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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Tetsuya Uetake |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel and, it can also bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment such as biodiversity, water and soil quality. These environmental externalities from agricultural activities may also have characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. When they have these characteristics, they can be defined as agri-environmental public goods. Agri-environmental public goods need not necessarily be desirable; that is, they may cause harm and can be defined as agri-environmental public bads. Public Goods and Externalities: Agri-environmental Policy Measures in Japan aims to improve understanding of the best policy measures to provide agri-environmental public goods and reduce agri-environmental public bads by looking at the experiences of Japan. This report provides information to contribute to policy design that addresses the provision of agri-environmental public goods, including the reduction of agri-environmental public bads. It is one of five country case studies (Australia, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States) which provide input into the main OECD book, Public goods and externalities: Agri-environmental policy measures in selected OECD countries |
| Keywords: | Japan, public goods, externalities, agri-environmental policies |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 Q54 Q55 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:81-en&r=env |
| By: | David Pannell; Anna Roberts |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel and, it can also bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment such as biodiversity, water and soil quality. These environmental externalities from agricultural activities may also have characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. When they have these characteristics, they can be defined as agri-environmental public goods. Agri-environmental public goods need not necessarily be desirable; that is, they may cause harm and can be defined as agri-environmental public bads. Public Goods and Externalities: Agri-environmental Policy Measures in Australia aims to improve the understanding of best policy measures to provide agri-environmental public goods and reduce agri-environmental public bads by looking at the experience of Australia. This report provides information to contribute to policy design addressing the provision of agri-environmental public goods including the reduction of agri-environmental public bads. It is one of the five country case studies (Australia, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States), which provide inputs into the main OECD book, Public goods and externalities: Agri-environmental policy measures in selected OECD countries. |
| Keywords: | Australia, public goods, externalities, agri-environmental policies |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 Q54 Q55 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:80-en&r=env |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Office of the General Counsel, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Office of the General Counsel, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | This Review and Compendium of Environmental Policies and Laws in Bhutan aims to facilitate access to information for all stakeholders engaged in the environment sector, in particular for the Judiciary and administrative officials responsible for overseeing the protection of the country’s natural resources. Moreover, it seeks to empower citizens to take action in support of environmental protection. It provides background information on Bhutan, as well as an introduction and overview of key environment, natural resources, and climate change, laws, rules, policies, and regulations of the country. This publication is one of the key proposals of the Royal Court of Bhutan as a follow-up action to the Second South Asia Judicial Roundtable on Environmental Justice held in Thimphu, Bhutan on 30-31 August 2013. |
| Keywords: | Bhutan; environment; environmental laws; environmental regulations; environmental law enforcement; environmental policies; Royal Court of Justice of Bhutan; judiciary; Asian Judges Network on Environment (AJNE); Second South Asia Judicial Roundtable on Environmental Justice; National Environment Commission; National Environmental Protection Act; climate change; biodiversity |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146843-3&r=env |
| By: | James S. Shortle |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel and, it can also bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment such as biodiversity, water and soil quality. These environmental externalities from agricultural activities may also have characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. When they have these characteristics, they can be defined as agri-environmental public goods. Agri-environmental public goods need not necessarily be desirable; that is, they may cause harm and can be defined as agri-environmental public bads. Public Goods and Externalities: Agri-environmental Policy Measures in the United States aims to improve our understanding of the best policy measures to provide agri-environmental public goods and reduce agri-environmental public bads, by looking at the experiences of the United States. This report provides information to contribute to policy design addressing the provision of agri-environmental public goods including the reduction of agri-environmental public bads. It is one of the five country case studies (Australia, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States), which provide inputs into the main OECD book, Public Goods, Externalities and Agri-environmental Policy Measures. |
| Keywords: | United States, public goods, externalities, agri-environmental policies |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 Q54 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–06–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:84-en&r=env |
| By: | Raymond Schrijver; Tetsuya Uetake |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel and, it can also bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment such as biodiversity, water and soil quality. These environmental externalities from agricultural activities may also have characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. When they have these characteristics, they can be defined as agri-environmental public goods. Agri-environmental public goods need not necessarily be desirable; that is, they may cause harm and can be defined as agri-environmental public bads. Public Goods and Externalities: Agri-environmental Policy Measures in the Netherlands aims to improve our understanding of the best policy measures to provide agri-environmental public goods and reduce agri-environmental public bads, by looking at the experiences of the Netherlands. This report provides information to contribute to policy design addressing the provision of agri-environmental public goods including the reduction of agri-environmental public bads. It is one of the five country case studies (Australia, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States), which provide inputs into the main OECD book, Public Goods, Externalities and Agri-environmental Policy Measures in Selected OECD Countries. |
| Keywords: | Netherlands, public goods, externalities, agri-environmental policies |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:82-en&r=env |
| By: | James Jones; Paul Silcock |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is a provider of commodities such as food, feed, fibre and fuel and, it can also bring both positive and negative impacts on the environment such as biodiversity, water and soil quality. These environmental externalities from agricultural activities may also have characteristics of non-rivalry and non-excludability. When they have these characteristics, they can be defined as agri-environmental public goods. Agri-environmental public goods need not necessarily be desirable; that is, they may cause harm and can be defined as agri-environmental public bads. Public Goods and Externalities: Agri-environmental Policy Measures in the United Kingdom aims to improve our understanding of the best policy measures to provide agri-environmental public goods and reduce agri-environmental public bads, by looking at the experiences of the United Kingdom. This report provides information to contribute to policy design addressing the provision of agri-environmental public goods including the reduction of agri-environmental public bads. It is one of the five country case studies (Australia, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and United States), which provide inputs into the main OECD book, Public Goods, Externalities and Agri-environmental Policy Measures in Selected OECD Countries. |
| Keywords: | United Kingdom, public goods, externalities, agri-environmental policies |
| Date: | 2015–06–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:83-en&r=env |
| By: | Frank L. Bartels; Bianca Cravenna |
| Abstract: | The pivotal issue in the current wide-ranging debate on sustainability, economic growth, the environment and Low Carbon Development (LCD) , taking departure from the perspective of “The Limits to Growth”, is managing the global commons (Nordhaus, 1994) in an intergenerational context (Arrow et al., 2013). Jordan and Fortin (2002. p. 366) conclude that biological relationships in ecological systems require maintenance and “thus, sustainability is a scale and topology issue, requiring not just the size of the economy in resource use per capita, but such an ecological value (spatial scarcity, ecological turnover times, inter-generational environmental lags) linked over space and time”. In this paper an overview of the different positions regarding LCD is provided and it is argued that it is necessary for industrialized countries to take action in order to allow sustainable growth. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, low carbon development, green energy, sustainability, economic growth. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aal:glowps:2015-03&r=env |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | Asia and the Pacific region is expected to be hit hard by the impacts of climate change. Developing member countries (DMCs) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are among the most vulnerable, with seven of the top ten vulnerable countries being in the region. Scaling-up of mitigation and adaptation efforts are among ADB’s mid-term priorities for 2020. ADB is reaffirming its commitment to invest $2 billion annually in clean energy. ADB also aims for $30 billion more for sustainable transport by 2021. Enhancing focus on adaptation, the linkage between disaster risk management and adaptation, and climate financing are also priority action areas for ADB’s assistance to DMCs. This publication seeks to address these concerns by showcasing a number of useful technologies that can be used to address the impact of climate change across six sectors: agriculture, coastal resources, human health, transportation, water resources, and disaster risk management. The solutions presented may serve to demystify the technologies surrounding adaptation options. |
| Keywords: | climate change; adaptation; climate technology; vulnerability |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146719-3&r=env |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | Asia and the Pacific region is expected to be hit hard by the impacts of climate change. Developing member countries (DMCs) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are among the most vulnerable, with seven of the top ten vulnerable countries being in the region. Scaling-up of mitigation and adaptation efforts are among ADB’s mid-term priorities for 2020. ADB is reaffirming its commitment to invest $2 billion annually in clean energy. ADB also aims for $30 billion more for sustainable transport by 2021. Enhancing focus on adaptation, the linkage between disaster risk management and adaptation, and climate financing are also priority action areas for ADB’s assistance to DMCs. This publication seeks to address these concerns by showcasing a number of useful technologies that can be used to address the impact of climate change across six sectors: agriculture, coastal resources, human health, transportation, water resources, and disaster risk management. The solutions presented may serve to demystify the technologies surrounding adaptation options. |
| Keywords: | climate change; adaptation; climate technology; vulnerability |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146982-3&r=env |
| By: | Jacques Véron (INED); Valérie Golaz (INED) |
| Abstract: | Though environmental migration is an issue of growing importance, it is often difficult to determine whether environmental change is the main factor involved. Climate change is likely to result in more frequent and severe “natural” disasters, but mobility is only one possible response; others involve adapting the exposed territories to new constraints. If mobility is to become a strategy for anticipating and responding to the effects of natural disasters, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms at play when populations move. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idg:posoce:522&r=env |
| By: | Matthew S. Clancy; GianCarlo Moschini (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)) |
| Abstract: | Mandates are policy tools that are becoming increasingly popular to promote renewable energy use. In addition to mitigating the pollution externality of conventional energy, mandates have the potential to promote R&D investments in renewable energy technology. But how well do mandates perform as innovation incentives? To address this question, we develop a partial equilibrium model with endogenous innovation to examine the R&D incentives induced by a mandate, and compare this policy to two benchmark situations: laissez-faire and a carbon tax. Innovation is stochastic and the model permits an endogenous number of multiple innovators. We find that mandates can improve upon laissez faire, and that the prospect of innovation is essential for their desirability. However, mandates suffer from several limitations. A mandate creates relatively strong incentives for investment in R&D in low-quality innovations, but relatively weak incentives to invest in high-quality innovations, so that the dispersion of realized innovation quality is comparatively low. Moreover, a mandate achieves lower welfare than a carbon tax, and its optimal level is more sensitive to the structure of the innovation process. Key Words: Carbon tax, Incentive, Innovation, Mandates, Renewable energy, R&D, Welfare. JEL codes: H23, O31, Q42, Q55, Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:15-wp557&r=env |
| By: | Ada Ignaciuk |
| Abstract: | Farmers will undertake many adaptation actions to meet changing climate conditions and will often do so without any government intervention. However, when such actions provide both private and public benefits, the public sector may play a role in how these are developed. This report aims to establish a framework to help identify specific actions that governments could take in this respect and that could avoid sending signals leading to non-adaptation or maladaptation. This report begins with a review of national adaptation strategies for the agricultural sector in OECD countries and highlights different approaches undertaken by governments. It then identifies the main criteria under which governments may take action to increase the resilience of the agricultural sector and its adaptive capacity to climate change. Finally, it discusses strategies to monitor and evaluate adaptation policies. |
| Keywords: | Public policies, adaptation to climate change, adaptation strategies, monitoring and evaluation of adaptation, adaptation of the agricultural sector |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 Q54 Q55 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:85-en&r=env |
| By: | Bardt, Hubertus; Schaefer, Thilo |
| Abstract: | Die internationale Klimakonferenz von Paris stellt einen weiteren Versuch dar, für die Bereitstellung des globalen öffentlichen Guts Klimaschutz die notwendige Kooperation zwischen den verhandelnden Staaten zu organisieren. Dabei geht es im Wesentlichen um die Verteilung der damit verbundenen Lasten. Seit dem Abkommen von Kyoto konnte keine weitere bindende Vereinbarung für den internationalen Klimaschutz getroffen werden. Die Emissionen sind seit den neunziger Jahren nicht etwa zurückgegangen, sondern haben sich deutlich erhöht. In diesem Papier wird eine Lastverteilung zwischen den wichtigsten Industrie- und Schwellenländern vorgeschlagen, die sich am Wohlstand des jeweiligen Landes orientiert, gleichzeitig aber Wachstumsperspektiven berücksichtigt. Insbesondere wird auch die besondere Situation der Schwellenländer berücksichtigt, deren Emissionen in den letzten 20 Jahren massiv gestiegen sind. Die ersten Verhandlungsangebote einzelner Staaten bewegen sich auf einem vergleichbaren Niveau. [...] |
| Keywords: | Emissionshandel,Erneuerbare Energien,Fossile Energien,Klimapolitik,Klimawandel,Climate Change,Climate Policy,Fossil Fuels,Renewable Energy,Trade in Emissions |
| JEL: | Q52 Q58 F53 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwkpps:132015&r=env |
| By: | Malikov, Emir; Kumbhakar, Subal C.; Tsionas, Efthymios G. |
| Abstract: | This paper models the firm's production process as a system of simultaneous technologies for desirable and undesirable outputs. Desirable outputs are produced by transforming inputs via the conventional transformation function, whereas (consistent with the material balance condition) undesirable outputs are by-produced via the so-called "residual generation technology". By separating the production of undesirable outputs from that of desirable outputs, not only do we ensure that undesirable outputs are not modeled as inputs and thus satisfy costly disposability, but we are also able to differentiate between the traditional (desirable-output-oriented) technical productivity and the undesirable-output-oriented environmental, or so-called "green", productivity. To measure the latter, we derive a Solow-type Divisia environmental productivity index which, unlike conventional productivity indices, allows crediting the ceteris paribus reduction in undesirable outputs. Our index also provides a meaningful way to decompose environmental productivity into environmental technological and efficiency changes. |
| Keywords: | bad output, by-production, efficiency, MCMC, productivity |
| JEL: | C11 C30 C43 D24 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64877&r=env |
| By: | Grimm, Michael; Peters, Jörg |
| Abstract: | Local beer breweries in Burkina Faso absorb a considerable amount of urban woodfuel demand. We assess the woodfuel savings caused by the adoption of improved brewing stoves by these micro-breweries and estimate the implied welfare effects through the woodfuel market on private households as well as the environmental effect. We find substantial wood savings among the breweries and, subsequently, huge welfare gains for households and reductions in CO2-emissions. Since woodfuel is predominantly used for cooking by the poorer strata, the intervention under study is an example for a green growth intervention with pro-poor welfare gains - something green growth strategies should look for. |
| Abstract: | Ein erheblicher Teil der städtischen Nachfrage nach Holzbrennstoffen in Burkina Faso ist auf lokale Bierbrauereien zurückzuführen. In einem ersten Schritt untersuchen wir die Brennholzeinsparungen, die durch die Nutzung verbesserter Herde im Brauprozess der lokalen Kleinbrauereien erzielt werden können. Im nächsten Schritt schätzen wir die Effekte möglicher Ersparnisse auf die Wohlfahrt privater Haushalte über den Brennholzmarkt und die Umweltauswirkungen. Wir finden eine substanzielle Reduzierung des Brennholzkonsums der Kleinbrauereien und daraus folgend erhebliche Wohlfahrtsgewinne privater Haushalte und einen Rückgang von CO2-Emissionen. Da Brennholz überwiegend von armen Bevölkerungsschichten zum Kochen genutzt wird, ist die betrachtete Politikmaßnahme zur Reduzierung des Holzverbrauchs ein Beispiel dafür, dass Interventionen zugleich umweltfreundliches Wachstum induzieren und Armut reduzieren können - eine Kombination, die so genannte Green Growth-Strategien anstreben sollten. |
| Keywords: | Burkina Faso,demand for woodfuel,green growth,impact evaluation,improved stoves,technology adoption |
| JEL: | D2 D6 I3 O3 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:538&r=env |
| By: | Marius Bulearca (CEIS-INCE, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania); Cristian Sima (CEIS-INCE, Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania) |
| Abstract: | The extractive industry is unanimously acknowledged as being a vital sector of any country which owns workable natural resources. The experts claim that this industry is a source of foreign income, of direct foreign investments and it is also the main and sometimes the only energy provider of a country. The activities carried out within the extractive industry of any country provide employment to population and contribute to the public budget by taxes and dues, while the incomes resulted from these activities can be directed towards charity; however, at the same time, there is a certain environmental risk related to each initiative that is being carried out in this industry. |
| Keywords: | extractive industry, non-renewable resources, environment, impact, sustainable energetic development |
| JEL: | Q32 Q56 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rjr:wpconf:141102&r=env |
| By: | Paul J. Burke (Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia); Hua Liao (Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China) |
| Abstract: | ChinaÕs dependence on coal is a major contributor to local and global environmental problems. In this paper we estimate the price elasticity of demand for coal in China using a panel of province-level data for the period 1998Ð2012. We find evidence that provincial coal demand has become increasingly price elastic. As of 2012 we estimate that this elasticity was in the range Ð0.3 to Ð0.7 when responses over two years are considered. The results imply that ChinaÕs coal market is becoming more suited to price-based approaches to reducing emissions. Our estimates suggest that the elimination of coal consumption subsidies could reduce national coal use and related emissions by around 2%. |
| Keywords: | coal; price elasticity; demand; China; provincial |
| JEL: | O13 Q41 P28 Q48 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:1506&r=env |
| By: | Narodoslawsky, Michael |
| Abstract: | Although it is still not warranted to speak about the end of the fossil age, we certainly witness a trend towards renewable sources for energy and material. Properties of bio-resources however differ vastly from fossil as well as other renewable resources. They are storable, mainly de-central in their provision, have usually weak logistic properties and face severe competition from various sectors, in particular from the vital food sector. A stronger reliance on bio-resources to support the European energy system as well as to provide raw materials for conversion to material products therefore raises technical, societal and environmental issues that have to be resolved if a bio-economy is to become a viable development pathway. |
| Keywords: | bio-economy, bio-resource-utilisation, strong-sustainability |
| Date: | 2014–12–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ita:itaman:14_02&r=env |
| By: | Frondel, Manuel; Krätschell, Karoline; Zwick, Lina |
| Abstract: | The voluntary adoption of environmental management systems (EMS), frequently certified by third-party audits following international standards, has become a vital supplement to mandatory environmental policies based on regulation and legislation. Although there is empirical evidence that both EMS adoption and certification can effectively improve firms' environmental performance, the impact on their business performance is far from clear. Drawing upon an OECD survey including more than 4,000 manufacturing facilities, this paper fills this void by estimating the impact of both EMS adoption and certification on facilities' business performance using statistical matching techniques. While our results indicate that the pure adoption of EMS without any certification does not enhance facilities' business performance, the financial performance of certified facilities turns out to be significantly high. |
| Abstract: | Die freiwillige Implementierung von Umweltmanagementsystemen, welche oftmals auch nach internationalen Standards zertifiziert werden, ist mittlerweile eine bedeutende Ergänzung zur gesetzlichen Umweltregulierung. Laut empirischer Evidenz verbessert sowohl die Implementierung als auch die Zertifizierung dieser Umweltmanagementsysteme die Umweltperformance von Unternehmen in effektiver Weise. Der Einfluss auf den wirtschaftlichen Erfolg von Betrieben ist jedoch unklar. Basierend auf einer OECD-Umfrage unter mehr als 4 000 Betrieben im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe wird in diesem Papier der Einfluss sowohl der Implementierung als auch der Zertifizierung von Umweltmanagementsystemen auf die finanzielle Entwicklung der Betriebe mit Hilfe von statistischen Matching-Methoden untersucht. Unsere Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass die Zertifizierung von Umweltmanagementsystemen tatsächlich den Gewinn von Betrieben verbessert, während eine reine Implementierung keine Effekte hat. |
| Keywords: | environmental regulation,matching methods |
| JEL: | O33 O38 Q28 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:519&r=env |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Office of the General Counsel, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Office of the General Counsel, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | From 10–12 March 2013, the Asian Development Bank and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora convened chief justices, justices, attorneys general, high-ranking law enforcers, and representatives from intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations and civil society to discuss critical wildlife issues in a symposium held as a side event of the 16th Conference of the Parties. Eminent experts in the field and partners in the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime highlighted the significance of wildlife crime as a transnational organized crime, the wildlife species targeted by wildlife crime syndicates, primary trade routes, and the various strategies of dealing with wildlife crime. The participants left equipped with the necessary substantive and technical knowledge to effectively combat wildlife crime, secure enforcement, ensure justice, and uphold the rule of law. |
| Keywords: | environmental enforcement, wildlife crimes, law enforcement agencies, environmental jurisprudence, courts, rule of law, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Asian Development Bank, wildlife crime, wildlife trade, wildlife trafficking, illegal wildlife trade, CITES, ADB, transnational organized crime, wildlife law, wildlife law enforcement, environmental sustainability, good governance, national security, biodiversity, demand for wildlife products, wildlife forensics, anti–money laundering |
| Date: | 2014–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146586-3&r=env |
| By: | Droste, Nils; Meya, Jasper N. |
| Abstract: | We study the incorporation of ecosystem services in German water infrastructure planning exemplified by a projected deepening of the Lower Weser river channel. Therefore, we recalculate the project's benefit-cost ratio by integrating the monetary value of changes in different ecosystem services: i) the restoration costs of a planned mitigation measure for a loss in fresh water supply for agricultural production in the estuary, ii) costs of loss in habitat services by transferring the willingness to pay between a contingent valuation study to the area assessed in the environmental impact assessment, and iii) the benefits of emission savings induced by more efficient shipping taking a marginal abatement cost approach. We find that the inclusion of monetary values for ecosystem service changes leads to a substantial drop in the benefit-cost ratio and consequently argue for a reform of the standard to facilitate more complete welfare assessments. |
| Keywords: | ecosystem services,cost-benefit analysis,infrastructure planning,river deepening,Germany |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ufzdps:82015&r=env |
| By: | Byrnes, Liam; Brown, Colin |
| Abstract: | As Australia grapples with increasing renewable energy penetration and the appropriate climate change strategy, renewable energy policy plays an increasingly important role. In recent years the renewable energy policy environment has become increasingly politicised and uncertain. The implications for the industry are significant. In light of this policy environment, this paper sets out the economic theory behind public sector market intervention and contextualises it within the Australian renewable energy context. It highlights the barriers facing renewable energy deployment and explores the current status of Australian renewable energy policy. This analysis reveals market failures and other barriers to deployment as well as entrenched enabling policy, regulatory and institutional frameworks for fossil fuel industries. This context was found to justify government intervention to support the renewables sector and improve overall economic efficiency. Building on this analysis, five observations relevant to the development of future renewable energy policy are outlined. |
| Keywords: | Energy Policy; Energy; Renewable Energy Policy; Renewable; Policy Development; Australia |
| JEL: | E61 E65 H0 H3 O2 O3 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64977&r=env |
| By: | Frondel, Manuel |
| Abstract: | Mit dem Ziel, die Treibhausgasemissionen bis zum Jahr 2020 um mindestens 20 Prozent gegenüber dem Niveau von 1990 zu senken, übernahm die Europäische Union (EU) die weltweite Vorreiterrolle bei der Reduzierung des Treibhausgasausstoßes. Doch dieser vermeintlich lobenswerte Vorstoß ist nicht nur ineffizient, er kann für das zu erreichende Ziel sogar kontraproduktiv wirken: Die hohen selbst gesetzten Emissionsminderungsziele begünstigen etwa die Entscheidungen in anderen Ländern, ihre klimapolitischen Anstrengungen zu reduzieren, anstatt diese zu erhöhen. Insbesondere angesichts der hohen Emissionen in China und den USA spielt der Treibhausgasausstoß der EU weltweit nur eine sehr untergeordnete Rolle. Mögliche Alternativen zu ambitionierten einseitigen Emissionsminderungen wären ein weltweites Abkommen zur Erhöhung der Ausgaben für F&E zu Energieumwandlungs- und -speichertechnologien sowie Politikmaßnahmen wie der Bau und die Erhöhung von Deichen als Anpassung an die globale Erwärmung. Von diesen würden die europäischen Länder in erster Linie selbst profitieren und hätten daher ein hohes Eigeninteresse an der Umsetzung. |
| Abstract: | The European Union (EU) plays a leading role in the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions. But the EU's cutting-edge status is not only inefficient, it may also be counterproductive, as ambitious emissions reduction targets may encourage other countries to curb their reduction efforts. The EU plays just a minor role in worldwide emission levels in comparison with high emitting countries such as China and the United States. More reasonable alternatives to ambitious unilateral abatement measures are international agreements on raising funds for R&D on energy saving technologies as well as adaptation strategies to global warming from which each country will benefit directly. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwipos:62&r=env |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Regional and Sustainable Development Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | The transport sector is key to the continued economic development of Asia and the Pacific. By improving connectivity and making the movement of goods and people more affordable, transport contributes to economic growth, efficiency, and competitiveness while providing poor people with access to economic opportunities and services. Various components of the transport infrastructure are exposed and vulnerable to climate change. This is of particular concern to countries in Asia and the Pacific which will experience significant adverse impacts from a changing climate. The Asian Development Bank has put in place a systematic framework guiding the conduct of climate risk and vulnerability assessments of investment projects. Ongoing initiatives will address some of the key challenges encountered when conducting climate risk and vulnerability assessments, including access to readily available climate change information. |
| Keywords: | climate change; adaptation; climate technology |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt146741-2&r=env |
| By: | Caspar Sauter (Institute of economic research IRENE, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland); Jean-Marie Grether (Institute of economic research IRENE, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland); Nicole A. Mathys (Federal Office for Spatial Development, Berne, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | We construct the world's centers of gravity for human population, GDP and CO2 emissions by taking the best out of five recognized data sources covering the last two centuries. We also propose a more appropriate two-map representation of the location of the center of gravity, which abstracts from the usual distortions affecting the projection of a point within a three-dimensional sphere on a two-dimensional map. This allows for a more accurate interpretation of the underlying trends. We find a radical Western shift of GDP and CO2 emissions centers during the 19th century, in sharp contrast with the stability of the demographic center of gravity. Both GDP and emissions trends are reversed in the first half of the 20th century, after World War I for CO2 emissions, and after World War II for GDP. Since then, both centers are moving eastward at an accelerating speed. These patterns are consistent with the initial lead of Western countries starting the industrial revolution and the adoption of fossil fuels as its main energy source, the impact of world con flicts, the gradual replacement of coal by oil and gas, and the progressive catch up of Asian countries, leading to a convergence in terms of both GDP and CO2 emissions per capita in the recent past. |
| Keywords: | center of gravity, growth, CO2 emissions, gdp, population, convergence |
| JEL: | Q56 Q59 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irn:wpaper:15-05&r=env |
| By: | Frondel, Manuel; Schmidt, Christoph M.; Vance, Colin |
| Abstract: | In den vergangenen Jahren erlebte Deutschland einen Solarboom. Stark fallende Preise für Solarmodule sowie die hohen Einspeisevergütungen führten dazu, dass die Photovoltaik (PV) massiv ausgebaut wurde. Dies ist entgegen erster Intuition keine gute, sondern eine gefährliche Entwicklung: In Summe und in heutigen Preisen müssen die deutschen Stromverbraucher über höhere Stromrechnungen rund 111 Mrd. Euro für die zwischen April 2000 und Ende 2013 installierten PV-Anlagen zahlen. Den immensen Kosten stehen dabei bedauerlicherweise nur geringe positive Umweltwirkungen gegenüber. Die zahlreichen Insolvenzen von Solarunternehmen haben zudem gezeigt, dass der durch die Förderung ausgelöste (Brutto-) Beschäftigungseffekt nicht nachhaltig war. Um eine durch solch eklatante Fehlentwicklungen ausgelöste Abkehr breiter Bevölkerungsschichten von der Energiewende zu verhindern, empfehlen wir, an Stelle des Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetzes (EEG) ein alternatives Instrument zur kosteneffizienteren Förderung erneuerbarer Energien einzusetzen. Der weitere PV-Ausbau sollte in jedem Fall schnellstmöglich gestoppt werden, anstatt ihn weiterhin - und in Form des Eigenverbrauchs von Solarstrom sogar in zunehmend stärkerem Maße - zu fördern. |
| Abstract: | In recent years, Germany experienced an unprecedented boom in the production of solar electricity based on photovoltaic (PV). The massive spread of PV-technology among private households was mainly due to the fact that prices for solar panels were profoundly declining while the government guaranteed high-level feed-in tariffs to producers. The result is exploding costs with little to show for either environmental or domestic employment benefits. Indeed, this RWI Position policy paper documents that subsidies for PV, which have to be paid for by German consumers, amount to a total of 111 Bn so far. Moreover, with installed PV-capacities growing at a rapid rate, these costs will continue to accumulate, risking the general public´s support for the exit from nuclear and fossilfuel energy. Instead of further continuing along the path of photovoltaic subsidies, as outlined in the German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), this paper recommends a more cost-effective way towards an energy transition. Current reform efforts regarding the EEG should aim in this direction. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwipos:57&r=env |
| By: | Polyakov, Maksym; Fogarty, James; Zhang, Fan; Pandit, Ram; Pannell, David J. |
| Abstract: | Many urban streams have been cleared of native vegetation and converted to open drains resulting in a loss of ecological and aesthetic function. There is a growing recognition of the importance of these functions and work is being done to restore urban drains and create fully functioning wetland ecosystems (“living streams”). Such restoration work involves substantial cost, and it is important to know if the benefits generated from “living streams” are greater than restoration costs. This paper presents a detailed economic analysis of an urban drain restoration project in Perth, Western Australia. Controlling for other factors, we find homes within 200m of the restoration site increased in value by 4.4% once the restored area became fully established. When we compare benefits to cost we find that, with real discount rates of 5%, 7%, and 9%, project benefit−cost ratios are 2.6, 2.5, and 2.2, respectively. We then show that current institutional arrangements in Western Australia make it difficult to implement urban drain restoration projects, even when project benefits are greater than project costs. The paper concludes by identifying changes to governance arrangements that would allow value enhancing restoration projects to be undertaken. |
| Keywords: | Stream restoration, Water Sensitive Urban Design, Economic valuation, Hedonic Pricing Method, Governance, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Q51, Q58, R22, |
| Date: | 2015–06–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uwauwp:206300&r=env |
| By: | Faqin Lin (Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE)); Nicholas C.S. Sim (School of Economics, University of Adelaide); Ngoc Pham (School of Economics, University of Adelaide) |
| Abstract: | Child mortality is a persistent problem for the worldÂ’s least developed countries (LDCs). Given that trade fosters economic development, one plausible solution is to raise the low levels oftrade in the LDCs, but how effective this approach might be could depend on the quality of institutions. In this paper, we use a novel instrumental variable approach to estimate the effect that trade might have on child mortality in the LDCs. We find that trade does not lead to lower levels of child mortality. In fact, in autocratic LDCs, trade could even cause child mortality to increase as we find that pollution, which adversely affects health, may rise with trade. |
| Keywords: | Child Mortality, Trade, Institutions, Environment, Least Developed Countries |
| JEL: | I3 O1 F18 P16 |
| Date: | 2015–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adl:wpaper:2015-15&r=env |
| By: | Aflaki , Sam; Mazahir , Shumail |
| Abstract: | This paper seeks to identify the optimal policies for promoting product recovery and remanufacturing. Using a stylized equilibrium model, the authors analyze the problem as a Stackelberg game between a regulator and a monopolistic firm. They compare three types of policies that legislated regulation could effect: (i) A recovery target policy that requires firms to recover no less than a specified fraction of their production for proper disposal or possible remanufacturing; (ii) a taxation policy that both taxes manufacturing and subsidizes remanufacturing; and (iii) a newly introduced mixed approach that incorporates a recovery target as well as taxes and subsidies. They study a firm's behavior under the three policy types, including pricing decisions for new and remanufactured products as well as the strategic decision of whether to create a secondary channel for remanufactured products. They find that legislative intervention makes it more likely that firms will maintain a single-market strategy. The authors further demonstrate the mixed approach's superiority as measured by a comprehensive set of economic and environmental criteria, and show that this finding is robust under two different objective functions for the policy maker, one that does and one that does not entail a budget neutrality constraint. |
| Keywords: | product recovery; remanufacturing; optimal sustainable policies; closed-loop supply chains |
| Date: | 2015–04–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ebg:heccah:1091&r=env |
| By: | Simon Levin; Anastasios Xepapadeas |
| Abstract: | We seek to explain the emergence of spatial heterogeneity regarding development and pollution on the basis of interactions associated with the movement of capital and polluting activities from one economy to another. We use a simple dynamical model describing capital accumulation along the lines of a xed-savings-ratio Solow-type model capable of producing endogenous growth and convergence behavior, and pollution accumulation in each country with pollution diffusion between countries or regions. The basic mechanism underlying the movements of capital across space is the quest for locations where the marginal productivity of capital is relatively higher than the productivity at the location of origin. The notion that capital moves to locations of relatively higher productivity but not necessarily from locations of high concentration to locations of low concentration, does not face difficulties associated with the Lucas paradox. We show that, for a wide range of capital and pollution rates of flow, spatial heterogeneity emerges even between two economies with identical fundamental structures. These results can be interpreted as suggesting that the neoclassical convergence hypothesis might not hold under differential rates of flow of capital and polluting activities among countries of the same fundamental structure. |
| Keywords: | Transboundary flows, Capital, Pollution, Diffusion, Turing instability, Spatial heterogeneity |
| JEL: | O44 R12 Q52 C65 |
| Date: | 2015–06–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:1512&r=env |
| By: | Iimi,Atsushi; You,Liangzhi; Wood-Sichra,Ulrike; Humphrey,Richard Martin |
| Abstract: | Africa is estimated to have great potential for agricultural production, but there are a number of constraints inhibiting the development of that potential. Spatial data are increasingly important in the realization of potential as well as the associated constraints. With crop production data generated at 5-minute spatial resolution, the paper applies the spatial tobit regression model to estimate the possible impacts of improvements in transport accessibility in East Africa. It is found that rural accessibility and access to markets are important to increase agricultural production. In particular for export crops, such as coffee, tea, tobacco, and cotton, access to ports is crucial. The elasticities are estimated at 0.3?4.6. In addition, the estimation results show that spatial autocorrelation matters to the estimation results. While a random shock in a particular locality would likely affect its neighboring places, the spatial autoregressive term can be positive or negative, depending on how fragmented the current production areas are. |
| Keywords: | Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Climate Change and Agriculture,Rural Development Knowledge&Information Systems,Crops and Crop Management Systems,Food&Beverage Industry |
| Date: | 2015–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7281&r=env |
| By: | Hülsbergen, Kurt-Jürgen (Ed.); Rahmann, Gerold (Ed.) |
| Abstract: | Im vorliegenden Abschlussbericht wird über die im Projektverbund "Klimawirkungen und Nachhaltigkeit ökologischer und konventioneller Betriebssysteme - Untersuchungen in einem Netzwerk von Pilotbetrieben" durchgeführten Arbeiten berichtet. Die Projekte werden im Rahmen des "Bundesprogramms Ökologischer Landbau und andere Formen nachhaltiger Landwirtschaft" vom Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft über die Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung unter den Förderkennzeichen 06OE160 (Technische Universität München) und 06OE353 (Thünen- Institut) gefördert. Der Bericht enthält Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen der Jahre 2013 und 2014. Erkenntnisse aus den ersten vier Projektjahren wurden bereits im Thünen Report 8 (2013) publiziert. Der projektübergreifende Charakter des Forschungsberichts ist fachlich begründet und erfolgt in Abstimmung aller Projektpartner und fördernden Institutionen. Projektziele und Vorgehensweise sowie die Ergebnisse der am Projekt beteiligten Arbeitsgruppen werden in eigenständigen Artikeln dargestellt. An ausgewählten Pilotbetrieben wird gezeigt, welche betrieblichen Optimierungsansätze in den Bereichen Tiergesundheit und Tierwohl und der Ressourceneffizienz (Nährstoff-, Energie- und Landnutzungseffizienz) vorstellbar sind. Grundlage hierfür sind Monitoringdaten und modellgestützte Analysen, erste Auswertungen zu Tiergesundheit und Tierwohl nach dem 'Welfare Quality Assessment protocol for cattle' sowie zum Arzneimitteleinsatz in der Milchviehhaltung. Im Teil 'Wissenschafts-Praxis-Transfer' wird untersucht, ob die Daten und die neu entwickelten Beratungsinstrumente betriebliche Entwicklungsprozesse wirksam unterstützen. |
| Abstract: | In this final report results of the joint project "Climate Effects and Sustainability of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems - Assessment in a Network of Pilot Farms" are presented. The project is funded within the "Federal Programme for Organic and Sustainable Farming" by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture via the Federal Office of Agriculture and Food (project numbers 06OE160, Technical University Munich and 06OE353, Thünen-Institute). Results of the years 2013 to 2014 are given. Outcomes of the first four project years were already presented in Thünen Report 8 (2013). The report is published in agreement between the project partners and the funding bodies. It has a transdisciplinary character. General project aims, methodologies and models that were used and the results created in the individual working groups are presented in separate articles. For selected farms of the network, potentials to improve sustainability in animal health and welfare as well as in resource efficiency (nutrients, energy, land use) are shown. This was done based on results of the 'Welfare Quality Assessment protocol for cattle', on the use of veterinary drugs, on agronomic monitoring data and on model based analyses. In the field of 'science-into-practice' it is analysed how the project results and the advisory concepts that were developed might support future development of farms. |
| Keywords: | Klimawirkungen,Tiergesundheit,Tierwohl,Ressourceneffizienz,Betriebsberatung,Climate effects,animal health,animal welfare,resource efficiency,farm advisory concepts |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:jhtire:29&r=env |
| By: | Jordt, Stefanie; Ludewig, Dirk |
| Abstract: | [Ziele der Untersuchung] Um den aktuellen Stand der SPICE-Partner im Vergleich zu Aktivitäten an anderen Hochschulen zu erfassen, wurde ein Benchmarking-Sonderteil angestrebt, der sich ganz speziell dem Themengebiet des Green Entrepreneurship widmet. Nicht nur um die bereits geleistete Arbeit besser bewerten zu können und ihr ein Gewicht zu verleihen, sondern auch um für die Zukunft gut aufgestellt zu sein. So ist ein weiteres Ziel dieser Untersuchung, Best-Practice-Maßnahmen zu identifizieren und zu analysieren. Diese herausragenden Maßnahmen können bei zukünftigen Aktionen der beteiligten Partner mit einfließen und das akademische Angebot vor Ort dementsprechend prägen und verändern. [Gang der Untersuchung] Im zweiten Kapitel wird zunächst eine generelle Übersicht über die Angebote im Bereich des Green Entrepreneurship geboten, bevor es im dritten Kapitel mit einer näheren Analyse ausgesuchter Vergleichshochschulen weiter geht. Kapitel vier befasst sich mit einer genaueren Bestandsaufnahme der ausgewählten Best- Practice-Maßnahmen der zuvor untersuchten Hochschulen. In Kapitel 5 werden die Angebote der SPICE-Partner im Bereich Green Entrepreneurship dargestellt. Den Abschluss bildet Kapitel sechs, in dem vergleichende Schlussfolgerungen gezogen werden und Handlungsempfehlungen/Ansatzpunkte für zukünftige Aktivitäten im Bereich des Green Entrepreneurship abgeleitet werden. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dwjzhe:8&r=env |
| By: | Tommaso Proietti (University of Rome “Tor Vergata” and Creates); Eric Hillebrand (Aarhus University and CREATES) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to assess how climate change is reflected in the variation of the seasonal patterns of the monthly Central England Temperature time series between 1772 and 2013. In particular, we model changes in the amplitude and phase of the seasonal cycle. Starting from the seminal work by Thomson (“The Seasons, Global Temperature and Precession”, Science, 7 April 1995, vol 268, p. 59–68), a number of studies have documented a shift in the phase of the annual cycle implying an earlier onset of the spring season at various European locations. A significant reduction in the amplitude of the seasonal cycle is also documented. The literature so far has concentrated on the measurement of this phenomenon by various methods, among which complex demodulation and wavelet decompositions are prominent. We offer new insight by considering a model that allows for seasonally varying deterministic and stochastic trends, as well as seasonally varying autocorrelation and residual variances. The model can be summarized as containing a permanent and a transitory component, where global warming is captured in the permanent component, on which the seasons load differentially. The phase of the seasonal cycle, on the other hand, seems to follow Earth’s precession in a stable manner, and the reported fluctuations are identified as transitory. |
| Keywords: | Global Warming, Seasonal Models, Structural Change, Amplitude and Phase Shifts |
| JEL: | C22 |
| Date: | 2015–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:create:2015-28&r=env |
| By: | Barton, J.; Davies, L; Foxon, T.J.; Galloway, S.; Hammond, Geoff; O'Grady, Áine; Robertson, E.; Thomson, M. |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bme:wpaper:44217&r=env |
| By: | Adrián Saldarriaga Isaza; Luis Andrés Salas Portillo |
| Abstract: | Este artículo muestra una aplicación de la metodología del Valor Capital Natural en tiempo discreto de Maller (2001) buscando responder a la pregunta de si la extracción de carbón ha sido sostenible para Colombia, entre 2004 y 2011. Se estima el excedente del consumidor y del productor, a través de la estimacion de una funcion de demanda para el carbon colombiano y los estados financieros de las empresas del sector carbonífero en Colombia respectivamente. La suma de dichos excedentes da una medida de bienestar social, que junto con la tasa de descuento ambiental para Colombia determina los precios sombra bajo dos modelos de asignacion de los recursos (autónoma y no autónoma). Analizando esta informacion y el indicador de sostenibilidad empleado se concluye que la extraccion de carbón en Colombia para el periodo no ha mostrado una senda sostenible. |
| Keywords: | Bienestar intergeneracional; Valor del capital natural; Precio sombra; Sostenibilidad |
| JEL: | C20 D61 D99 O10 O50 Q30 |
| Date: | 2014–12–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000418:013003&r=env |
| By: | Andor, Mark A.; Frondel, Manuel; Sommer, Stephan |
| Abstract: | In the light of persistently low prices for allowances, there is much debate about reforming the EU emissions trading system. Based on a proposal of the European Commission, the EU plans to introduce the so called Market Stability Reserve in 2019: a mechanism that regulates the amount of allowances within the market by temporarily taking some of the allowances into a reserve. The Commission thereby aims at reducing the surplus and securing a higher market price for allowances. An alternative reform proposal is the introduction of a minimum price. This RWI position puts forward a third alternative: retaining the emissions trading system in its original form and reducing the surplus by a one-time adjustment. In 2014, 900 million allowances from the years 2014 to 2016 were back-loaded to be auctioned in the years 2019 and 2020. Instead, these allowances should be deleted. Furthermore, if necessary, the amount of allowances could be constantly decreased by reducing the cap more strongly than planned. Compared with the other reform options, retaining the emissions trading system in its original form has two major advantages: first, politically driven interventions are minimized and, second, free market prices exhibit a stabilizing effect for fluctuations caused by the business cycle. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwipos:65&r=env |
| By: | Andor, Mark; Frondel, Manuel; Sommer, Stephan |
| Abstract: | Die seit Jahren niedrigen Zertifikatspreise werden häufig als Begründung dafür angeführt, dass der EU-Emissionshandel reformiert werden muss. Politisch favorisiert wird aktuell die so genannte Marktstabilitätsreserve: ein regelbasierter Mechanismus, nach dem die Menge an Emissionsberechtigungen gesteuert wird. Alternative Reformvorschläge sind die Einführung einer Mindestpreisregelung sowie die Anpassung von Rahmenbedingungen im bestehenden System. Nach Evaluierung der drei Reformoptionen kommt diese RWI Position zu dem Schluss, dass es die beste Lösung wäre, den Emissionshandel möglichst in seiner Reinform zu belassen. Fehler aus der Vergangenheit könnten durch einen einmalig erfolgenden Eingriff beseitigt werden: die Löschung der 900 Millionen Zertifikate, die im Jahr 2014 aus dem Markt genommen wurden und in den Jahren 2019 und 2020 wieder auf den Markt gelangen sollen. Ist es politisch gewollt, könnte zusätzlich die künftige Emissionsobergrenze stärker abgesenkt werden als bisher vorgesehen. Entscheidender Vorteil des Emissionshandels in Reinform wäre, dass er nicht so stark politisch motivierten Eingriffen ausgeliefert ist wie die beiden anderen Reformvorschläge und zudem konjunkturstabilisierend wirkt. |
| Abstract: | In the light of persistently low prices for allowances, there is much debate about reforming the EU emissions trading system. The European commission proposes the establishment of a so called market stability reserve: a mechanism that regulates the amount of allowances within the market by temporarily taking some of the allowances into a reserve. The commission thereby aims at reducing the surplus and securing a higher market price for allowances. An alternative reform proposal is the introduction of a minimum price. This RWI position puts forward a third alternative: retaining the emissions trading system in its original form and reducing the surplus by a one-time adjustment. In 2014, 900 million allowances from the years 2014 to 2016 were back-loaded to be auctioned in the years 2019 and 2020. Instead, these allowances should be deleted. Furthermore, if necessary, the amount of allowances could be constantly decreased by reducing the cap more strongly than planned. Compared with the other reform options, retaining the emissions trading system in its original form has two major advantages: first, politically driven interventions are minimized and, second, free market prices exhibit a stabilizing effect for fluctuations caused by the business cycle. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwipos:64&r=env |
| By: | Silvia Faggian (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Ca’ Foscari, Italy); Giuseppe Freni (Department of Business and Economics, University of Naples “Parthenope”, Naples, Italy.) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a continuous-time “Ricardian” model of forestry, where, in response to an increase in timber demand, forest cultivation is progressively intensified on the most fertile lands and/or extended to less fertile qualities of lands. It is shown that, at a given level of the rate of interest, a set of “break-through timber prices” gives the order of fertility (i.e., the order in which the different qualities of land are taken into cultivation) and that, for each land, prices of standing trees are positive above a “threshold timber price”. Since, for each land, the break-through price is higher than the threshold price, Ricardo is shown to be right: a higher demand for timber could simply raise those components of the landlord compensation which are not rent. |
| Keywords: | Vintage Capital, Ricardian extensive rent theory, Harvesting problems, Forest Management |
| JEL: | C61 C62 E22 D90 Q23 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2015:12&r=env |
| By: | Wächter, Petra |
| Abstract: | Klimawandel und Energiekrise sind zwei Schlagworte, die den umwelt- und gesellschaftspolitischen Diskurs dominieren. Das heutige Energiesystem basiert auf dem Verbrennen fossiler Energietra¨ger, wobei große Mengen an Kohlendioxid (CO2) emittiert werden, die in Folge durch den Treibhauseffekt weitreichende Klimavera¨nderungen hervorrufen. O¨sterreich bewegt sich wie viele andere Industriestaaten bei der Nutzung fossiler Brennstoffe auf einem Niveau fernab von den Zielen der Nachhaltigkeit. Obwohl in der Energieproduktion der Anteil erneuerbarer Energieressourcen laufend steigt und Energieeffizienzmaßnahmen in allen Wirtschaftssektoren vermehrt zum Einsatz kommen, reichen die jetzigen Bemu¨hungen nicht aus, um das o¨sterreichische Energiesystem auf einen klimafreundlichen Pfad zu bringen. Anhand der Ergebnisse einer CO2-Vermeidungskostenkurve fu¨r O¨sterreich wird gezeigt, dass das Potenzial der vorhandenen Mo¨glichkeiten mit Energie effizienter umzugehen, bei weitem nicht ausgescho¨pft wird und im Anschluss werden die Gru¨nde dafu¨r diskutiert. Des Weiteren wird na¨her auf die Rolle der Raumplanung fu¨r ein nachhaltiges Energiesystem eingegangen. Im Bereich der erneuerbaren Energietra¨ger, der Regional- und Siedlungsstrukturen und vera¨nderter Werte und Rollenbilder wird ero¨rtert, welche Weichen in der Raumplanung eine nachhaltigere Energienutzung bewirken ko¨nnen. Der Beitrag zeigt, dass es noch viele ungenutzte Potenziale sowohl beim Einsatz von erneuerbaren Energietra¨gern und bei Energieeffizienzmaßnahmen wie auch bei politischen und institutionellen Vera¨nderungen gibt. |
| Keywords: | energieeffizienz, co2-vermeidungskostenkurve, transformation-des-energiesystems, raumplanung |
| Date: | 2013–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ita:itaman:13_03&r=env |
| By: | Lucca, Ana M. F.; Rodríguez, Julieta A.; Huarte, Marcelo A. |
| Abstract: | El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar una evaluación del impacto económico y ambiental de la implementación del Sistema de Alarma para el control del Tizón Tardío (Phytoalert®) durante 3 campañas productivas de papa en el SEPBA. |
| Keywords: | Papa; Costos de Producción; Pesticidas; Impacto Ambiental; |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nmp:nuland:2191&r=env |
| By: | Lupín, Beatriz; Rodríguez, Elsa Mirta M.; Rodríguez, Julieta A. |
| Abstract: | El objetivo de este trabajo es medir los atributos valorados y las preferencias de los consumidores de una papa fresca producida con bajo impacto ambiental según el nivel de educación y socioeconómico del consumidor. |
| Keywords: | Consumo de Alimentos; Papa; Preferencias del Consumidor; Atributos de Calidad; Medición; |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nmp:nuland:2192&r=env |
| By: | Leis, Alejandro Nahuel |
| Abstract: | El manejo de los residuos sólidos urbanos en Argentina conlleva principalmente dos problemáticas económicas: su elevado peso relativo en los presupuestos municipales y sus impactos ambientales, que constituyen externalidades negativas. Este trabajo analiza el sistema actual de recolección de residuos sólidos domiciliarios de la ciudad de Mar del Plata en vista de la disposición municipal que promueve la separación en origen entre orgánicos y reciclables que, a su vez, constituye uno de los ejes centrales de la "Iniciativa Ciudades Emergentes y Sostenibles" del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo. Partiendo de una descripción detallada de la evolución histórica de la problemática en el Municipio, el estudio caracteriza el sistema actual de recolección de residuos, empleando datos relevados en entrevistas en profundidad. Luego evalúa la eficacia y eficiencia económica del sistema, considerando las posibles externalidades generadas por la cooperativa encargada de la recuperación de materiales y por la internalización de los costos de separación a los hogares. Por último, examina indicadores de sostenibilidad en función de los propuestos por la "Iniciativa Ciudades Emergentes y Sostenibles". En cada dimensión de análisis se tuvo en cuenta su descripción, evolución, tendencia y efecto en el sistema. Debido a la mala calidad de la separación en origen y a la baja capacidad de recuperación de la planta de reciclado, a causa de un problema de agencia entre el municipio y la cooperativa que usufructúa la planta, sólo se recupera alrededor del 1,5% del total de los residuos sólidos domiciliarios. En función de estos resultados, se propone tomar medidas que tiendan a fortalecer los vínculos entre el municipio y la cooperativa, integrar al sector privado en la tarea de reducción de envoltorios y de reutilización de materiales reciclados y continuar con las campañas de concientización de la ciudadanía sobre la importancia de la separación en origen y del reciclado. |
| Keywords: | Residuos Sólidos; Reciclado de Residuos; Eficiencia Económica; Externalidades; Mar del Plata; |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nmp:nuland:2166&r=env |