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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Nelly Exbrayat; Carl Gaigné; Stéphane Riou |
| Abstract: | [Paper in French] We analyze the impact and the determinants of a global carbon tax maximizing social welfare in an imperfectly integrated economy. Using a model of trade and location with two countries with different population size, we first show that agglomeration of firms in the larger country raises total CO2 emissions. Nevertheless, the introduction of a global carbon tax induces a partial relocation of firms from the larger to the smaller country. Thus, even though the carbon tax is identical in both countries, environmental taxation is not neutral for the location of economic activity. Finally, this partial relocation of firms in the smaller country improves the ability of the carbon tax to reduce total CO2 emissions. |
| Keywords: | green house gas, GHG, carbon tax, international trade, firm location, environmental efficiency |
| JEL: | F2 Q5 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201301&r=env |
| By: | Frederick van der Ploeg |
| Abstract: | The Green Paradox states thata gradually more ambitious climate policy such as a renewables subsidy or an anticipated carbon tax induces fossil fuel owners to extract more rapidly and accelerate global warming However, if extraction becomes more costly as reserves are depleted, such policies also shorten the fossil fuel era, induce more fossil fuel to be left in the earth and thus curb cumulative carbon emissions. This is relevant as global warming depends primarily on cumulative emissions. There is no Green Paradox for a specific carbon tax that rises at less than the market rate of interest. Since this is the case for the growth of the optimal carbon tax, the Green Paradox is a temporary second-best phenomenon. There is also a Green paradox if there is a chance of a breakthrough in renewables technology occurring at some random future date. However, there will also be less investment in opening up fossil fuel deposits and thus cumulative carbon emission will be curbed. |
| Keywords: | global warming, Green Paradox, carbon tax, renewables subsidy, second best, technological breakthrough |
| JEL: | D81 H20 Q31 Q38 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:oxcrwp:110&r=env |
| By: | YAMAGAMI, Hiroaki |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the importance of induced technological change in considering the efficiency costs of environmental policy. In particular, in modeling an endogenous formation of energy-saving technology through a variety of intermediates, the paper studies the welfare effects of environmental tax reform in a general equilibrium model. Using this model, the paper shows that environmental tax reform induces an expansion of the variety of intermediates by increasing rents from innovating new intermediates and, thereby, brings technological change. Then, the induced variety expansion by environmental tax reform achieves positive externalities and plays an important role both to decrease the efficiency costs and to improve the environmental quality. |
| Keywords: | Double dividend, Energy saving, Environmental tax reform, Induced technological change, Tax-interaction effect |
| JEL: | D62 H23 Q55 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:46516&r=env |
| By: | Li Ping (Institute of Quantitative and Technological Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences); Yang Danhui (Institute of Quantitative and Technological Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences); Li Pengfei (Institute of Quantitative and Technological Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences); Ye Zhenyu (Institute of Quantitative and Technological Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences); Deng Zhou (Institute of Quantitative and Technological Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) |
| Abstract: | China’s speedy industrialization has undertaken mostly a crude path with extensive energy consumption and severe environmental damage. In face of the challenge of global warming and resource restrictions, it calls for urgent green transformation for the sustainable development of China’s industry. With huge potentials and more general benefits than costs, the industrial green transformation in China will have more positive effects and accelerate the whole process of the development of China’s green economy. From this perspective, China needs to adopt a comprehensive and open mechanism for green transformation with more strict environmental regulations, effective energy conservation and emissions reduction, green technology R&D and application, as well as international cooperation in the related fields with market-oriented reform, government strategies and regulations, proactive response from the industry sector, self-initiative of enterprises and active public participation. |
| Keywords: | Industry, Green Transformation, Technology Roadmap, Cost and Benefit |
| JEL: | Q5 Q55 |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2013.27&r=env |
| By: | Bennet, Jeffrey W. |
| Abstract: | The performance of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI’s) research program that focuses on water resource issues is reviewed for the period 1994–2010 around the three themes that constitute the program: global modeling, river basin modeling, and institutions. |
| Keywords: | Impact assessment; Water resources; Environmental impacts; resource management; Natural resource management; Water policies;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:impass:35&r=env |
| By: | Vogt-Schilb, Adrien; Meunier, Guy; Hallegatte, Stephane |
| Abstract: | The optimal timing, sectoral distribution, and cost of greenhouse gas emission reductions is different when abatement is obtained though abatement expenditures chosen along an abatement cost curve, or through investment in low-carbon capital. In the latter framework, optimal investment costs differ in each sector: they are equal to the value of avoided carbon emissions, minus the value of the forgone option to invest later. It is therefore misleading to assess the cost-efficiency of investments in low-carbon capital by comparing levelized abatement costs, that is, efforts measured as the ratio of investment costs to discounted abatement. The equimarginal principle applies to an accounting value: the Marginal Implicit Rental Cost of the Capital (MIRCC) used to abate. Two apparently opposite views are reconciled. On the one hand, higher efforts are justified in sectors that will take longer to decarbonize, such as urban planning; on the other hand, the MIRCC should be equal to the carbon price at each point in time and in all sectors. Equalizing the MIRCC in each sector to the social cost of carbon is a necessary condition to reach the optimal pathway, but it is not a sufficient condition. Decentralized optimal investment decisions at the sector level require not only the information contained in the carbon price signal, but also knowledge of the date when the sector reaches its full abatement potential. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Climate Change Economics,Investment and Investment Climate,Economic Theory&Research,Environment and Energy Efficiency |
| Date: | 2013–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6415&r=env |
| By: | Hårsman, Björn (CESIS - Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies, Royal Institute of Technology); Wijkmark, Bo (Office of Regional Planning and Metropolitan Transport) |
| Abstract: | The European Commission named Stockholm Europe’s first Green Capital City in 2010. Important reasons for the award were: a reduction of CO2 emissions by 25 percent per capita since 1990 and the establishment of an administrative system integrating environmental aspects in the planning, budgeting and management of all the various activities governed by the city. This paper describes the main features of the economic, environmental and political development in Stockholm since 1850. The main idea is simply to provide a historical perspective on the city´s environmental policy but we also want to shed light on the extent to which historical decisions and processes exert an influence on current ambitions and measures to strengthen Stockholm´s sustainability. In addition to pointing at the long-lasting influence of earlier infrastructure investments we also indicate the importance of the political pragmatism and social-engineering attitude developed since the 1930´s. However, Stockholm´s recently adopted action plan for reducing the emission of greenhouse gases indicates that this institutional capital might have eroded somewhat. If this is true, Stockholm might face more difficulties in becoming greener than usually expected considering its current ranking as a leading European capital in terms of intellectual capital and rate of innovation. |
| Keywords: | Urban sustainability; Stockholm; history; environment; urban planning |
| JEL: | Q01 Q58 R50 |
| Date: | 2013–04–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:cesisp:0307&r=env |
| By: | John P. Weche Geluebcke (Institute of Economics, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany); Isabella Wedl (Institute for Environmental Communication, Leuphana University Lueneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Only recently have the aspects of pollution and environmental protection entered into the empirical literature about international firm activities. The present paper is the first firm-level study on the link between foreign ownership and environmental protection in Germany. We find that, ceteris paribus, foreign owned firms in Germany are more likely to invest in environmental protection. They also invest on a larger scale in terms of add-on measures as well as integrated measures. These results are robust against different measures, different time periods, different control groups, and selection issues arising from fractional response data. Once we control for productivity levels, the differences become less straightforward. However, the higher probability of foreign firms' making general as well as integrated environmental protection investments and the tilt of their composition towards integrated measures remain. We cannot find any support for differences among foreign firms by country of origin. This can be interpreted as support for the new institutionalist hypothesis of international convergence of management practices in the field of environmental management due to normative pressure and de facto standards at the global level. |
| Keywords: | Environmental protection; foreign ownership; country of origin; multinational enterprises; manufacturing; Germany |
| JEL: | F21 Q52 Q55 Q56 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:267&r=env |
| By: | Domenech, Laia; Ringler, Claudia |
| Abstract: | The hypothesis underlying this review paper is that how irrigation gets deployed in SSA will be decisive not only for environmental sustainability (such as deciding remaining forest cover in the region) and poverty reduction, but also for health, nutrition, and gender outcomes in the region. The focus of this paper is on the health, nutrition, and gender linkage. |
| Keywords: | Irrigation; Nutrition; Health; Gender; Women; Water resources; Environmental impacts; Water use.;, |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1259&r=env |
| By: | Bachev, Hrabrin |
| Abstract: | This paper suggests a holistic framework for assessment and improvement of management strategies for conservation of natural resources in agriculture. First, it incorporates an interdisciplinary approach (combining Economics, Organization, Law, Sociology, Ecology, Technology, Behavioral and Political Sciences) and presents a modern framework for assessing environmental management and strategies in agriculture including: specification of specific “managerial needs” and spectrum of feasible governance modes (institutional environment; private, collective, market, and public modes) of natural resources conservation at different level of decision-making (individual, farm, eco-system, local, regional, national, transnational, and global); specification of critical socio-economic, natural, technological, behavioral etc. factors of managerial choice, and feasible spectrum of (private, collective, public, international) managerial strategies; assessment of efficiency of diverse management strategies in terms of their potential to protect diverse eco-rights and investments, assure socially desirable level of environmental protection and improvement, minimize overall (implementing, third-party, transaction etc.) costs, coordinate and stimulate eco-activities, meet preferences and reconcile conflicts of individuals etc. Second, it presents evolution and assesses the efficiency of diverse management forms and strategies for conservation of natural resources in Bulgarian agriculture during post-communist transformation and EU integration (institutional, market, private, and public), and evaluates the impacts of EU CAP on environmental sustainability of farms of different juridical type, size, specialization and location. Finally, it suggests recommendations for improvement of public policies, strategies and modes of intervention, and private and collective strategies and actions for effective environmental protection. |
| Keywords: | environmental and natural resources; governance and strategies; institutions; market; private; public and hybrid modes; agriculture |
| JEL: | O13 O17 O18 Q12 Q13 Q15 Q18 Q24 Q25 Q28 Q38 Q5 Q50 R58 |
| Date: | 2013–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:46368&r=env |
| By: | Borja-Vega, Christian; de la Fuente, Alejandro |
| Abstract: | A climate change vulnerability index in agriculture is presented at the municipal level in Mexico. Because the index is built with a multidimensional approach to vulnerability (exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity), it represents a tool for policy makers, academics and government alike to inform decisions about climate change resilience and regional variations within the country. The index entails baseline (2005) and prediction (2045) levels based on historic climate data and future-climate modeling. The results of the analysis suggest a wide variation in municipal vulnerability across the country at baseline and prediction points. The vulnerability index shows that highly vulnerable municipalities demonstrate higher climate extremes, which increases uncertainty for harvest periods, and for agricultural yields and outputs. The index shows at baseline that coastal areas host some of the most vulnerable municipalities to climate change in Mexico. However, it also shows that the Northwest and Central regions will likely experience the largest shifts in vulnerability between 2005 and 2045. Finally, vulnerability is found to vary according to specific variables: municipalities with higher vulnerability have more adverse socio-demographic conditions. With the vast municipal data available in Mexico, further sub-index estimations can lead to answers for specific policy and research questions. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Science of Climate Change,Population Policies,Climate Change Economics,Statistical&Mathematical Sciences |
| Date: | 2013–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6417&r=env |
| By: | Albouy, David (University of Michigan); Graf, Walter (University of California, Berkeley); Kellogg, Ryan (University of Michigan); Wolff, Hendrik (University of Washington) |
| Abstract: | We present a hedonic framework to estimate U.S. households' preferences over local climates, using detailed weather and 2000 Census data. We find that Americans favor an average daily temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit, will pay more on the margin to avoid excess heat than cold, and are not substantially more averse to extremes than to temperatures that are merely uncomfortable. These preferences vary by location due to sorting or adaptation. Changes in climate amenities under business-as-usual predictions imply annual welfare losses of 1 to 3 percent of income by 2100, holding technology and preferences constant. |
| Keywords: | climate amenities, climate change, quality of life, temperature profiles, heterogeneous preferences |
| JEL: | H49 I39 Q54 R10 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7339&r=env |
| By: | Takahashi, Ryo; Todo, Yasuyuki |
| Abstract: | In recent years, shade coffee certification programs have attracted increased attention from conservation and development organizations. The certification programs offer an opportunity to link environmental and economic goals by providing a premium price to producers and thereby contribute to forest conservation. However, the significance of the certification program’s conservation efforts is still unclear because of the lack of empirical evidence. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the shade coffee certification program on forest conservation. The study was carried out at the Belete-Gera Regional Forest Priority Area in Ethiopia, and remote sensing data from 2005 and 2010 was used to gauge the change of the forest area. Employing the propensity score matching estimation, we found that forests under the coffee certification were less likely to be deforested than forests without forest coffee. By contrast, the difference in the degree of deforestation between forests with forest coffee but not under the certification program and forests with no forest coffee is statistically insignificant. These results suggest that the certification program had a large impact on forest protection, decreasing the probability of deforestation by 1.7 percentage points. |
| Keywords: | shade coffee , coffee certification , impact evaluation , remote sensing , Ethiopia |
| Date: | 2013–03–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jic:wpaper:55&r=env |
| By: | Karlen, D. L.; Lal, R.; Follett, R.F.; Kimble, J.M.; Hatfield, J.L.; Miranowski, John; Cambardella, C.; Manale, A.; Anex, R.P.; Rice, C.W. |
| Abstract: | A recent scientific publication stated that to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, the most permanent and rapid solution would be to sink crop residues to the ocean floor where they would be buried in deep ocean sediments. However, mitigating rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations by removing crop residues from the land, transporting them to the coast, shipping them out to sea, and burying them in the ocean could be short-sighted, with many unintended consequences. Our objectives are to alert readers to the ecosystem services that crop residues provide, to point out some errors and misinterpretations of soil science literature in the review process, and to offer an alternative approach for addressing multiple environmental problems including carbon sequestration, atmospheric CO2 concentrations, productivity, water quality, bioenergy, wildlife habitat, and community development. We conclude that although ocean sequestration may have a role in mitigating atmospheric CO2 concentrations, we should not destroy the future productivity of our soils by drowning crop residues. We also conclude that it is now more important than ever to recognize crop residues as "agricultural co-products" that must be carefully managed, not only to sustain soil and water resources but also to improve the environment in ways that are both known and unknown. |
| Date: | 2013–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:36122&r=env |
| By: | Geoffrey Heal; Antony Millner |
| Abstract: | Uncertainty is intrinsic to climate change: we know that the climate is changing, but not precisely how fast or in what ways. Nor do we understand fully the social and economic consequences of these changes, or the options that will be available for reducing climate change. Furthermore the uncertainty about these issues is not readily quantified and expressed in probabilistic terms: we are facing deep uncertainty or ambiguity rather than risk in the classical sense, rendering the classical expected utility framework of limited value. We review the sources of uncertainty about all aspects of climate change and resolve these into various components, commenting on their relative importance. Then we review decision-making frameworks that are appropriate in the absence of quantitative probabilistic information, including non-probabilistic approaches and those based on multiple priors, and discuss their application in climate change economics. |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp108&r=env |
| By: | Hassan Benchekroun; Ngo Van Long |
| Abstract: | We consider the effect of an increase in the risk from pollution. We show that in the case of a flow pollution, when the number of players is sufficiently large, the result of Bramoulle and Treich, showing that a marginal increase of risk in the neighborhood of a risk-free world is welfare-improving, holds even when we consider non-marginal increases in risk and for any initial values of the risk. By contrast, in the case of a stock pollutant, we show that starting in a risk-free world a marginal increase in risk is always welfare reducing. However if the initial value of the risk is sufficiently large, the impact of an increase in risk depends on the level of the stock pollutant. In this non-negligible risk case, it is only for values of the stock of pollution that are below a certain threshold that an increase in risk can mitigate the failure from cooperation over emissions and increase welfare <P>On étudie l’effet d’une augmentation du niveau de risque environnemental. On montre que dans le cas d’un flux de pollution, quand le nombre de joueurs est assez grand, une augmentation de l’incertitude est bonne pour le bien-être social. Par contre, dans le cas d’un stock de pollution, si la situation initiale est sans risque, une augmentation marginale du risque est préjudiciable. Cependant, si l’on commence avec un niveau de risque assez élevé, l’effet d’une augmentation du risque dépend du niveau du stock initial. Si ce dernier est inférieur à un certain seuil, une augmentation du risque peut pallier la défaillance de coopération et améliorer le bien-être social. |
| Keywords: | Tragedy of the commons, transboundary pollution, uncertainty, risk, differential games, Tragédie des biens communs, pollution transfrontière, incertitude, risque, jeux différentiels |
| JEL: | C73 Q50 D80 |
| Date: | 2013–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2013s-08&r=env |
| By: | Mateo Cordier; José A. Pérez Agúndez; Walter Hecq; Bertrand Hamaide |
| Abstract: | Monetary valuation techniques are often used for evaluating the effect of a change in ecosystem services on components of human wellbeing, even though they face several problems such as poor scientific knowledge on ecological-economic interactions, difficulty for monetary valuation techniques to consider the effect of intermediate ecosystem services on final ones, cognitive limitations of individuals, right-based responses made by individuals instead of consequentialism-based ones,… Considering those limits, this paper proposes an alternative approach for reconciling monetary valuation techniques with methods that address ecosystem-economy interactions. To achieve this goal, we develop a guiding framework that limits the use of monetary valuation to real market simulations. Simulations of scenarios of environmental measures are carried out with a hybrid ecological-economic input-output model. The guiding framework ensures that monetary valuation techniques contribute to the understanding of the impact of economic activities on changes in ecosystems services and the feedback impact of these changes on economic activities. The framework operates according to a double dichotomy: intermediate/final ecosystem services and direct/indirect monetary valuation techniques. One advantage of our guiding framework is to consider the importance of intermediate ecosystem services even if they cannot be monetized. This seems very relevant since intermediate services condition the existence of all other ecosystem services that ensure benefits to human life and economic activities. Our guiding framework may give natural scientists a better understanding of how to take advantage of economics in analyzing the impacts of interactions between the economy and the ecosystem. |
| Keywords: | ecosystem services; input-output model; monetary valuation; ecological-economic interactions; limits of monetary values |
| Date: | 2013–04–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/143345&r=env |
| By: | Gernot Pehnelt (GlobEcon and Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena); Christoph Vietze (School of Economics and Business Administration, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena) |
| Abstract: | The European Union's (EU) Renewable Energy Directive (RED) continues to be the focus of much debate over the validity of biofuel sustainability. The debate is driven in part by ongoing concerns of transparency and regional variations of emissions from feedstock cultivation and processing. In a working paper, Pehnelt and Vietze (2012) undertook a general analysis of rapeseed biodiesel greenhouse gas (GHG) savings. In light of the recent effort to decentralize assessments to regional (i.e. Member State) authorities to assess the sustainability of biofuel feedstocks, we have done the same for three Member States, incorporating the comments and critique we received on our latest working paper (Pehnelt and Vietze 2012). Using publicly available cultivation and production figures from Germany (the largest producer and consumer of rapeseed biodiesel), Poland and Romania, we analyse the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions savings of rapeseed biodiesel which we then compare to the values of GHG savings identified in the RED. Under average conditions and conservative assumptions on N2O emissions, German rapeseed biodiesel meets the GHG savings requirements of 35 percent in the RED. However, in years with unfavourable weather conditions and lower yields, German rapeseed biodiesel may fail to reach the 35 percent threshold even with efficient production technologies in the subsequent steps of the supply chain. Taking into account higher N2O emissions due to fertilizer input as suggested by some researchers, German rapeseed biodiesel clearly fails to fulfil the 35 percent criterion required by the RED. Meanwhile, in no instance Polish or Romanian rapeseed biodiesel meet the RED's 35% GHG savings threshold. The assessment of the sustainability of rapeseed biodiesel heavily depends on the very production conditions and assumptions regarding the N2O field emissions. As a matter of fact, not every liter of rapeseed biodiesel produced in the EU is 'sustainable' in the sense of RED. Therefore, the use of standard values (e.g. default values) in order to categorize rapeseed biodiesel - or any other biofuel - as sustainable or not is not justifiable. With renewable energy strategies proliferating throughout the world, the validity of technical criteria has become increasingly critical to the success of these strategies - particularly the fiercely debated RED. The application of technical criteria remains inconsistent, and in the case of the RED, resulting in unreliable assessments of biofuel feedstocks and heated debates over the authority of these assessments. |
| Keywords: | Biofuel, Rapeseed, Biodiesel, RED, Renewable Energy Directive, Default Values, Typical Values, GHG-emissions |
| JEL: | F14 F18 O13 Q01 Q15 Q27 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2013–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2013-015&r=env |
| By: | Forslid, Rikard (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University); Okubo, Toshihiro (Keio University); Sanctuary, Mark (Dept. of Economics, Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a monopolistic competitive framework with many sectors to study the impact of trade liberalization on local and global emissions. We focus on the interplay of the pollution haven effect and the home market effect and show how a large-market advantage can counterbalance a high emission tax, implying that trade liberalization leads to lower global emissions. Generally, our results suggest that relative market size, the level of trade costs, the ease of abatement, and the degree of product differentiation at the sector level are relevant variables for empirical studies on trade and pollution. |
| Keywords: | market size; emission tax; trade liberalization |
| JEL: | D21 F12 F15 |
| Date: | 2013–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sunrpe:2013_0008&r=env |
| By: | Rosburg, Alicia; Miranowski, John |
| Abstract: | We present results from an application of the Biofuel Breakeven program (BioBreak) to 14 US cellulosic ethanol markets that vary by feedstock and location. BioBreak estimates the economic costs of cellulosic biofuel production for each market and identifies the necessary conditions to sustain long-run markets. Based on current market conditions, our results suggest that long-run cellulosic ethanol production is not sustainable without significant government intervention or high long-run oil prices ($135-$170 per barrel). Using life-cycle analysis for cellulosic ethanol and conventional gasoline, we extend the BioBreak program results to derive an implicit value of reduced greenhouse gas emissions embodied in cellulosic ethanol. For the markets considered in our analysis, sustaining cellulosic ethanol production is equivalent to valuing the reduction in CO2 equivalents between $141 and $282 per metric ton. |
| Keywords: | biofuel; Biofuel policies; biomass; carbon tax; cellulosic ethanol; Greenhouse gas emissions; life-cycle analysis; renewable fuel standard |
| Date: | 2013–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:36118&r=env |
| By: | Brockwell, Erik (CERE, Centre for Environmental and Resource Economics) |
| Abstract: | The main objective of this article is to examine how taxes affect consumption of commodities that are detrimental to health and the environment: tobacco, alcoholic beverages, household energy and petroleum fuel (petrol) for transportation. Specifically, we examine if a tax increase leads to a significantly larger change in consumption than a producer price change, which is referred to as the signaling effect from taxation. This objective is achieved through an empirical analysis using the Linear Almost Ideal Demand System. The analysis uses aggregated cross sectional time series data and information on major legislation introductions in Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom from 1970 to 2009. We find the main result to be that the signaling effect is significant for “Alcoholic Beverages” and “Electricity” in Sweden, “Electricity” in Denmark and “Electricity and Gas” and “Electricity” the United Kingdom. This implies that tax policy is more effective in tackling consumption of commodities which produce negative public effects (negative externalities affecting the social good such as pollution) than those for negative private effects (negative externalities affecting the private good such as health). |
| Keywords: | environmental taxation; health-based taxation; public policy |
| JEL: | I18 Q58 |
| Date: | 2013–04–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slucer:2013_003&r=env |
| By: | Timothy Laing; Charles Palmer |
| Abstract: | National-level strategies for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), financed by international transfers, have begun to emerge. A three-sector model is developed to explore the economy-wide effects of two policies, incentive payments and taxes, implemented by a government participating in REDD. Two sectors utilise forest as an input to production, one in which forest is substitutable for labour and one in which forest and labour are complements. The government factors in two opposing types of general equilibrium effect when determining the efficient payment level: one that changes the relative price of forest and one that results from the income transfer related to the payment. Unlike taxes, payments result in unequal income transfers and a shift in relative prices. With political influence, the forestusing sectors may lobby for lower payments in order to create a larger international |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp110&r=env |
| By: | Steinbuks, Jevgenijs; Badri Narayanan |
| Abstract: | This study extends the literature on interfuel substitution by investigating the role of transactions costs and technological adjustment, focusing specifcally on differences across countries with different potential for fossil fuel production. We find that fossil fuel producing economies have higher elasticities of interfuel substitution. Our simulations show that, compared to the baseline case of uniform elasticities, energy and climate policies result in a greater substitution among different sources of energy for countries with larger potential to produce fossil fuels. These results are important because they imply lower economic cost for policies aimed at climate abatement and more efficient utilization of energy resources in energy-intensive economies. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gta:workpp:4220&r=env |
| By: | Angelo Antoci; Paolo Russu; Elisa Ticci |
| Abstract: | In the current age of trade and financial openness, remote and poor local economies are becoming increasingly exposed to inflows of external capital. External investors - enjoying lower credit constraints than local dwellers - might play a propulsive role for local development. At the same time, inflows of external capital can produce environmental externalities which negatively affect labor productivity in local natural resource-dependent activities. In our paper, we consider a small open economy with three factors of production - labor, a renewable natural resource and physical capital- and two sectors - the “industrial sector” and the “local sector”. Physical capital is specific to the industrial sector whereas the natural resource is specific to the local sector. External investors participate in the industrial sector as long as the return on capital invested is higher than in other economies. The activity of the industrial sector generates a negative impact on the environmental resource. In this context, we assess under which conditions the coexistence of the two sectors gives rise to an increase in the welfare of the local population |
| Keywords: | foreign direct investments, environmental negative externalities, sustainable development |
| JEL: | F21 F43 D62 O11 O13 O15 O41 Q20 |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:670&r=env |
| By: | Holvoet, Nathalie; Inberg, Liesbeth |
| Abstract: | The recent (draft) decision of the 2012 Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) recognises that a more balanced representation of women from developed and developing countries in the UNFCCC process is important in order to create climate policies that are responding to the different needs of men and women in national and local contexts (UNFCCC, 2012). In the context of the UNFCC, countries that are most vulnerable to climate change list their priority adaptation projects in National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs). Guidelines for drafting NAPAs have been made gender-sensitive drawing upon equality, effectiveness and efficiency arguments. More specifically, climate change affect men and women differently and therefore, policies and programmes that do not take into account the particular needs and capacities of both men and women will fail to be effective and may even worsen the already existing male bias. Against this background of increased acknowledgement of the importance of gender mainstreaming in climate change policies, we aim at confronting rhetorics with reality. Our study investigates to what extent and in what way the 31 available Sub Sahara African NAPAs integrate a gender dimension into the different phases (diagnosis, selection of projects, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation) of the NAPA cycle and the different sectors that are especially related to climate change (in addition to the energy sector, these are the agriculture, forestry, water and sanitation and health sectors). Additionally, we also analyse the degree of participation of women and gender experts in diagnosis and decision-making as well as the gender sensitivity of the format used for participation. The findings of the gender scan among others demonstrate that there is a decline in gendersensitivity throughout the cycle, which is particularly outspoken when translation priorities into budgets and indicators. Next, processes have been more gender sensitive than the actual content of NAPAs which hints at the fact that the gender actors around the table in NAPA decision making have not always been able to influence the content of the NAPAs. This could among others be related to a low track record of these gender actors in the area of climate change. Local climate change experts on the other hand often lack operational ‘gender’ tools and approaches which are framed in their own terminology. When it comes to an integration of gender issues in climate change budgets, our study suggests that the insights, approaches and tools of gender budgeting could be particularly useful. |
| Keywords: | Sub-Saharan Africa; National Adaptation Programmes of Action; NAPA |
| Date: | 2013–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:2013002&r=env |
| By: | Popescu, Gabriel; Istudor, Nicolae; Boboc, Dan |
| Abstract: | The main goal of the 'Competitiveness of agro-food and environmental economy’ (CAFEE`12), was to debate new ideas contained in scientifically research in the field of rural development, agro-food economy, agro-food system, ecological performance etc. carried out by academicians, scientists and professionals. The Conference was held in November, 8-10, 2012, to the Faculty of Agro-food and Environmental Economics, Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania. The conference proceedings volume includes all the draft papers accepted and published in the proceedings of The 1st International Conference 'Competitiveness of agro-food and Environmental economy’ (CAFEE`12), organized by Faculty of Agro-Food and Environmental Economics and Research Center of Regional Analysis and Policies from The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, in partnership with Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics, National Research Institute, Poland, St James's Business School(UK), University of Verona – Italy, Institute of Agricultural Economics- Serbia, Faculty of Agriculture Zemun- Serbia, Institute of Agricultural Economics, Romanian Academy, Institute of Research for Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences – Romania and Faculty of Economic Sciences, Petroleum and Gas University of Ploiesti Romania. |
| Keywords: | agricultural economics, agro-food, environmental economics, farm management |
| JEL: | A1 A12 M2 Q1 Q15 |
| Date: | 2012–11–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:46369&r=env |
| By: | Hertel, Thomas; David Lobell |
| Abstract: | In this paper we discuss the scope of the adaptation challenge facing world agriculture in the coming decades. Due to rising temperatures throughout the tropics, pressures for adaptation will be greatest in some of the poorest parts of the world where the adaptive capacity is least abundant. We discuss both autonomous (market driven) and planned adaptations, distinguishing: (a) those that can be undertaken with existing technology, (b) those that involve development of new technologies, and (c) those that involve institutional/market and policy reforms. The paper then proceeds to identify which of these adaptations are currently modeled in integrated assessment studies and related analyses at global scale. This, in turn, gives rise to recommendations about how these models should be modified in order to more effectively capture climate change adaptation in the farm and food sector. In general, we find that existing integrated assessment models are better suited to analyzing adaptation by relative well-endowed producers in the developed countries. They likely understate climate impacts on agriculture in developing countries, while overstating the potential adaptations. This is troubling, since the need for adaptation will be greatest amongst the lower income producers in the poorest tropical countries. This is also where policies and public investments are likely to have the highest payoff. We conclude with a discussion of opportunities for improving the empirical foundations of integrated assessment modeling with an emphasis on the poorest countries. |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gta:workpp:4030&r=env |
| By: | Christopher Costello; Nicolas Quérou; Agnes Tomini |
| Abstract: | We examine the efficiency, distributional, and environmental consequences of assigning spatial property rights to part of a spatially-connected natural resource, a situation which we refer to as partial enclosure of the commons. The model reflects on a large class of institutions and natural resources for which complete enclosure by a sole owner may be desirable, but is often institutionally impractical. When a sole owner is granted ownership of only a fraction of the spatial domain of the resource and the remainder of the resource is competed for by an open access fringe, interesting spatial externalities arise. We obtain sharp analytical results regarding partial enclosure of the commons including: (1) While second best, it always improves welfare relative to no property rights, (2) all resource users are made better off, (3) positive rents arise in the open access area, and the resource will maintain higher abundance. Under spatial heterogeneity, we also character- ize spatial regions that are ideal candidates for partial enclosure - typically, society should seek to enclose those patches with high ecological productivity and high self-retention, but whether high economic parameters promote or relegate a patch may depend on one’s objective. These results help inform a burgeoning trend around the world to partially enclose the commons. |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lam:wpaper:13-07&r=env |
| By: | Xavier Lhote (UP1 UFR02 - Université Paris 1, Panthéon-Sorbonne - UFR d'Économie - Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne - PRES HESAM) |
| Abstract: | Are natural resources a blessing or a curse? As a matter of fact, few countries with abundant natural resources have succeeded in combining growth and development. What may account for this apparent paradox? Our analysis suggests that the institutional development of a country (at the time of the discovery of the natural resources) is the key factor explaining why a vicious or a virtuous circle of growth may develop. If the institutions are sufficiently well-established and strong enough to face predation behaviours, the country will then benefit from its substratum. On the other hand, insecure property rights (as is typical of countries with weaker institutions) will fuel predation behaviours around rent-production. To secure their property rights, fi rms will have no other option but to resort to corruption by transferring part of their rents into bribes, exceptional taxes, extortion racket, etc. The increase in these predation behaviours then limits the direct investment flow from foreign countries and blocks the country's development. This in turn will establish a climate of corruption in an economy with low production development. In countries where natural resources are abundant, insecure property rights are thus detrimental in several ways. First, direct investment in the exploitation of resources is suboptimal. This has a proportional negative effect on the country's budget by lowering the tax revenue and limiting the country's development. The extraction potential, and thus the country's enrichment, is constrained by these insecure property rights. Besides, the climate of corruption, generated by the securing of these property rights, deters foreign investors from settling on the national market and locks the country in a poverty trap. The country only attracts firms belonging to sectors connected to natural resources and thus becomes dependent on the rate of raw materials and the exploitation of natural resources. When a state budget depends on exploitation rent at the expense of taxes on citizens, the democratic control of civil society is weakened and the convergence of the institutions towards an autocratic state is favoured, for lack of a strong system of checks and balances. In a moribund economy where investors (in particular foreign ones) are reluctant to value the country's potential, the inequalities generated by a corrupt government which grows richer through mining and oil revenues, and the empoverishment of the population, may result in political unrest leading to conflicts. |
| Date: | 2012–07–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:dumas-00812172&r=env |
| By: | Antoine Dechezleprêtre |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the first empirical analysis of programmes to fast-track ‘green’ patent applications in place in seven Intellectual Property offices around the world. We find that only a small share of green patent applications (between 1% and 20% depending on the patent office) request accelerated examination, suggesting that patent applicants have a strong incentive to keep their patent applications in the examination process for as long as possible. Fast-tracking programmes reduce the examination process by several years compared to patents going through normal examination procedure and have seemingly accelerated the diffusion of technological knowledge in green technologies. In addition, we find that applicants require accelerated examination for patents of relatively higher value and that fast-tracking programmes seem to be particularly appealing to start-up companies in the green technology sector that are currently raising capital but still generate small revenue. |
| Date: | 2013–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lsg:lsgwps:wp107&r=env |
| By: | Henny Romijn; Sanne Heijnen; Saurabh Arora |
| Abstract: | Standards and certifications, as ‘scientific’ instruments of public and private governance, have recently emerged as ways to deal with growing concerns about the triple P sustainability of global supply chains for renewable energy. Focussing on a chain for sourcing ‘sustainable’ biokerosene for use by a major European airline, this article studies the practice of a pilot certification project aimed at thousands of Tanzanian smallholders who cultivate Jatropha oilseeds (one of the few known feedstocks suitable for biokerosene production). In particular, we study the tense interactions and encounters between a ‘universal’ biofuel sustainability standard, designed in an ostentatiously participatory process in the Netherlands, and the socio-ecological realities of the smallholders in Tanzania. As a result of these encounters, many provisions in the standard and certification protocols were found to constitute cases of ‘excess governance’, which made little or no sense in the Tanzanian smallholder context. At the same time, the standard was found to exhibit instances of ‘deficient governance’ leaving several critical issues outside its purview. Most importantly however were the cases where the provisions in the standard were deemed legitimate by the project’s implementers. Operationalization of these provisions in the smallholders’ surroundings however relied on major translation efforts involving significant brainstorming in Tanzania, conducting remedial research for problem-solving, and perhaps most importantly, significant improvisation in the field. As a result of this operationalization, many of the standard’s provisions had to undergo modifications that were initially resisted by the standard’s designers. These modifications may have resulted in a standard that is more aligned with the local realities encountered in a particular region of Tanzania. But other frictions, similar and different from the ones discussed in this article, are bound to crop up as this ‘adjusted’ standard moves to newer locales and encounters diverse social realities. In concluding, we call for regional or niche standardization strategies, rejecting the idea of universal standards that can be applied globally. A niche standardization strategy, while serving the intended purpose of the standards (in terms of ‘social’ and environmental sustainability), should facilitate the poorest farmers from reaping the benefits of the sustainability of their existing practices, a sustainability they cannot afford to prove ‘scientifically’. |
| Keywords: | sustainable, standards, certification |
| Date: | 2012–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:tuecis:wpaper:1202&r=env |
| By: | Aberman, Noora-Lisa; Wielgosz, Benjamin; Zaidi, Fatima; Ringler, Claudia; Akram, Agha Ali; Bell, Andrew; Issermann, Maikel |
| Abstract: | Irrigation is central to Pakistan’s agriculture; and managing the country’s canal, ground, and surface water resources in a more efficient, equitable, and sustainable way will be crucial to meeting agricultural production challenges, including increasing agricultural productivity and adapting to climate change. The water component of the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Pakistan Strategy Support Program (PSSP) is working to address these topics through high-quality research and policy engagement. As one of the first activities of this program, the PSSP undertook this assessment of the policy landscape for agricultural water management in Pakistan, to better understand how to engage with stakeholders in the landscape, and to assess possible opportunity points for improving water conservation. The authors use the Net-Map method, an interview tool that combines stakeholder mapping, power mapping, and social network analysis, to examine the relationships between various institutions influencing the water sector in Pakistan. Group interviews were conducted with national stakeholders in Islamabad and with provincial stakeholders in Lahore to establish separate influence maps at the different scales. Interviewees were asked about four types of network relationships: formal authority, informal pressure, technical information, and funding. Network data was analyzed using social network analysis software and notes from interviews add further depth to the network observations. Concluding discussion focuses on the distribution of power and influence in the network and on the opportunities and challenges of recent governance reforms and implications for stakeholder engagement. |
| Keywords: | water, agricultural water policy, Net-Map, social network analysis, stakeholder mapping, irrigation, governance, Pakistan, South Asia, Asia |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1265&r=env |
| By: | Mario Du Preez, Deborah Ellen Lee and Leann Cloete |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the Nelson Mandela Bay public’s willingness to pay (WTP) for the removal of a local undesirable land use, the manganese ore dumps and the oil tank farm situated within the boundaries of the Port Elizabeth harbour, Eastern Cape, South Africa, by means of the contingent valuation method. Both a non-parametric and parametric estimate of the WTP is derived. Estimated WTP for the removal of this disamenity ranges from R47.09 to R93.21 per household. The aggregate WTP ranges from R13 489 683 to R26 701 496. Due to the sensitivity of the parametric estimate of WTP to functional form specification and the distribution of the random part of preferences, the less restricted non-parametric WTP estimate (R47.09) is more appropriate. The results of this study show that policy-makers should take heed of the importance communities attach to the location of pollution-creating activities in urban areas. |
| Keywords: | Contingent valuation, willingness to pay, dichotomous choice, parametric estimation, non-parametric estimation |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:338&r=env |
| By: | Swenson, David A.; Eathington, Liesl |
| Abstract: | This report investigates degrees of water dependence across various sectors of Iowa’s economy and the possible direct and indirect consequences of drought events on Iowa’s industries. The report is organized into five sections. Part 1 describes patterns of water use by broad economic sector, as measured in gallons of water withdrawn from surface and groundwater sources. Part 2 addresses the importance of water as a means of transportation, examining the types of commodities shipped to and from Iowa by river. Part 3 discusses the consequences of drought on grain and livestock production. Part 4 explores how reductions in agricultural commodity production might impact the state’s manufacturing sector. Part 5 indentifies industries that may experience changing demand for their own products due to water supply disruptions, including firms that manufacture inputs for water distribution, treatment, or storage systems. |
| Keywords: | drought; economic impacts; water usage |
| Date: | 2013–04–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genres:36150&r=env |
| By: | Claire Bergaentzlé (PACTE - Politiques publiques, ACtion politique, TErritoires - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Grenoble - CNRS : UMR5194 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I); Cédric Clastres (PACTE - Politiques publiques, ACtion politique, TErritoires - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Grenoble - CNRS : UMR5194 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I); Haikel Khalfallah (PACTE - Politiques publiques, ACtion politique, TErritoires - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Grenoble - CNRS : UMR5194 - Université Pierre Mendès-France - Grenoble II - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I) |
| Abstract: | L'activation de la demande électrique permet d'atteindre des objectifs d'efficacité énergétique et environnementale grâce à la maîtrise des consommations (ou DSM pour Demand Side Management). De nombreux pilotes menés ces dix dernières années permettent d'avoir une représentation robuste de l'impact des outils d'activation de la demande ; cependant, ces outils doivent être calibrés pour répondre à des enjeux bien identifiés. La présente étude suggère que des modèles différents de DSM soient choisis, selon les spécificités des mix de production des pays ainsi que leur capacité d'échange aux interconnexions. Un modèle est réalisé pour déterminer le niveau de DSM nécessaire pour atteindre les meilleurs bénéfices économiques et environnementaux pour cinq pays interconnectés et aux différents mix de production. Deux hypothèses d'interconnexion, illimitée et réelle, sont retenues et comparées à la situation d'un pays isolé. Dans un tel contexte, l'intégration des énergies intermittentes, la sortie du nucléaire, le niveau de risque de défaillance en pointe et le report des effacements vont être des déterminants majeurs dans l'adoption de mesures et d'outils DSM. Cette étude vise à apporter des recommandations concernant les instruments d'activation de la demande qui maximisent les efficacités énergétiques et environnementales pour les différents cas de pays étudiés. Cinq conclusions majeures sont à retenir de cette étude. Premièrement, les stratégies DSM dépendent fortement des mix de production des pays et ne sont pas automatiquement reproductibles. Deuxièmement, une vision de marché européen parfaitement intégré modifie le niveau d'effort à réaliser pour chaque pays, et demande une concertation et une coordination fortes dans les stratégies nationales de DSM. Troisièmement, la situation d'interconnexions limitées laisse apparaître les stratégies optimales de DSM et d'échange à adopter par chaque pays pour atteindre les objectifs d'efficacité les plus importants. Quatrièmement, il apparaît que l'efficacité augmente avec le niveau d'effort mais à taux décroissant, suggérant une préférence pour les outils DSM simples. Enfin, les résultats des programmes de DSM sont largement dépendants de l'effet de report des consommations, lequel, s'il n'est pas maîtrisé, peut éliminer les bénéfices de l'effacement, particulièrement en situation de parc fortement thermique. |
| Keywords: | réseaux intelligents ; effacement ; tarification Dynamique ; gestion de la demande ; efficacité énergétique ; efficacité environnementale |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00812710&r=env |
| By: | Jos van Ommeren (VU University Amsterdam); Jesper de Groote (VU University Amsterdam); Giuliano Mingardo (Erasmus University Rotterdam) |
| Abstract: | We estimate welfare losses of policies that provide on-street parking permits to residents almost free of charge in shopping districts. Our empirical results indicate that parking supply is far from perfectly price elastic, implying that there are substantial welfare losses related to under-priced parking permits. Our results suggest that the provision of residential parking permits in shopping districts induces a yearly deadweight loss of at least euro 500 per permit, which is about 30% of the supply cost of a parking place in shopping districts. |
| Keywords: | parking supply; residential parking permit; deadweight loss |
| JEL: | R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2013–04–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20130059&r=env |