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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Gabriela Michalek; Reimund Schwarze |
| Keywords: | Carbon leakage, Environmental leakage, Environmental policy, Emission transfers, MRIO, EEBT |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:euv:dpaper:12&r=env |
| By: | Metaxas, Theodore; Tsavdaridou, Maria |
| Abstract: | The environmental policy and Corporate Social Responsibility are two notions of high importance for enterprises and nations. Numerous pages have been written about the environmental policy of companies in their CSR reports. Whether it concerns to raise environmental awareness among their employees or local communities or to give in detail their environmental footprint at the end of the story it is about giving proofs of their environmental policy. Climate change is among the topics of CSR reports and is under examination in this paper. A case study analysis will be applied in order to present how climate change is interpreted in the CSR reports of Greek companies from the petroleum refining industry. |
| Keywords: | CSR, CSR reports, climate chande, environmental policy, content analysis |
| JEL: | M10 M12 M14 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:55027&r=env |
| By: | Miyama, Eriko; Managi, Shunsuke |
| Abstract: | A new database called the World Resource Table (WRT) is constructed in this study. Missing values are known to produce complications when constructing global databases. This study provides a solution for applying multiple imputation techniques and estimates the global environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for CO2, SO2, PM10, and BOD. Policy implications for each type of emission are derived based on the results of the EKC. Finally, we predicted the future emissions trend and regional share of CO2 emissions. We found that East Asia and South Asia will be increasing their emissions share while other major CO2 emitters will still produce large shares of the total global emissions. |
| Keywords: | Global emissions; Multiple Imputation; Environmental Kuznets Curve; Missing data; Forecasting |
| JEL: | O44 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54772&r=env |
| By: | Halkos, George; Papageorgiou, George |
| Abstract: | In this paper, the basic assumption is that the environment provides two different kinds of services. First, the environment may serve as an input to the production of conventional goods. For example, the exploitation of an oil source from which one firm extracts the oil which in turn is used as a fossil fuel for an industry. In the worst case, the use of the environment for industrial purposes will negatively affect the environment, e.g. the water quality of a paper mill along a river. Nevertheless, the possibility to pollute, i.e., to save abatement costs, lowers production costs. Hence, firms and consumers evaluate this service positively. Second, the environment itself-clean air, natural creeks and rivers instead of paper mills, hydro power plants, etc.-provides amenities and thus a second service that is different, because enjoying this service does not degrade environmental quality. As it is intuitively clear, the environment provides consumptive and non-consumptive uses. In renewable resources means, the environmental stock may be harvested and used as an input for conventional goods’ production but provides simultaneously a positive externality. The purpose of this paper is to study the dynamics of pollution and the possibility of cycles and instability, while the major finding of this paper is the following: Taking the simplest pollution model with one state and one control variables and extending it into two state variables, equilibrium may change from the fixed point into a limit cycle equilibrium, i.e. the optimal emissions rate may be cyclical. |
| Keywords: | Renewable resources; environmental economics; pollution management. |
| JEL: | C61 C62 D43 H21 Q50 Q52 Q53 |
| Date: | 2014–03–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54915&r=env |
| By: | Yang, Yuan; Zhang, Junjie; Wang, Can |
| Abstract: | In the 2009 Copenhagen Accord, China agreed to slash its carbon intensity (carbon dioxide emissions/GDP) by 40% to 45% from the 2005 level by 2020. We assess whether China can achieve the target under the business-as-usual scenario by forecasting its emissions from energy consumption. Our preferred model shows that China’s carbon intensity is projected to decline by only 33%. The results imply that China needs additional mitigation effort to comply with the Copenhagen commitment. In addition, China’s baseline emissions are projected to increase by 56% in the next decade (2011-2020). The emission growth is more than triple the emission reductions that the European Union and the United States have committed to in the same period. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, climate change, carbon dioxide emissions, China, spatial econometrics. |
| Date: | 2014–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:ucsdec:qt1r5251g8&r=env |
| By: | Jouvet, Pierre-André; Renner, Marie |
| Abstract: | The two main hurdles to a widespread carbon capture and storage (CCS) deployment are: cost and social acceptance issues. Assessing a ccurately social preferences is thus interesting to determine whether CCS is socially optimal. Unlike most academic papers that have a dichotomous approach and consider either the atmospheric pollution (first source of marginal disutility) or the underground pollution ( second source), we consider the problem as a whole: CCS techniques introduce a third source of disutility due to the simultaneous presence of CO2 in the atmosphere and in geological formations. The model and the numerical simulations show that there exist some configurations of social preferences for which CCS grants a higher social welfare provided that public authorities tax the carbon content of fossil fuels and subsidize carbon storage. CCS can even increase simultaneously the social welfare of the country with CCS and the one of the country without. From the perspective of minimizing the decarbonizing costs, we compare the case where each country defines its climate policy and when they are aggregated, in order to assess the transfers required to encourage CCS deployment. |
| Keywords: | Carbon Capture and Storage; Pollution; Tax; Social acceptance; Social optimum; |
| JEL: | Q58 Q56 Q53 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dau:papers:123456789/12981&r=env |
| By: | Renner, Marie |
| Abstract: | As policy makers assess strategies to reduce greenh ouse gas emissions (GHG), they need to know the available technical options and the conditions unde r which these options become economically attractive. Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) techniques are widely considered as a key option for climate change mitigation. But integrating CCS tech niques in a commercial scale power plant adds significant costs to the capital expenditure at the start of the project and to the operating expenditure throughout its lifetime. Its additional costs can b e offset by a sufficient CO2 price but most markets have failed to put a high enough price on CO2 emissions: currently, the weak Emission Unit Allowances price threatens CCS demonstration and deployment in the European Union (EU). A different dynamic is rising in China: a carbon regulation is setting up and CCS techniques seem to encounter a rising interest as suggest their inclusion in the 12th Five-Year Plan and the rising number of CCS projects identifies/planned. However, there are very few in-depth techno-economic studies on CCS costs. This study investigates two related questions: how much is the extra-cost of a CCS plant in the EU in comparison with China? And then, what is the CO2 price beyond which CCS power plants become more profitable/economically attractive than classic power plants, in the EU and in China? To answer these questions, I first review, analyze and compare publ ic studies on CCS techniques in order to draw an objective techno-economic panorama in the EU and China. Then, I develop a net present value (NPV) model for coal and gas plants, with and without CCS, in order to assess the CO2 price beyond which CCS plants become the most profitable power plant type. This CO2 value is called CO2 switching price. I also run some sensitivity analyses to assess the impact of different parameter variations on this CO2 switching price. I show that CCS power plants become the most profita ble baseload power plant type with a CO2 price higher than 115 €/t in the EU (offshore transport and storage costs) against 33 €/t (onshore transport and storage costs) or 47 €/t (offshore tr ansport and storage costs) in China. When the CO2 price is high enough, CCS gas plants are the most profitable power plant type in the EU whereas these are CCS coal plants in China. Through this study, I advise investors on the optimal power plant type choice depending on the CO2 market price, and suggest an optimal timing for CCS investment in the EU and China. |
| Keywords: | Politique de l'environnement; Fiscalité écologique; Taxe sur le dioxyde de carbone; Captage et stockage du dioxyde de carbone; Gaz à effet de serre; Réduction; |
| JEL: | Q58 Q56 Q53 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dau:papers:123456789/12983&r=env |
| By: | Iwata, Hiroki |
| Abstract: | In recent years, voluntary approaches are expected to function as new environmental protection tools. This article analyzes whether environmental information of firms should be mandatorily disclosed or disclosed voluntarily, where consumers consider the environmental burdens of firms when buying their goods. If a mandatory policy is implemented, every firm in the market will be required to disclose their environmental burdens. On the contrary, only firms that want to disclose their environmental burdens will share their environmental information if a voluntary approach is implemented. This article particularly demonstrates the effects of the disclosure rule (mandatory or voluntary) on investment to reduce environmental burdens. The model has two types of firms, clean and dirty ones. Firms that investigate their environmental burdens and turn out to be dirty can invest to reduce them and become clean before they disclose their environmental information. The main conclusions in this article are as follows. (1) Mandatory disclosure policies may induce firms to invest more than a voluntary approach. (2) Firms may have lower expected profit under the mandatory rule than the voluntary approach. (3) Under full information disclosure policy, the environmental burden is smaller than that of other policies. |
| Keywords: | Environmental information disclosure; Investment; Asymmetric information |
| JEL: | D82 L15 Q55 |
| Date: | 2014–03–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54784&r=env |
| By: | Marta Olazabal; Sonia De Gregorio Hurtado; Eduardo Olazabal; Filomena Pietrapertosa; Monica Salvia; Davide Geneletti; Valentina D?Alonzo; Efrén Feliú; Senatro Di Leo; Diana Reckien |
| Abstract: | Cities are widely recognised as being pivotal to fight climate change. They magnify the drivers of climate change, experience the impacts and also concentrate the highest room for action. Although urban areas are broadly claimed to be climate leaders, there is no archetype of right actions given the highly contextual differences among them. Yet, the how and why cities respond to global environmental challenges in the context of increasingly competitive economies needs further research. In this paper we aim at advancing in this regard by assessing the state of the art on urban climate actions in two European Mediterranean Countries: Spain and Italy that face similar climate change challenges. Based on an extensive review of documents, we analyse mitigation and adaptation plans of 26 Spanish and 32 Italian Urban Audit cities, as representative samples. Our results show relevant differences between Spanish and Italian cities in terms of the starting time of their climate actions as well their implementation. We concur with existing literature in that mitigation is more advanced than adaptation actions and take evidence in both countries and we also demonstrate that international and national networking initiatives are being instrumental in engaging cities in climate action. |
| Keywords: | urban climate action; mitigation plan; adaptation plan; Spain; Italy; Urban Audit |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcc:wpaper:2014-03&r=env |
| By: | Sonia De Gregorio Hurtado; Marta Olazabal; Monica Salvia; Filomena Pietrapertosa; Eduardo Olazabal; Davide Geneletti; Valentina D?Alonzo; Efrén Feliú; Senatro Di Leo; Diana Reckien |
| Abstract: | Cities are widely recognised as being pivotal to fight climate change. Cities magnify the drivers of climate change, experience the impacts and also concentrate the highest room for action. Given the 70% of the global emissions that cities are responsible for, national governments are unable to meet their international commitments for addressing mitigation and adaptation without the action and cooperation of cities. In turn, the capacity of local governments to address climate change is largely determined by the institutional architecture within which they are integrated. As a result, the relationship between the different arenas of authority and the integration of cities in national and international networks is considered critical in shaping the global capacity to govern climate change. This work aims to understand how multi-level climate governance and alliances of cities (national and international) are influencing the climate change capacity and performance of municipalities. This has been done by focusing on two national contexts of the European Union, Italy and Spain, in which climate policy, multi-level governance frameworks, the effects of the national and international networks of cities, and the climate response of cities are analysed through an extensive review of scientific and grey literature, and institutional documents. The results concur with existing literature on the importance of constructing collaborative multi-level climate frameworks at the national scale, that fully integrate the local level, in order to support cities to develop consistent climate action and raise awareness of the responsibility they have in this policy field. |
| Keywords: | urban climate action; multi-level governance; networks of cities; mitigation; adaptation; Italy; Spain. |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcc:wpaper:2014-02&r=env |
| By: | Plevin, Richard; Holly Gibbs; James Duffy; Sahoko Yui; Sonia Yeh |
| Abstract: | The purpose of the agro-ecological zone emission factor model (AEZ-EF) is to estimate the total CO2-equivalent emissions from land use changes, e.g., from an analysis of biofuels impacts or policy analyses such as estimating the effect of changes in agricultural productivity on emissions from land use. The model combines matrices of carbon fluxes (Mg CO2/ha/y) with matrices of changes in land use (ha) according to land-use category as projected by GTAP or similar AEZ-oriented models. As published, AEZ-EF aggregates the carbon flows to the same 19 regions and 18 AEZs used by GTAP-BIO, the version of GTAP currently used by Purdue University researchers for modeling biofuel-induced ("indirect") land-use change (ILUC) (e.g., Tyner, Taheripour et al. 2010). The AEZ-EF model, however, is designed to work with an arbitrary number of regions, as described in the accompanying report. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gta:techpp:4346&r=env |
| By: | Gibbs, Holly; Sahoko Yui; Richard Plevin |
| Abstract: | We synthesized a range of geographically-explicit forest, grassland and cropland biomass and soil carbon input data sources and used geographic information systems (GIS) software to calculate new estimates of soil and biomass carbon stocks for use with global economic models, particularly for the Global Trade and Analysis Project (GTAP). Our results quantify the average amount of carbon stored in soil and biomass in each of the 246 countries, stratified by agro-ecological zones (available in the accompanying spreadsheet). We also provide the data aggregated to the 134 regions defined for the GTAP 8.1 database both in spreadsheet form and in GTAP’s native binary file format. Finally, we provide an add-on to FlexAgg2 program to further aggregate the 134 regions as desired. Our analysis makes substantial refinements to the estimates of carbon stocks used for modeling carbon emissions from indirect land use change. The spatial detail of our analysis is a major advantage over previous databases because it provides estimates tailored to the regions of interest and better accounts for the variation of carbon stocks across the landscape, and between wetland and non-wetland regions. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gta:techpp:4344&r=env |
| By: | Davis, Peter; Ali, Snigdha |
| Abstract: | This paper reports on findings from 30 focus group discussions and 30 key informant interviews conducted in 12 districts of Bangladesh in May 2012. The discussions and interviews draw attention to perceptions of climate change and how climate-related trends influence people’s lives, both directly and indirectly. The findings also identify how people adapt to and cope with these changes. This paper aims to improve our understanding of local people’s perceptions of these changes, explore the ways they are affected by them, and how well they are adapting to them. In order for policymakers to plan responses to climate change in Bangladesh, it is essential to understand how people understand and cope with these trends. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, Poverty, Gender, Women, rural areas, rural population, vulnerability, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1322&r=env |
| By: | Bertrand, Vincent |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the cost of biomass co-firing in European coal power stations. We propose a tractable and original method, that enables us to get expressions of biomass and CO2 breakeven points for co-firing in different types of coal plants. We call them carbon switching price and biomass switching price. They correspond to carbon and biomass prices that make coal plants equally attractive under co-firing or classical conditions (i.e. when coal is the only input). The carbon switching price is the carbon price from which it becomes profitable to include biomass in coal plants (i.e. if the actual carbon price is higher than the carbon switching price, co-firing is profitable). The biomass switching price is the biomass price beyond which including b iomass in coal plants is no longer profitable (i.e. if the actual biomass price is lower than the biomass switching price, co-firing is profitable). We also run some sensitivity analyses to investigate the effect of modifying quantity and quality of biomass entering in boilers of coal plants. Results show that the carbon switching price associated with using biomass in lignite plants is always cheaper than that of hard-coal, due to higher lignite price. Additionally, we find that the biomass switching price has higher values with lignite plants. This reflects the greater benefits associated with including biomass in lignite plants, due to greater coal cost savings with higher lignite price. Results also indicate that the carbon switching price increases, and the biomass switching price decreases, when the biomass quality decreases, due to greater losses in conversion efficiency. However, we observe no significant influence when varying the incorporation rate, reflecting the quantity of biomass in coal plants. |
| Keywords: | Biomass; Electricity Production; Co-Firing; Switching Price; EU ETS; |
| JEL: | Q43 Q42 Q24 Q16 Q11 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dau:papers:123456789/12952&r=env |
| By: | Florent Le Strat; Elaine Pelourdeau; Benoît Peluchon; Jean-Yves Caneill; Yasmine Arsalane; Kimon Keramidas |
| Abstract: | In 2008, Europe chose to commit to multiple targets with the Climate Energy Package (CEP). This package of European texts (mainly Directives & Decisions) set targets for different policies, all for the 2020 time horizon. In March 2013, European Commission issued the Green Paper on “A 2030 Framework for climate and energy policies” initiating the discussions about the extension of the CEP to 2030, and its possible targets. EC explicitly stated that the different policy instruments have to be coherent because they “interact with one another”. The present study was performed in 2013 by EDF R&D and ENERDATA, in order to quantify the effects of overlapping policies with POLES model, and compare the costs generated by those interactions in the framework of CEP and Energy Roadmap. The two binding targets (CO2 and RES) were considered in this approach. In particular the results are used to identify the impact of the different targets on European electricity retail prices considering different financing options. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cec:wpaper:1404&r=env |
| By: | Rotillon, Gilles; Jouvet, Pierre-André; Bréchet, Thierry |
| Abstract: | In this paper we study the dynamic general equilibrium path of an economy and the associated optimal growth path in a two-sector overlapping generation model with a stock pollutant. A sector (power generation) is polluting, and the other (final good) is not. Pollution is regulated by tradable emission permits. The issue is to see whether the optimal growth path can be replicated in equilibrium with pollution permits, given that some permits must be issued free of charge for the sake of political acceptability. We first analyze the many adverse impacts of free allowances, and then we propose a policy rule that allows optimality and acceptability to be reconciled. |
| Keywords: | General equilibrium; Optimal growth; Pollution; Tradable emission permits; Acceptability; |
| JEL: | D61 D9 Q28 |
| Date: | 2013–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dau:papers:123456789/12953&r=env |
| By: | Devin Bunten; Matthew E. Kahn |
| Abstract: | In the typical asset market, an asset featuring uninsurable idiosyncratic risk must offer a higher rate of return to compensate risk-averse investors. A home offers a standard asset's risk and return opportunities, but it also bundles access to its city's amenities|and to its climate risks. As climate change research reveals the true nature of these risks, how does the equilibrium real estate pricing gradient change when households can sort into different cities? When the population is homogeneous, the real estate pricing gradient instantly reflects the "new news". With population heterogeneity, an event study research design will underestimate the valuation of climate risk for households in low-risk cities while overestimating the valuation of households in high-risk areas. |
| JEL: | Q54 R3 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20018&r=env |
| By: | Makram El-Shagi; Claus Michelsen; Sebastian Rosenschon |
| Abstract: | The impact of environmental regulation on technology diffusion and innovations is studied using a unique data set of German residential buildings. We analyze how energy efficiency regulations, in terms of minimum standards, affects energy-use in newly constructed buildings and how it induces innovation in the residential-building industry. The data used consists of a large sample of German apartment houses built between 1950 and 2005. Based on this information, we determine their real energy requirements from energy performance certificates and energy billing information. We develop a new measure for regulation intensity and apply a panel-error-correction regression model to energy requirements of low and high quality housing. Our findings suggest that regulation significantly impacts technology adoption in low quality housing. This, in turn, induces improvements in the high quality segment where innovators respond to market signals. |
| Keywords: | Environmental regulation, innovation, technology diffusion, residential real estate, energy efficiency |
| JEL: | D2 Q4 R5 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1371&r=env |
| By: | Olivier C. Sterck |
| Abstract: | This paper answers two questions: “What impact have natural resources had on the spread of the HIV/AIDS epidemic so far?” and “What role can natural resource rents play in order to finance the long-run response to HIV/AIDS?” Using a panel dataset, de Soysa and Gizelis (2013) provided evidence that oil-rich countries are more deeply affected by the HIV epidemic. They concluded that government of resource-rich countries failed to implement effective public policies for dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In this paper, I show that their results are not robust and are spurious because the dependent variables and explanatory variables considered in their analysis are non-stationary. After correcting for these issues, I find no specific relationship between resource rents and the spread of HIV/AIDS. I conclude by discussing the potential of resources rents for financing the long-term liability brought about by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Keywords: | HIV/AIDS, natural resources, resource curse, epidemics, spurious regression, non-stationarity |
| JEL: | I1 I18 E6 Q32 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:csa:wpaper:2014-12&r=env |
| By: | Gabriella Doci; Eleftheria Vasileiadou |
| Abstract: | The paper analyses individual motivations for partaking in local renewable projects and generating energy jointly in an investment community. To do so, we applied a socio-psychological approach for studying renewable energy communities in Germany and the Netherlands. Our results show that mainly gain and normative considerations played a role in the decision, but in the background hedonic motivations were also present. Although, these considerations were driven mostly from the individual’s perspective we also found group motivations, such as strengthening the local community and improving the neighborhood’s condition. Each of the groups examined were formed in already existing strong communities, where trust was relatively high, which seems to be an important condition for the realization of local energy projects. Consequently, we argue that tailor-made incentives addressing the dominant motivations can help the most effectively the operation and spread of renewable energy communities. |
| Keywords: | renewable energy communities, motivations, goal-framing theory, joint investment |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ein:tuecis:1408&r=env |