibria to the resulting long-term investment equilibrium. Then, within this framework, we analyze three market mechanisms: (a) a single-product real-time energy market, (b) a product-differentiated real-time energy market that treats solar energy and grid energy as different products, and (c) a contract-based panel market that trades claims or rights to the production of certain panel capacity ex-ante, rather than the realized solar production ex-post. For each, we derive expressions for short-term equilibria and the associated expected revenues, and analytically characterize the corresponding long-term Nash equilibrium aggregate capacity. We compare the solutions of these characterizing equations under different conditions and theoretically establish that the product-differentiated market always supports socially optimal investment, while the single-product market consistently results in under-investment. We also establish that the contract-based market leads to over-investment when the extra valuations of users for solar energy are small. Finally, we validate our theoretical findings through numerical experiments. |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2509.07203 |
| By: | Tankwa, Brendon; Barbrook-Johnson, Pete (The Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | How fast can every country benefit from renewable cost declines? Using the largest cross-country panel dataset assembled to date, this paper analyzes 34 years of cost observations for 72 countries to ask whether all nations benefit equally from the global renewable learning curve. After adjusting for purchasing power parity, we document two findings: (i) country price dispersion is widening, roughly twice as fast for wind as for solar; (ii) country cost rankings are highly persistent (Spearman year-to-year ρ > 0.75). Decomposing total CAPEX and assessing experience curves indicates that global learning accounts for 60–75% of country solar cost declines but virtually none of wind's, with local price pressures negating most wind power learning. multivariable regressions reveal contrasting drivers: solar costs are most sensitive to sovereign bond yields and exchange-rate pass-through, whereas wind costs decrease with GDP per capita and foreign direct investment. These findings carry just-transition implications. They suggest that without targeted finance and procurement support, lower-income countries may pay a lasting premium for clean energy, deepening global inequality. An analysis of climate policy shows that market-trading instruments (auctions, renewable certificates) correlate with 7–12% lower solar costs, while overall policy intensity has no significant effect on either technology. We conclude by outlining four policy levers—regional procurement consortia, FDI facilitation, finance de-risking, and market-based support schemes—that could narrow cross-country cost gaps. |
| Keywords: | Solar PV, Onshore Wind, Price Dispersion, Wright's Law, Policy Impact |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amz:wpaper:2025-17 |
| By: | Agostino Capponi; Garud Iyengar; Bo Yang; Daniel Bienstock |
| Abstract: | In the Day-Ahead (DA) market, suppliers sell and load-serving entities (LSEs) purchase energy commitments, with both sides adjusting for imbalances between contracted and actual deliveries in the Real-Time (RT) market. We develop a supply function equilibrium model to study how virtual trading-speculating on DA-RT price spreads without physical delivery-affects market efficiency. Without virtual trading, LSEs underbid relative to actual demand in the DA market, pushing DA prices below expected RT prices. Virtual trading narrows, and in the limit of large number traders can eliminates, this price gap. However, it does not induce quantity alignment: DA-cleared demand remains below true expected demand, as price alignment makes the LSE indifferent between markets and prompts it to reduce DA bids to avoid over-purchasing. Renewable energy suppliers cannot offset these strategic distortions. We provide empirical support to our main model implications using data from the California and New York Independent System Operators. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2508.11979 |
| By: | Deinert, Olaf (Ed.) |
| Keywords: | Green Deal, Ecological-economic decoupling, Co-determination, Labour law, EU social policy, EU states |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hsiwps:324880 |
| By: | Fraas, Arthur G. (Resources for the Future); Joiner, Emily (Resources for the Future); Lee, Brielle; Liu, Krystal |
| Abstract: | The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is often identified as a major obstacle to renewable energy projects locating on federal public lands or seeking federal funding. Once NEPA permits have been issued, a project may face additional delays if a federal agency’s decision is challenged in court. The delays associated with NEPA permitting for renewable generation projects have been explored by Fraas et al. (2023, 2025), but the effect of environmental court challenges to renewables projects has received less attention. This paper builds on Fraas et al. (2023, 2025), examining the legal challenges faced by each project and presenting the timeline in months for each case. Nearly a third of solar projects and half of wind projects completing NEPA environmental impact statement reviews faced court challenges. Almost all cases were filed after the government agencies had issued their permitting decisions. Although the courts typically ruled in the government agencies’ and project developers’ favor, the majority of cases were appealed. Court challenges in both federal and state courts caused or contributed to the termination of three projects, and six additional projects experienced significant delays as developers awaited court appeal decisions. We find that wind and solar projects that faced court challenges took an average of about 15 months longer to reach operational status than projects without court challenges. |
| Date: | 2025–08–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-15 |
| By: | Xiyuan Zhou; Xinlei Wang; Xiang Fei; Wenxuan Liu; Bai-Chen Xie; Junhua Zhao |
| Abstract: | In response to China's national carbon neutrality goals, this study examines how corporate carbon emissions disclosure affects the financial performance of Chinese A-share listed companies. Leveraging artificial intelligence tools, including natural language processing, we analyzed emissions disclosures for 4, 336 companies from 2017 to 2022. The research demonstrates that high-quality carbon disclosure positively impacts financial performance with higher stock returns, improved return on equity, increased Tobin's Q ratio, and reduced stock price volatility. Our findings underscore the emerging importance of carbon transparency in financial markets, highlighting how environmental reporting can serve as a strategic mechanism to create corporate value and adapt to climate change. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2508.17423 |
| By: | Wingenroth, Jordan (Resources for the Future); Bartuska, Ann (Resources for the Future); Wear, David N. (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Anticipated growth in renewable energy will substantially curtail the US energy sector’s greenhouse gas emissions but has implications for land-based sectors of the economy. US climate policies and energy markets now provide especially strong incentives for expanding solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. As a result, conversion of agricultural and forested lands to utility-scale solar facilities has accelerated over the past decade. Energy projections indicate a rapid expansion in the rate of solar development and land use changes, especially where high electricity demand coincides with access to transmission infrastructure. This implies a concentration of effects on ecosystem services. Rising public alarm regarding solar siting, initially focused on agricultural land, portends challenges for land-based sectors and the clean energy transition.This report provides a rapid assessment of potential conversions of forestland to solar facilities. We evaluate the current land use footprint of solar facilities in the United States and land use conversions to support solar production. We examine the policy structures that currently organize the development of solar capacity and evaluate the potential for future land use change. And we explore the associated economic and ecological implications of changes, social concerns, and emerging policy responses.Our analysis starts with a survey of the literature on solar land use, compilation of available data, and development of a simple projection model. Because the published literature on forest conversion is sparse, we also sought out experts in state forestry organizations, the land trust community, and the energy sector, and we interviewed them about the scope and scale of forest conversion to solar farms, as well as ways in which stakeholders may be affected. We specifically sought insights into patterns of conversion, data sources, and societal issues (e.g., equity, loss of wildlife habitat). Interviewees also weighed in on emerging policies aimed at mitigating the consequences of solar conversions.As is the case for land development more broadly, converting forests and native grasslands to solar facilities alters the provision of ecosystem services, ranging from commodities such as timber and carbon storage to public goods related to water quality, species’ habitat, recreation, and aesthetics. Consequences include those that accrue to deforestation in general but also issues specific to solar operations. The spatial concentration of solar development implies an uneven distribution of effects. As well as balancing the provision of renewable energy with loss of valuable ecosystem services, best practices for the design of new facilities need to address local communities’ concerns. At all levels of government, policy is still adapting to the challenges associated with solar-driven land use change. |
| Date: | 2025–02–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-02 |
| By: | Gries, Thomas (University of Paderborn); Naudé, Wim (RWTH Aachen University) |
| Abstract: | We present a model of economic growth that bridges Green Growth and Degrowth perspectives. The model demonstrates that a minimum physical per capita consumption level can be maintained without recourse to tech-optimism, and moreover with degrowth in material resource throughput - respecting planetary boundaries. We critically discuss the assumptions necessary for this result, explore relaxing these, and illustrate that eventually a full transition to renewable energy and materials will be needed to sustain consumption levels in a post-growth economy. We identify areas for future growth modelling, emphasising that these require genuine interdisciplinary cooperation. |
| Keywords: | post-growth, degrowth, economic growth, green growth, sustainability |
| JEL: | O44 Q32 Q56 Q55 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18110 |
| By: | Wolfgang Maennig (Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg); Niklas Rohde (Chair for Economic Policy, University of Hamburg) |
| Abstract: | Effects of climate emergency declarations (CEDs) have been reported in multiple cases; this is the first paper to test their potential economic impacts on the market share of electric vehicles (EVs). We use panel data on German CEDs at the district level from 2015 to 2023, employ a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach, and find that compared with districts lacking CEDs, districts with CEDs do not demonstrate significant disparities in EV registrations. We do not find evidence that climate emergencies motivate more environmentally friendly consumption. |
| Keywords: | Climate Emergency, Electric Vehicles, Transport, Local Climate Plans |
| JEL: | Q58 R5 C33 |
| Date: | 2025–09–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hce:wpaper:082 |
| By: | Raimi, Daniel (Resources for the Future); Whitlock, Zachary (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | This report summarizes the second in a series of reports that seek to understand the opportunities and challenges facing US oil- and gas-producing communities as they seek to build economic resilience against an uncertain energy future. Although numerous state, federal, and international policies have emerged to support coal communities affected by a changing energy mix, far less research or policy attention has focused on oil and gas producing regions. The purpose of this report series is to understand local priorities for economic development in oil and gas communities across the US and assess how state and federal government can support those local priorities.This report documents the perspectives of a wide range of local stakeholders interviewed by the authors during a 3-day research trip to Garfield, Mesa, and Rio Blanco County in western Colorado. During those interviews, the authors asked interviewees to describe their views about promising opportunities for economic development and diversification, whether existing federal policies supported those strategies, and what changes could improve the alignment of federal resources with local priorities for economic development.These interviews revealed six main findings:Federal and state transition policies have focused on coal communities. Although there is some geographic overlap (in Rio Blanco County), most of the oil and gas communities we visited are not directly supported by state and federal programs designed to deliver an equitable energy transition. However, these communities are likely to need state or federal support, particularly if efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions accelerate.Economic diversification is underway in cities with access to robust transportation infrastructure, but the path towards economic resilience is less clear in remote communities that lack ready access to regional and national markets for traded goods. Most interviewees highlighted the economic potential of outdoor recreation and local entrepreneurship, but noted that replacing the tax base provided by the oil and gas industry would be a major challenge.Recent federal legislation offers unprecedented resources to support investment in rural communities. However, local leaders often forgo federal funding opportunities because they are too large, complex, restrictive, and competitive.Local officials are encouraged by state and federal programs that build long term capacity by supporting new staff. These programs allow local stakeholders to take on new opportunities such as larger state or federal grants.A lack of affordable housing is a major impediment to greater economic resilience. High housing costs due to a combination of factors make it difficult for certain industries to attract and maintain a workforce.Many interviewees believe that the state’s use of oil and gas revenues and other policies “designed for Denver” fail to support regional priorities. Local stakeholders would prefer to see more of the revenue generated by oil and gas production reinvested in the producing region (although such a strategy could further entrench dependence on fossil fuels).These findings, in turn, lead us to several conclusions:New resources will likely be needed to help some communities, particularly the remote city of Rangely, which grew up alongside the Rangely oil field. These resources may include support to develop an economic diversification strategy or social safety net programs in case economic diversification strategies are not viable.If its oil and gas production continues to fall, much of the region will likely need support to stabilize its public finances, particularly for county governments and school districts. Workers in the oil and gas industry may also require retraining and social safety net supports while they acquire new skills.Whatever form policies take, federal support will be more effective if it is tailored to the capacity and needs of affected communities. This includes:Providing smaller, more flexible grants (e.g., funds to hire additional staff) that can help small communities build capacity and access larger opportunities;Providing concierge-type services for local governments to help them navigate federal opportunities, as Colorado is doing statewide; andReducing the complexity of applying for and managing federal grants, often a major barrier for low-capacity rural communities.Efforts to build a more resilient economy, whether in western Colorado or elsewhere, are unlikely to succeed without quality affordable housing options. Like elsewhere in the United States, housing costs have become an acute challenge in this region of Colorado. Although we are not housing policy experts and are not able to offer specific policy options, some type of intervention appears necessary to address this challenge. |
| Date: | 2024–11–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-24-23 |
| By: | Richard S. J. Tol |
| Abstract: | A large database of published model results is used to estimate the distribution of the social cost of carbon as a function of the underlying assumptions. The literature on the social cost of carbon deviates in its assumptions from the literatures on the impacts of climate change, discounting, and risk aversion. The proposed meta-emulator corrects this. The social cost of carbon is higher than reported in the literature. |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2507.01804 |
| By: | Coppens, Léo; Dietz, Simon; Venmans, Frank |
| Abstract: | We analyse the large and diverse literature on technical change in integrated assessment models (IAMs) of climate change, with a view to understanding how different representations of technical change affect optimal climate policy. We first solve an analytical IAM that features several models of technical change from the literature, including exogenous technical change in abatement technologies, exogenous decarbonisation of the economy, endogenous technical change via learning-by-doing, and endogenous technical change via R&D (in particular, directed technical change). We show how these models of technical change impact optimal carbon prices, emissions and temperatures in often quite different ways. We then survey how technical change is currently represented in the main quantitative IAMs used to inform policy, demonstrating that a range of approaches are used. Exogenous technical change in abatement technologies and learning-by-doing are most popular, although the latter mechanism is only partially endogenous in some models. We go on to quantify technical change in these policy models using structural estimation, and simulate our analytical IAM numerically, assessing the effect of technical change on optimal climate policy. We find large quantitative effects of technical change and large quantitative differences between different representations of technical change, both under cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness objectives. |
| Keywords: | climate change; cost-benefit analysis; directed technical change; induced innovation; integrated assessment models; learning-by-doing; technical change |
| JEL: | C61 O30 Q54 Q55 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025–09–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:129025 |
| By: | Toman, Michael A. (Resources for the Future); Gayatri Kannan, Sangita |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the nature of quantity and price risks from the exercise of market power over critical minerals, with an emphasis on the minerals used for electric vehicle (EV) batteries. The focus is especially on risks involving China since that country holds large shares in the processing and extraction of several battery minerals. Quantity risk is the threat of selective interruptions in the supply of critical minerals available to target countries. Price risk is the threat of higher prices by restricting supplies to the market as a whole, thereby extracting economic rents from buyers. Key findings include that (i) China is unlikely to be able to control market allocations of battery minerals to implement selective supply cuts, (ii) China tends to overbuild mineral processing capacity to safeguard domestic supply chains, and that (iii) China has engaged in export price discrimination for certain critical minerals, but care is needed in comparing this risk to the risk involved with massive investment in non-Chinese mineral processing capacity.JEL numbers: Q37, Q34, F52Key words: critical minerals. electric vehicle batteries. market power. industrial policy. |
| Date: | 2025–03–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-06 |
| By: | Maihold, Günther |
| Abstract: | As the search for reliable sources of critical raw materials turns to the ocean floor, international conflicts could result. Although very little is known about the possible impacts of deep-sea mining, Washington has launched an initiative that undermines the existing international regime for seabed minerals. Currently, they are considered a global common good under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). If the United States unilaterally launches commercial deep-sea mining, it would undermine a touchstone of international law and shake the foundations of ocean diplomacy and international maritime affairs. Germany, together with 36 other countries, spoke out against this at the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) in June 2025, reaffirming its support for a "precautionary pause" on the introduction of this high-risk technology. In view of current global political turbulence, that line should be maintained. |
| Keywords: | Deep sea mining, Seabed mining, Marine mining, minerals, mineral resources, energy transition, critical minerals, rare earths, nickel, copper, cobalt, manganese, manganese nodules, Clarion-Clipperton Zone, CCZ, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, UNCLOS, International Seabed Authority, ISA, environmental protection, ocean governance, ocean diplomacy, Mininig Code, Unleashing America's Offshore Critical Minerals and Resources |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpcom:324887 |
| By: | Manning, Mark; Bowhay, Riona; Bowman, Megan; Knaack, Peter; Sachs, Lisa E.; Smolenska, Agnieszka; Stewart, Fiona; Tayler, Thomas; Toledano, Perrine; Walkate, Harald |
| Abstract: | This report develops a set of principles-based recommendations for strategic national transition planning. The guidance is designed to steer, accelerate and coordinate whole-of-government and whole-of-economy action towards a just, low-emissions, climate-resilient and nature-positive future, while advancing sustainable development and energy security goals. On current policies, the world is significantly off-track in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. Given the scale of transformation required across the economy, governments must play a decisive role at the centre of a whole-of-system response – including through national transition planning. The report is accompanied by a Handbook to strategic national transition planning that contains supplementary guidance and examples. The two reports are designed to be read together. |
| JEL: | R14 J01 N0 |
| Date: | 2024–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:129339 |
| By: | Robertson, Molly (Resources for the Future); Mirzapour, Omid; Palmer, Karen (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Grid-scale storage can play an important role in providing reliable electricity supply, particularly on a system with increasing variable resources like wind and solar. Economics, public policies, and market rules all play a role in shaping the landscape for storage development. In this report, we offer an overview of these factors, drawing on the relevant literature and ongoing policy dialogue. We explore the potential role these factors have played in shaping the growth of storage across the United States. |
| Date: | 2025–04–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-09 |
| By: | Arenas-Arroyo, Esther (Vienna University of Economics and Business); Fabian, Jacob; Mengel, Friederike (University of Essex); Schmidpeter, Bernhard (Vienna University of Economics and Business); Serafinelli, Michel (King's College London) |
| Abstract: | How does firms' skill demand change as the business landscape evolves? We present evidence from the green transition by analyzing how hurricanes impact demand for green skills. These disasters signal the risks of not acting on environmental issues. Using data from U.S. online job postings (2010--2019) and hurricane paths, we create a new measure of green job postings. Firms in areas affected by hurricanes are 6.4\% more likely to post jobs that require green skills after the event, particularly those serving local markets. |
| Keywords: | online job postings, green transition, green skills, hurricanes |
| JEL: | J23 Q54 L20 J24 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18102 |
| By: | Agata Galkiewicz |
| Abstract: | Random disturbances such as air pollution may affect cognitive performance, which, particularly in high-stakes settings, may have severe consequences for an individual's productivity and well-being. This paper examines the short-term effects of air pollution on school leaving exam results in Poland. I exploit random variation in air pollution between the days on which exams are held across three consecutive school years. I aim to capture this random variation by including school and time fixed effects. The school-level panel data is drawn from a governmental program where air pollution is continuously measured in the schoolyard. This localized hourly air pollution measure is a unique feature of my study, which increases the precision of the estimated effects. In addition, using distant and aggregated air pollution measures allows me for the comparison of the estimates in space and time. The findings suggest that a one standard deviation increase in the concentration of particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 decreases students' exam scores by around 0.07-0.08 standard deviations. The magnitude and significance of these results depend on the location and timing of the air pollution readings, indicating the importance of the localized air pollution measure and the distinction between contemporaneous and lingering effects. Further, air pollution effects gradually increase in line with the quantiles of the exam score distribution, suggesting that high-ability students are more affected by the random disturbances caused by air pollution. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2506.19801 |
| By: | Manning, Mark; Bowhay, Riona; Bowman, Megan; Knaack, Peter; Sachs, Lisa E.; Smolenska, Agnieszka; Stewart, Fiona; Tayler, Thomas; Toledano, Perrine; Walkate, Harald |
| Abstract: | Strategic, credible and suitably ambitious national transition planning could enhance confidence and trust in countries’ climate and sustainability commitments and mitigate legal challenge – steering a fair transition to net zero, while advancing climate resilience, sustainable development and energy security goals. This Handbook is designed to guide government decision-makers as they develop national transition plans and processes. The Handbook provides guidance, reference material and practical, in-depth examples across five action areas of recommendations. The principles behind these recommendations are introduced in an accompanying policy report, Taking the lead on climate action and sustainable development: recommendations for strategic national transition planning at the centre of a whole-of-system climate response. The two reports are designed to be read together. |
| JEL: | R14 J01 N0 |
| Date: | 2024–09–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:129315 |
| By: | Josué, ANDRIANADY |
| Abstract: | Madagascar, highly vulnerable to climate change, faces a significant climate finance deficit, securing only USD 385 million in 2022 against the USD 13.4 billion needed by 2030, as outlined in its Second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC2). This study examines the barriers limiting Madagascar’s access to global climate finance, including weak institutional and technical capacities, a global bias favoring mitigation over adaptation, and heavy reliance on multilateral donors like the World Bank, which contributed 55\% of 2022 funding. Analysis of financial flows from 2015–2022 reveals volatile funding patterns, with peaks driven by large-scale projects and troughs reflecting institutional constraints. The energy sector dominates allocations, marginalizing critical adaptation needs in agriculture and water management. To bridge this gap, the paper proposes strengthening institutional capacity through centralized coordination, advocating for equitable global finance at forums like COP, and scaling innovative mechanisms such as local-currency green bonds and partnerships with PROGREEN and PROBLUE. Enhanced regulatory frameworks and transparency are critical to attract private investment and ensure equitable resource distribution. These systemic reforms, combining domestic action and international cooperation, are essential for Madagascar to achieve resilient, sustainable development amidst escalating climate risks. |
| Keywords: | Climate finance, Madagascar, Adaptation, Mitigation, Institutional capacity, Funding gap, Multilateral donors, World Bank, Green bonds, Public-private partnerships, Transparency, Regulatory frameworks, Vulnerability, Resilience, NDC2, COP26, Energy sector, Agriculture |
| JEL: | G00 G32 Q5 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125620 |
| By: | Ahmed Mohamed (G2Elab-SYREL - G2Elab-SYstèmes et Réseaux ELectriques - G2ELab - Laboratoire de Génie Electrique de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Rémy Rigo-Mariani (G2Elab-SYREL - G2Elab-SYstèmes et Réseaux ELectriques - G2ELab - Laboratoire de Génie Electrique de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, G2ELab - Laboratoire de Génie Electrique de Grenoble - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Vincent Debusschere (Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of key modeling assumptions for the sizing of a Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) participating in energy and reserve markets. Most of the related studies in the literature assume oversimplifications of the operating conditions when computing the expected BESS revenues at the design stage. These considerations oftentimes consist of (i) constant operating efficiency of the BESS, (ii) neglected profit loss due to uncertainties in the operating phase, and (iii) degradation effects that are usually computed in a posteriori analysis. This paper then proposes to successively assess the impact of those modeling assumptions, deriving from a baseline scenario that embeds oversimplifications. At first, results are analyzed in terms of expected revenue decrease compared to the baseline for different BESS sizes, and with the participation in Day-Ahead (DA) and Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR) markets. The analysis reveals that up to 30 % overestimation (more than 60 % in the worst cases) of the profit along the project lifetime could be done in case where the key modeling assumption are simplified. Finally, a sensitivity analysis conducted with different trade-offs between BESS usage (i.e. degradation) and profits shows that the systems displaying power-to-energy ratios of 1 or 0.5 were the most profitable under the markets investigated. |
| Keywords: | Energy markets, Battery energy storage systems, Frequency reserve, Price uncertainty and degradation |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05212162 |
| By: | Nida Çakır Melek; Elior Cohen |
| Abstract: | Understanding how occupations differ in their exposure to emissions-intensive activities is fundamental for analyzing labor market risks amid changes in the energy mix. We develop new, data-driven measures of occupational emissions intensity that capture heterogeneity across and within industries. Our baseline Occupational Emissions Score (OES), along with wage- and concentration-adjusted variations (WOES and COES), highlights substantial differences in emissions exposure across the U.S. workforce. Applying these measures, we document several new facts: emissions are highly concentrated in a small set of occupations; emissions intensity has declined over time; and even within industries, workers' exposure varies significantly by occupation. Higher-emission occupations are disproportionately held by older, male, native-born, and less-educated workers, and are concentrated in particular regions. While higher-emission occupations tend to experience lower employment growth, they show higher hourly wages and vacancy growth. An event study of coal mine closures further shows that high-emission occupations are more exposed to structural shocks. Together, our measures provide a comprehensive, granular framework for understanding occupational risk and adjustment during major economic shifts. |
| Keywords: | occupations; Emissions; labor market dynamics; Coal; energy |
| JEL: | J23 J24 J62 Q52 Q54 R11 |
| Date: | 2025–07–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedkrw:101703 |
| By: | Dahlan, Rolan; Prayoga, Aan; Zulkarnain, Ismail; Yudha, Graha; Mushthofa, Eri; Nugraha, Alvin; Jannet, Zukhruf |
| Abstract: | This study examines the relationship between the neoclassical, net-zero, and climate neutrality perspectives, an area that has received limited attention in formal economic analysis. Adopting the concept of factor substitution, we model the production function as a set of discrete, substitutable options to explore the properties and interactions of these three perspectives. The findings demonstrate that each perspective yields a non-empty subset of solution options. Climate neutrality solutions are situated between neoclassical and net-zero solutions, exhibit discrete convexity, and are influenced by the level of GHG credit costs. Lower GHG credit costs tend to favour neoclassical solutions, while higher costs shift preference toward net-zero solutions. This highlights the importance of GHG credit pricing in guiding the transition to a low-emissions economy. Moreover, the framework enables the categorization of new climate mitigation options based on their effects, whether they are irrelevant, complementary, or disruptive. Overall, the proposed model provides an alternative formal approach that enhances the economic analysis of climate change mitigation strategies. |
| Keywords: | neoclassical, net zero, climate neutrality, substitution, production function |
| JEL: | D24 D61 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2025–07–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125725 |
| By: | Roy, Nicholas (Resources for the Future); Russo, Suzanne (Resources for the Future); Burtraw, Dallas (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Washington State is exploring linking its cap-and-invest emissions trading system with the already linked market of California and Québec. To inform the discussions, Resources for the Future analyzed auction allowance revenue and emissions both with and without linkage and studied how the range of outcomes could affect Washington’s environmentally overburdened communities designated as highly impacted by air pollution.Our analysis found that linkage would lead to greater regional emissions reductions, more regional environmental benefits, and a more affordable program because of the expanded emissions reduction opportunities across the linked jurisdictions. However, assuming no new state policy interventions, Washington’s revenue would be moderately lower and the rate of emissions reductions moderately slower.As part of its due diligence in exploring linkage, Washington is exploring potential environmental justice consequences and has received a memo from the state’s Environmental Justice Council outlining concerns as well as a set of recommendations for how to mitigate against these concerns. In this report, we look at three of those recommendations:limit the use of banked allowances to mitigate the influence of the California-Québec allowance bank on Washington’s allowance revenue and emissions;align offset rules to ensure environmental benefits in linked states; andimplement a facility-specific emissions cap.Limiting the use of banked allowances would be the least feasible because of financial regulations governing such assets. Aligning the rules for the eligibility and use of offsets across a linked market would require modifying California’s rules and therefore may be difficult to achieve. A facility-specific emissions cap, however, could be implemented independently by Washington, and enforcement could be tailored to align with existing policies. This approach would provide a market-based backstop to support emissions reductions at emitting facilities in environmentally overburdened communities.We also analyzed effects of an emissions containment reserve and found that it would likely generate more state revenue without sacrificing cost efficiency for covered entities, but only if it is adopted across all linked jurisdictions. That and other programmatic and policy adjustments could help preserve revenues and ensure that the emissions reductions in environmentally overburdened communities meet or exceed the state’s average facility-level emissions reduction rate. |
| Date: | 2025–03–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-05 |
| By: | E. Marrocu; R. Paci; L. Serafini |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of digital and green programmes within Smart Specialisation Strategies on regional productivity growth across European regions. It examines the combined influence of digital and green priorities (Twin Transition) and how their effects vary according to regions' initial economic conditions. The analysis reveals a U-shaped relationship - the Twin Transition is positively and significantly associated with productivity growth in low-productivity regions, whereas regions with intermediate productivity levels exhibit weaker or even negative associations. Conversely, high-productivity regions experience modest yet stabilising effects. These findings highlight the significance of the middle-income trap and the need for context-sensitive policy design. |
| Keywords: | Green policies;Digital policies;Twin Transition;Smart Specialisation Strategy;regional economic growth;european regions |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:202510 |
| By: | Raimi, Daniel (Resources for the Future); Eisenburg, Ann; Kaufman, Noah; Michieka, Nyakundi; Roach, Travis; Whitlock, Zachary (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | This report is the third in a series that explores the strategies US oil- and gas-producing regions may pursue in building economic resilience—defined as the capacity to recover from negative economic shocks (Martin 2012)—to a changing energy landscape. Recent decades have seen dramatic changes in domestic oil and gas production that have produced a complex mix of local economic benefits, environmental and health damages, and long-term economic risks. Although international, federal, and state policymakers have developed strategies to support coal communities through an energy transition, oil- and gas-producing regions have received considerably less attention. This report, focused on the state of Oklahoma and its capital, Oklahoma City, is part of a larger effort to assess local priorities for economic resilience to inform policy development at the state and federal levels.In October 2024, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a range of local stakeholders during a 3-day research trip to Oklahoma City. We asked interviewees to describe their views on Oklahoma’s approach to building economic resilience and diversification, existing state or federal policies that advance those efforts, and what changes they would make to programs to improve the efficacy of existing policies. We also asked interviewees what barriers stood in the way of advancing their goals for economic development.Our interviews produced six main findings:Oklahoma is heavily dependent on the oil and gas industry but is not making major efforts to build economic resilience. This issue is particularly acute for the fiscal health of rural oil- and gas-producing communities and the State as a whole.Oklahoma City, on the other hand, has made considerable progress in diversifying its economy by attracting new industries and enhancing local public services and quality of life through a city tax initiative. The oil and gas industry remains an important part of the local economy, but is no longer the dominant economic force, reducing the city’s exposure to an energy transition.Poor education and healthcare services may impede economic diversification. Oklahoma persistently ranks near the bottom of US states for a range of outcomes relating to these issues, which deters employers. However, Oklahoma’s vocational programs are seen as a success in training workers for existing industries, including oil and gas.Politically divisive issues, including abortion and LGBTQA+ rights, may deter certain investments in Oklahoma. In recent years, certain social policies and rhetoric from state elected officials have complicated efforts to attract major investments and may push some residents to leave the state.Tribal nations within Oklahoma are seeking to take advantage of federal funding opportunities but continue to face challenges related to sovereignty and governmental capacity. Some Tribal governments generate substantial revenues from oil and gas production and are seeking to increase those revenues, which could further expose these communities to future fiscal shocks.Oklahoma’s state and local governments have had limited success accessing federal funds. Interviewees noted a combination of capacity limitations and a lack of desire among some political leaders to pursue certain federal funding opportunities as major contributors.These takeaways lead us to the following conclusions:A long-term reduction in global oil and gas demand poses major economic and fiscal risks for the state of Oklahoma, rural oil- and gas-producing communities, and some Tribal nations within the state. Oklahoma City is less exposed because of its successful diversification efforts.Not all fossil fuel-dependent states and tribes are pursuing, or are likely to pursue, strategies to build economic resilience. This suggests that direct federal efforts may be needed to support affected communities in a world where global demand for hydrocarbons declines.Providing quality public services and amenities is crucial to attracting and retaining businesses and workers. Failure to do so will make it more difficult to develop a diverse and robust economy.Non-economic policy issues, such as abortion and LGBTQA+ rights, can have substantial economic effects. A strong focus on these social policies can exacerbate the “big sort, ” a nationwide trend of communities becoming more politically homogeneous, thereby deterring workers (and the businesses that employ them) with different political views.Capacity-building efforts are essential for local governments, Tribal nations, and states to take advantage of available federal funding opportunities. Public capacity is typically overwhelmed with “immediate demands, ” making it difficult to develop long-term plans for economic resilience. |
| Date: | 2025–05–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-12 |
| By: | Pauline Bucciarelli; Vincent d'Herbemont |
| Abstract: | The transition towards low-carbon and digital technologies is set to profoundly reshape metals markets, particularly those required for battery manufacturing. Amid growing geoeconomic fragmentation, this shift is accelerating the implementation of public policies aimed at securing supply and strengthening the resilience of strategic technology value chains. In this context, we explore the design of the recently adopted Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) in the European Union, focusing on the feasibility of its reshoring targets for battery-grade lithium.By integrating the entire lithium value chain into an Integrated Assessment Model, we analyse the interplay between lithium supply, demand, and recycling within decarbonisation scenarios. Our findings suggest significant challenges in meeting the CRMA targets without reducing industrial demand. We show that sufficiency strategies could help achieve these benchmarks, while cutting European lithium imports by at least 44% between 2030 and 2050 and reducing cumulative final demand by 1.2 Mt, a 46% decrease relative to current policy trajectories.More broadly, our analysis highlights sufficiency as a lever to reconcile ecological ambition with supply security, notably by enhancing the robustness of the lithium value chain. Finally, we recommend shifting the CRMA’s recycling benchmark towards an end-of-life recycling rate, as it is better suited to the dynamics of the lithium market. |
| Keywords: | Critical raw materials; Lithium; Integrated assessment model (IAM); Low-carbon scenarios; Sufficiency |
| JEL: | Q32 Q38 C61 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2025-36 |
| By: | Andrés Ham (Universidad de los Andes); Emmanuel Vazquez (CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP); Monica Yanez-Pagans (Education Global Practice. The World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Transitioning toward sustainable development practices is expected to result in broad changes to economic activity, which will subsequently impact labor markets and change the demand for skills. India established the Skill Council for Green Jobs to identify green jobs and define the skills required for these occupations. This paper applies the Skill Council for Green Jobs definition of green jobs and an international definition of carbon-intensive jobs to data from the 2019-20 Periodic Labour Force Survey to estimate the size of green and carbon-intensive employment, document patterns between and within occupations, characterize workers by attributes and skills, and study wage differentials. The results highlight the importance of monitoring green and carbonintensive jobs with robust labor market monitoring systems to guide decisions on the sustainability transition and suggest key aspects to consider when investing in green skills and the potential distributive consequences of sustainability policies on the population. |
| JEL: | J23 J24 J49 Q01 Q56 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dls:wpaper:0354 |
| By: | Jean-Philippe Meloche; Fanny Tremblay-Racicot (University of Toronto) |
| Abstract: | Eco-fiscal tools are tax measures that target behaviour or the consumption of goods or services that contribute to environmental degradation. These taxes, fees, or charges correct market price signals to help internalize the social and environmental costs of individual choices, while providing financial resources to supply public goods and services. In Canada, an important part of the eco-fiscal debate focuses on carbon emissions (such as the carbon market and carbon taxes). Although central governments are backtracking on efforts to limit environmental degradation, municipalities are playing an increasingly important role in the eco-fiscal field. The tools they are using do not raise significant revenues, but they are helping to change behaviours. This paper explains the main arguments for the use of eco-fiscal tools and reviews the literature on their impact. It explores the range of eco-fiscal tools implemented by Canadian municipalities and proposes innovative tools that could be implemented in the future. |
| Keywords: | Eco-fiscal tools, environmental taxes, local public finance, municipalities, Canada |
| JEL: | H23 H71 R51 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mfg:wpaper:71 |
| By: | Fulvia Marotta; Maria Sole Pagliari; Jasper de Winter |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces a novel media-based index of climate policy uncertainty – the CPU-Concern index – that captures both the prevalence of climate policy uncertainty and the intensity of public concern. Using data from the Netherlands, a setting charac- terized by ambitious climate targets and persistent credibility challenges, we document how policy announcements shape perceived uncertainty through signaling effects. The CPU-Concern index rises during contested policy debates and declines following for- mal ratification, with heterogeneous responses depending on the policy’s ambition and credibility. We show that climate policy uncertainty primarily transmits through shifts in business and consumer sentiment, affecting stock market prices, investments and real activity. Furthermore, negative CPU shocks generate more persistent economic drag than positive ones, while the opposite holds true for nominal variables, thus highlighting asymmetries in how uncertainty shapes behavior and potential policy reactions. Our findings underscore the importance of credible and transparent policy communication in reducing uncertainty and supporting the low-carbon transition. |
| Keywords: | Climate policy uncertainty; text-based measures; policy signaling; media- based indicators; expectation formation; macroeconomic effects |
| JEL: | Q54 Q58 E66 D84 E32 C43 |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dnb:dnbwpp:840 |
| By: | Liu, Yi; Matsumura, Toshihiro |
| Abstract: | We develop a duopoly model that incorporates fuel diversification, resulting in ex post cost asymmetry between firms. We theoretically examine how common ownership influences welfare. Our findings indicate that welfare decreases (increases) with the degree of common ownership when ex post cost heterogeneity due to fuel diversification is small (large). Furthermore, we identify a potential U-shaped relationship between the degree of common ownership and welfare, an insight not previously documented in the literature. In addition, we demonstrate that common ownership promotes fuel diversification, which may further enhance welfare. |
| Keywords: | overlapping ownership; welfare-improving production substitution; cost asymmetry; fuel choices |
| JEL: | G23 L13 Q42 |
| Date: | 2025–08–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:125747 |
| By: | L. Serafini; R. Paci; E. Marrocu |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of green, digital, and twin transition investments on firm performance in Italy during the 2014-2020 programming period. Drawing on detailed project-level data from the OpenCoesione platform on ERDF-funded initiatives, we classify investments according to their thematic focus and apply a staggered Difference-in-Differences approach to estimate their effects on value added, employment, and labour productivity. Our results show that firms supported through twin transition projects, those combining green and digital components, achieve the most substantial and sustained gains in value added and productivity. These integrated interventions appear particularly effective in enhancing firm performance and capacity utilisation, with employment effects emerging more gradually. Purely green and digital projects also yield positive outcomes, though with more moderate and variable effects. We further document significant heterogeneity across regions and sectors, with stronger impacts observed among firms located in Northern and Southern Italy and in knowledge-intensive sectors. Our findings highlight the importance of strategic investment design - transition-oriented and multi-dimensional projects consistently outperform single-focus initiatives. These results suggest that EU cohesion policy plays a pivotal role in supporting structural transformation, particularly when funding is targeted to integrated projects that align with broader environmental and digital policy goals. |
| Keywords: | Twin Transition;Green policies;Digital policies;Innovation and firm Performance;Cohesion Policy;Counterfactual Impact Analysis |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cns:cnscwp:202511 |
| By: | Reitmeier, Lea; Smolenska, Agnieszka; Dikau, Simon |
| Abstract: | Jurisdictions around the world have already developed and implemented policies to transition to a net zero economy. To maximise the impact and effectiveness of such policies a coordinated policy approach is necessary. To guide policymakers as they face the challenge of taking financial and economic policy decisions for the transition, this report develops a design approach based on ‘building blocks’. The approach can be adjusted in the context of the specific needs of the financial sector in the transition. It incorporates building blocks to better enable the design, implementation and evaluation of financial and economic public policy that supports the integration of climate change and environmental factors, with a particular emphasis on the intricate interrelationship between economic and financial systems, the roles of key economic and financial stakeholders and enabling improved coordination. The authors define three main building blocks, described in Figure 1: 1) foundations; 2) adjusting policies; and 3) evaluation and anticipation. |
| JEL: | R14 J01 F3 G3 |
| Date: | 2025–02–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:129328 |
| By: | Clay, Karen (Carnegie Mellon University); Severnini, Edson (Boston College); Wang, Xiao (Carnegie Mellon University) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses U.S. TRI data on industrial air lead emissions to provide IV estimates of the e?ects of air lead concentration on infant mortality. The causal e?ect of lead on infant mortality is identified by variation in air fugitive lead emissions interacted with wind speed near reporting plants, which together determine local ambient lead concentration. Unlike stack emissions, which occur routinely and may prompt avoidance behavior, fugitive emissions are intermittent and influenced by both historical and current factors, such as wind speed variation, making them di?cult to avoid. The paper has two main findings. First, higher air lead concentration causes higher infant mortality in the first month and in the first year, suggesting that both in utero and environmental exposures matter. Second, higher lead concentration increases deaths from low birthweight, sudden unexplained infant death, and respiratory and nervous system causes, which is consistent with findings from animal studies, even when accounting for behavioral responses. Back of the envelope calculations indicate that declines in industrial air lead emissions prevented 300+ infant deaths per year, generating benefits of $3.5+ billion annually in 2023 dollars. |
| Keywords: | Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), airborne lead pollution, infant mortality |
| JEL: | I12 Q53 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18090 |
| By: | Barmes, David; Claeys, Irene; Dikau, Simon; Pereira da Silva, Luiz Awazu |
| Abstract: | Negative supply shocks caused by climate change and interconnected crises may increasingly fuel persistent inflationary pressures. Responding to these shocks with standard monetary tightening would involve significant trade-offs, including impacts on economic output, financial stability, fiscal space, income equality and the green transition. While flexible inflation-targeting (FIT) regimes have faced supply shocks in the past, central banks may encounter new challenges in assessing and responding to these trade-offs, particularly when it comes to long-term macroeconomic stability. Consequently, this report proposes the case for adaptive inflation targeting (or ‘adaptive-IT’), which aims to equip central banks with a framework, analysis and toolkit that enables them to better navigate these supply-side disruptions. The report reviews existing literature on climate change and price stability, considers the risk posed by more persistent climate-related inflationary pressure and explores the trade-offs, challenges and implications for monetary policy. It proposes a shift from flexible inflation targeting to adaptive inflation targeting. This would prepare central banks to navigate supply-side headwinds while enabling fiscal policymakers to take a proactive role in preventing and mitigating negative supply shocks. |
| JEL: | F3 G3 L81 |
| Date: | 2024–12–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:129331 |
| By: | Pan-Yang Su; Yi Ju; Scott Moura; Shankar Sastry |
| Abstract: | We propose a general two-period model where electrical vehicles (EVs) can reserve charging sessions in the day-ahead market and swap them in the real-time market. Under the model, we explore several candidate mechanisms for running the two markets, compared using several normative properties such as incentive compatibility, efficiency, reservation awareness, and budget balance. Specifically, reservation awareness is the only property coupling the two markets and dictates that an EV will not get a lower utility by joining the real-time market. Focusing on the real-time market, we show that two variants of the classical Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism do not satisfy all the proposed properties; specifically, one is not reservation-aware, while the other is not budget-balanced. Moreover, we show that no mechanism satisfies some combinations of the properties. Then, we propose to use a posted-price mechanism to resolve the issue, which turns out to be the dynamic pricing mechanism adopted in many real-world systems. The proposed mechanism has no efficiency guarantee but satisfies all the other properties. To improve efficiency, we propose to use a VCG auction in the day-ahead market that guides the reserve prices in the real-time market. When EVs' valuations in the two markets are highly correlated, the proposed approach results in highly efficient outcomes. |
| Date: | 2025–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2509.00270 |
| By: | Probowo Erawan Sastroredjo; Marcel Ausloos; Polina Khrennikova |
| Abstract: | Through its initiative known as the Climate Change Act (2008), the Government of the United Kingdom encourages corporations to enhance their environmental performance with the significant aim of reducing targeted greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050. Previous research has predominantly assessed this encouragement favourably, suggesting that improved environmental performance bolsters governmental efforts to protect the environment and fosters commendable corporate governance practices among companies. Studies indicate that organisations exhibiting strong corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, or high levels of environmental performance often engage in lower occurrences of tax avoidance. However, our findings suggest that an increase in environmental performance may paradoxically lead to a rise in tax avoidance activities. Using a sample of 567 firms listed on the FTSE All Share from 2014 to 2022, our study finds that firms associated with higher environmental performance are more likely to avoid taxation. The study further documents that the effect is more pronounced for firms facing financial constraints. Entropy balancing, propensity score matching analysis, the instrumental variable method, and the Heckman test are employed in our study to address potential endogeneity concerns. Collectively, the findings of our study suggest that better environmental performance helps explain the variation in firms tax avoidance practices. |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2509.08450 |
| By: | Martin, Julien; Pesendorfer, Martin; Shannon, Jack |
| Abstract: | Common values auction models, where bidder decisions depend on noisy signals of common values, provide predictions about Bayesian Nash equilibrium (BNE) outcomes. In settings where these common values can be estimated, these predictions can be tested. We propose a series of tests, robust to assumptions about the signal structure, to determine whether the observed data could have been generated by a Bayesian Nash equilibrium. In the setting of oil and gas lease auctions in New Mexico, we nd evidence that participation decisions are correlated and that participants system- atically underbid in light of ex post outcomes. |
| Keywords: | testing; collusion; auctions |
| JEL: | D44 L10 L40 |
| Date: | 2025–08–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128285 |
| By: | FITSILIS, Panos; Damasiotis, Vyron; Kyriatzis, Vasileios; Tsoutsa, Paraskevi |
| Abstract: | The transformation of urban living, driven by the advent of smart cities, extends beyond changes in the physical landscape and the introduction of smart systems. It necessitates a profound reconfiguration of employment dynamics within urban ecosystems. This study addresses the critical challenge of aligning job roles and competencies with the demands of smart city development, focusing on the need for a transformative realignment of urban employment to meet these new requirements. The research identifies emerging job roles and competencies essential for smart city development, focusing on professions such as data analysts, urban planners, sustainability managers, and cybersecurity specialists. Methodologically, the study employs a comprehensive analysis of secondary data to explore these roles, and the skills required. The findings highlight the urgent need for educational curricula and training programs tailored to the specialized demands of smart cities, emphasizing technological and environmental expertise to manage urban complexity, resilience, and the green transition. This research offers valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and smart city managers, influencing and guiding urban development towards a future characterized by technological innovation and environmental sustainability. The role of city staff is underscored as crucial in achieving these objectives. |
| Date: | 2025–09–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:us7p4_v1 |
| By: | Sylvain Chassang (Princeton University) |
| Keywords: | France |
| JEL: | L62 O44 |
| Date: | 2025–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:cepsud:344 |
| By: | Linn, Joshua (Resources for the Future); Spiller, Beia (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Vehicle import tariffs can have measurable impacts on the market for vehicles. Depending on how they are structured, tariffs increase the cost of importing vehicles and vehicle parts, affecting how manufacturers price their vehicles across their entire fleet. Price changes affect consumer choices, but the extent depends on consumer price sensitivity and the substitutability of tariff-affected vehicles and other options. In 2025, the Trump administration levied 25 percent tariffs on vehicles and vehicle parts imported from outside North America. In this report, we leverage a structural econometric model of the vehicle market to quantify the impact of these tariffs on outcomes including vehicle prices, demand, domestic manufacturing, tariff revenues, manufacturer profits, and consumer well-being. These tariffs distort the market, increasing vehicle prices and reducing demand for new vehicles. Moreover, the tariffs would reduce manufacturer profits, though depending on the structure of the tariffs, US-based manufacturers may profit to some extent. However, the costs to consumers far exceed the benefits to domestic manufacturers and the revenues collected by the government. |
| Date: | 2025–05–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-10 |
| By: | Johannes Emmerling; Frank Venmans; David Reinstein; Ben Balmford |
| Abstract: | Evaluation of "A Welfare Analysis of Policies Impacting Climate Change" for The Unjournal. |
| Date: | 2025–05–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bjn:evalua:evalsumwelfareclimatechange |
| By: | Krosnick, Jon A. (Resources for the Future); McDonald, Jared; MacInnis, Bo |
| Abstract: | Scholars have shown that low-income communities and communities of color suffer worse outcomes than affluent and whiter communities in the domains of housing (Grinstein-Weiss et al., 2020), policing (Davis et al., 2018; Glaser 2014), healthcare (World Health Organization, 2018), and education (Brown, 2010; Noltemeyer et al., 2012). Yet for many years, issues related to the environment and climate change were viewed as distinct from those related to justice and fairness. People who engaged in environmentalism were perceived as working on a “rich person’s problem, ” and this perception was especially strong among poorer individuals (Laidley, 2013; Latkin et al., 2021).However, more recently, scholars and community members have increasingly viewed the issue of climate change through the prism of justice and fairness. This realization about the inequitable effects of climate change is the foundation of the environmental justice movement, which has existed since the 1960s, to address the unfair exposure of people in lower-income communities and communities of color to the harms of pollution and the general degradation of the natural environment (Schlosberg, 2007). The first generation of environmental justice scholarship in the 1980s and 1990s focused on the location of toxic waste near low-income communities and communities of color (Bullard, 1990; Chavis and Lee, 1987). More recently, the field has expanded to recognize climate change as having important and unequal effects on some segments of society (Vanderheiden, 2016).As natural disasters and instances of extreme heat result in property damage, displacement, hospitalizations, and even death, experts note that many of the negative consequences of climate change are borne disproportionately by people with fewer resources—individuals who often are members of lower-income communities or communities of color (Mohai et al., 2009).Environmental injustice as it relates to climate change may stem from three sources of inequality. First, poorer and minority groups may live in places that put them at increased risk for particular climate-related events. For example, in cities, the abundance of concrete and scarcity of trees in impoverished neighborhoods create “urban heat islands, ” which lead lower-income people or people of color to experience higher temperatures than communities with more high-income or white people in the same city (Harlan et al., 2006).Second, economically disadvantaged Americans may be less resilient to the effects of climate change. They have fewer resources to prepare for, respond to, and recover from heat and extreme weather. These factors make them especially vulnerable in the future, as climate change increases the frequency and severity of extreme weather and wildfires (Environmental Protection Agency, 2022).Increased risk and lower resiliency may be addressed through effective government policies, which brings us to the third source of inequality: differential government responsiveness. Although local, state, and federal governments may be able to help lower-income communities and communities of color invest in mitigation efforts, many experts have found that government has done more to help affluent and whiter communities prepare for and recover from climate change-related weather events. Policies that are intended to help all people recover after a disaster may inadvertently exacerbate issues of inequality, helping wealthier and whiter homeowners more than lower-income people and people of color.Extensive literature has shown that Black and Hispanic Americans, by virtue of their personal experiences with environmental deprivation, have been more concerned about issues of the environment than white Americans (Jones, 1998, 2002; Jones and Carter, 1994; Jones and Rainey, 2006; Mohai, 2003; Taylor, 1989). Although much of this research has focused on the immediate local environment, being personally exposed to the negative consequences of climate change could create similar patterns in public opinion, especially as extreme weather events associated with climate change have direct and local impacts.In light of the multitude of climate change-related problems facing lower-income people and people of color in the United States, and given the solutions proposed by policy advocates, we explored a number of questions related to environmental justice with the 2024 Climate Insights Survey. We wondered: do poorer people or richer people view climate change as a greater threat to them personally? Are people of color aware of their increased vulnerability to the negative effects of climate change? Given the disproportionate risks faced by and the lower resiliency of lower-income communities, do people in the United States view climate change as more likely to hurt poorer people than richer people? Finally, do people support government policies intended to address environmental injustices in the United States, and what factors predict that support? |
| Date: | 2024–12–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-24-26 |
| By: | Gaffney, John; Singson, Janice |
| Abstract: | This Perspective argues that international arbitration can and should play a primary role in the resolution of climate-change disputes, rather than playing a secondary role in the shadow of climate litigation, considering both its comparative advantages over litigation and the evolving requirements of EU corporate sustainability due-diligence rules. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:colfdi:324901 |
| By: | Brennan, Tim (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | A low-cost method for increasing transmission capacity is to use grid-enhancing technologies (GETs). Setting transmission rates on the basis of cost may lead transmission providers to choose to install lines at greater cost than GETs. Price cap regulation (PCR) adjusts rates over time on the basis of inflation and expected (but not actual) cost reductions, thus giving the regulated firm an incentive to reduce costs, such as by adopting GETs. Allowed rates are likely to eventually diverge from costs enough to warrant regulatory recalibration, reducing the advantages of PCR. PCR is also not designed to incentivize quality, such as resilience. PCR can handle the multiplicity of rates over different nodes and times, but it will likely take more time for such rates to converge to efficient levels than it would take for regulators to adjust the rates accordingly. Because new transmission lines will likely be required, regulators will have to set an initial price for PCR, reintroducing rates based on cost. Nevertheless, regulators should consider PCR, given the importance of maximizing the efficiency of the transmission system and the use of GETs to achieve that efficiency. |
| Date: | 2025–02–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-04 |
| By: | Tubagus Aryandi Gunawan; Hongxi Luo; Chris Greig; Eric D. Larson |
| Abstract: | The chemicals industry accounts for about 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions today and is among the most difficult industries to abate. We model decarbonization pathways for the most energy-intensive segment of the industry, the production of basic chemicals: olefins, aromatics, methanol, ammonia, and chlor-alkali. Unlike most prior pathways studies, we apply a scenario-analysis approach that recognizes the central role of corporate investment decision making for capital-intensive industries, under highly uncertain long-term future investment environments. We vary the average pace of decarbonization capital allocation allowed under plausible alternative future world contexts and construct least-cost decarbonization timelines by modeling abatement projects individually across more than 2, 600 production facilities located in four major producing regions. The timeline for deeply decarbonizing production varies by chemical and region but depends importantly on the investment environment context. In the best-of-all environments, to deeply decarbonize production, annual average capital spending for abatement for the next two to three decades will need to be greater than (and in addition to) historical "business-as-usual" investments, and cumulative investment in abatement projects would exceed $1 trillion. In futures where key drivers constrain investment appetites, timelines for decarbonizing the industry extend well into the second half of the century. |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2509.08279 |
| By: | Malin, Lydia; Arndt, Franziska; Risius, Paula; Quispe Villalobos, Valeria |
| Abstract: | Die Nachfrage nach Fachkräften für den Ausbau erneuerbarer Energien aus Wind, Sonne oder grünem Wasserstoff ist seit 2014 deutlich gestiegen. In den 31 für diese Studie ausgewählten Engpassberufen stieg die Zahl der offenen Stellen von 115.345 im Jahr 2014 auf 184.548 im Jahr 2024. Knapp 120.000 dieser offenen Stellen konnten im Jahr 2024 rechnerisch nicht besetzt werden, da es bundesweit keine Arbeitslosen gab, die eine entsprechende Stelle suchten. |
| Keywords: | Arbeitskräftemangel, Berufswechsel, Erneuerbare Energie, Deutschland |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwkofa:324866 |
| By: | Lei Zhu; Zhihao Yan; Hongbo Duan; Yongyang Cai; Xiaobing Zhang |
| Abstract: | Global cooperation is posited as a pivotal solution to address climate change, yet significant barriers, like free-riding, hinder its realization. This paper develops a dynamic game-theoretic model to analyze the stability of coalitions under multiple stochastic climate tippings, and a technology-sharing mechanism is designed in the model to combat free-ridings. Our results reveal that coalitions tend to shrink over time as temperatures rise, owing to potential free-ridings, despite a large size of initial coalition. The threat of climate tipping reduces the size of stable coalitions compared to the case where tipping is ignored. However, at post-tipping period, coalitions temporarily expand as regions respond to the shock, though this cooperation is short-lived and followed by further shrink. Notably, technology-sharing generates greater collective benefits than sanctions, suggesting that the proposed dynamic technology-sharing pathway bolsters coalition resilience against free-riding while limiting the global warming. This framework highlights the critical role of technology-sharing in fostering long-term climate cooperation under climate tipping uncertainties. |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2506.16162 |
| By: | Bergman, Aaron (Resources for the Future); Zhu, Yuqi (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Decarbonizing the global economy will require substantial investment in new industrial-scale climate technologies. A key step in this process is moving from prototype to full-scale demonstration and deployment. Through both government and private-sector investment, these technologies attempt to cross this “valley of death, ” often involving considerable expense and risk associated with building at much larger scale. A particular challenge for first-of-a-kind (FOAK) to nth-of-a-kind (NOAK) projects is technological performance risk, where a lack of existing history leads to uncertainty about whether the finished facility will operate as intended. Without a way to guarantee performance, these projects can struggle to find adequate contracted offtake and financing.One compelling solution lies with insurance, which can shift technological risk from companies or project owners to an insurer at a cost to the insured. Often, the perceived risk of an emerging technology is much higher than the actual risk, leading to a high cost of capital. By accurately assessing and then assuming this risk, insurers can play a key role in helping project developers obtain lower-cost financing. While private insurance providers have historically offered this type of technology performance insurance (TPI), it is often only sparsely available and at a significant premium. At the same time, existing government solutions, primarily in the form of loan guarantees, may be inadequate due to challenges with the application process and less willingness to take on technology risk for projects earlier in the commercialization process. These loan guarantees also do not address issues with securing offtake contracts.Historically, markets for commercial-scale clean technologies took decades to coalesce, but achieving 2050 climate goals necessitates a much faster pace of deployment. With time of the essence, governments may need to step in to help build the performance insurance market. There are several ways that the government might play a role in increasing the availability of technology performance insurance. First is through an insurance backstop, which incentivizes private insurers to provide insurance up to a certain level of losses, at which point the government steps in. The second is through a federally operated insurance program, similar to the one offered through the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Guarantee Programs Office (LPO), which would draw on the full technical expertise of the government and offer an insurance policy to project developers. Finally, we also consider opportunities for DOE to facilitate greater collaboration between project developers, insurers, and policymakers.In this report, we provide background on technology performance risk, explore the pros and cons of each of these policy options, and discuss potential design and implementation questions. |
| Date: | 2025–02–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:report:rp-25-03 |
| By: | IWMI-Tata Water Policy Program |
| Abstract: | The IWMI-Tata Partners’ Meet 2024 was held from 18-20 September at the National Dairy Development Board Campus in Anand, India, brought together over 270 national and international participants to deliberate on critical issues at the intersection of water, energy, climate, agriculture, and rural livelihoods in India. Organized by the IWMI-Tata Water Policy Research Program, a co-equal partnership between IWMI and Tata Trusts, this flagship event featured curated plenary sessions and 18 technical sessions across four thematic tracks: Water-Energy-Livelihoods Nexus, Catalyzing Smallholder Prosperity, Water Governance and Risks and Emerging Themes. This document outlines the detailed three-day agenda of the Partners’ Meet, including a range of presentations, moderated panels, and field visits showcasing ITP's action research pilots in Dhundi and Saatordi in Gujarat. Plenary highlights included sessions on philanthropy’s role in water security, the media-practitioner-policy interface, and emerging challenges and solutions in the water sector. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Climate Change |
| Date: | 2025–08–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iwmirp:369088 |