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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Kruse, Jürgen (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI)); Wetzel, Heike (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI)) |
| Abstract: | This article empirically analyzes supply-side and demand-side factors expected to affect innovation in clean coal technologies. Patent data from 93 national and international patent o ces is used to construct new firm-level panel data on 3,648 clean coal innovators over the time period 1978 to 2009. The results indicate that on the supply-side a firm's history in clean coal patenting and overall propensity to patent positively a↵ects clean coal innovation. On the demand-side we find strong evidence that environmental regulation of emissions, that is CO2, NOx and SO2, induces innovation in both e ciency improving combustion and after pollution control technologies. |
| Keywords: | clean coal technologies; innovation; patents; technological change |
| JEL: | C33 O31 Q40 Q55 |
| Date: | 2016–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:ewikln:2016_001&r=env |
| By: | Dermot J. Hayes (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD); Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI)); Catherine L. Kling (Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD)); John D. Lawrence |
| Abstract: | Governor Branstad has proposed an initiative that would significantly increase state spending on water quality. This document examines the economic costs and benefits of such a proposal. As with previous work on this topic, this economic evaluation uses the state's Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy to measure costs and research results on water quality benefits from Iowa State University's Center for Agricultural and Rural Development. In doing an economic evaluation of this type, the reader should understand these important points: 1. A calculation of Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy costs with current strategies can be determined. The costs in labor, land, machinery and supplies are all well-known factors. There are also scientifically validated studies that show the impact these remedial strategies will have on water quality. 2. While reducing nutrients in surface waters offers benefits, calculating the exact economic value is inherently complex. Few studies are available to estimate the benefits to state residents versus benefits to the nation or world. These studies are based on measures of willingness to pay for improved environmental services and quality. The measures provided here are probably conservative because they exclude those that have yet to be measured or are currently impossible to measure. Research may develop future technologies that offer similar or enhanced benefits in nutrient reduction at lower costs. For example, some agronomists believe drainage water management technologies may reduce nutrient losses and provide an economic return to producers. However, at this time we cannot include these potential opportunities because the research has yet to be done. Also, more experience with current practices and technologies will yield more benefits. The Governor's proposal would provide approximately half of the funds required to implement the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. The rest of the funds would need to come from cost shares from landowners, the federal government, or other third party organizations (such as NGO's). Landowners might be willing to contribute because of reduced soil erosion and improved soil quality or because they prefer this program to possible future regulation. One argument for federal cost is that many of the environmental benefits would be felt downstream of Iowa to the Gulf of Mexico. The benefits of the strategy exceed the costs when these downstream benefits are included. The spending level that the Governor has proposed is approximately equal to the currently identifiable and quantifiable benefits that residents of Iowa would receive from achieving the goals of the strategy. The adoption of this voluntary strategy might also deter potential regulatory approaches. On an annualized basis, projected spending under this proposal would generate approximately $690 million in economic activity, 1,150 full-time direct employment positions and 2,800 total full-time positions. However, it should be understood that alternative projects and proposals are likely to result in similar economic activity and employment. |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ias:cpaper:16-pb19&r=env |
| By: | Alice Favero (Sohngen); Robert Mendelsohn (Yale University); Brent Sohngen (Ohio State University) |
| Abstract: | The carbon mitigation literature has separately considered using forests to store carbon and as a source of bioenergy. In this paper, we look at both options to reach a 2°C mitigation target. This paper combines the global forest model, GTM, with the IAM WITCH model to study the optimal use of forestland to reach an aggressive global mitigation target. The analysis confirms that using both options is preferable to using either one alone. At first, while carbon prices are low, forest carbon storage dominates. However, when carbon prices pass $235/tCO2, wood bioenergy with CCS becomes increasingly important as a mechanism to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. The use of both mechanisms increases global forestland at the expense of marginal cropland. While the storage program dominates, natural forestland expands. But when the wood bioenergy program starts, natural forestland shrinks as more forests become managed for higher yields. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Woody Biomass, Carbon Sequestration, BECCS, Forestry, Carbon Mitigation, Integrated Assessment Model |
| JEL: | Q23 Q42 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2016.09&r=env |
| By: | Blankespoor,Brian; Dasgupta,Susmita; Lange,Glenn-Marie |
| Abstract: | Adaptation to climate change includes addressing sea level rise and increased storm surges in many coastal areas. Mangroves can substantially reduce the vulnerability of the adjacent coastal land from inundation and erosion. However, climate change poses a large threat to mangroves. This paper quantifies the coastal protection provided by mangroves for 42 developing countries in the current climate, and a future climate change scenario with a one-meter sea level rise and 10 percent intensification of storms. The benefits of the coastal protection provided by mangroves are measured in terms of population and gross domestic product at a reduced risk from inundation; the loss of benefits under climate change is measured as the increased population and gross domestic product at risk. The findings demonstrate that although sea level rise and increased storm intensity would increase storm surge areas and the amounts of built resources at risk, the greatest impact is the expected loss of mangroves. Under current climate and mangrove coverage, 3.5 million people and roughly $400 million in gross domestic product of are at risk. In the future climate change scenario, the vulnerable population and gross domestic product at risk would increase by 103 and 233 percent, respectively. The greatest risk is in East Asia, especially in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar. |
| Keywords: | Water Resources Assessment,Wildlife Resources,Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Wetlands,Coastal and Marine Environment |
| Date: | 2016–03–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7596&r=env |
| By: | Muhammad, Shahbaz; Adebola Solarin, Solarin; Ozturk, Ilhan |
| Abstract: | The present study incorporates globalization and energy intensity into the CO2 emissions function and investigates the presence of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) in 19 African countries for the time period of 1971-2012. We have applied the ARDL bounds testing approach to cointegration to examine the long run relationship in the variables. Our results confirmed the presence of cointegration between the series in Africa, Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Congo Republic, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The results indicated the positive effect of energy intensity on CO2 emissions in Africa, Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Congo Republic, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, and Tunisia while energy intensity declines CO2 emissions in the case of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Globalization decreases CO2 emissions in Africa, Angola, Cameroon, Congo Republic, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Tunisia and Zambia but increases CO2 emissions in Ghana, Morocco, South Africa, Sudan and Tanzania. The EKC exists in Africa, Algeria, Cameroon, Congo Republic, Morocco, Tunisia and Zambia but U-shaped relationship is found between economic growth and CO2 emissions in Sudan and Tanzania. |
| Keywords: | EKC, Energy, Globalization, Africa |
| JEL: | Q4 |
| Date: | 2016–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69859&r=env |
| By: | Andersen, Lykke E. |
| Abstract: | This month is likely to be one of the hottest on record, with a very strong El Niño adding to more than a century of global warming. Two of the five global temperature indices already broke records in October 2015 (NASA-GISS and NCDC), and the remaining three also show a clear upward jump due to the strong El Niño this Christmas (see www.climate4you.com for up-to-date climate indicators). These record events could help favor a positive outcome at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP21) in Paris this month. However, even if the COP21 turns out to be exceptionally successful in securing worldwide commitments to reduce CO2 emissions, this would have an almost imperceptible effect on our vulnerability to climate events over the rest of this century. According to standard model simulations (using the MAGICC model), all the mitigation policies promised by the US, China, the EU and the rest of the world, implemented from the early 2000s to 2030 and sustained through the century are likely to reduce global temperature rise by about 0.17êC in 2100 (Lomborg, 2015). Add to that the fact that climate change constitutes only a small fraction of all our climate related problems (see following sections), and an even smaller fraction of all the problems and risks that we continually face (accidents, disease, wars, terrorism, unemployment, pests, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, price fluctuations, etc.), one must conclude that climate change mitigation policies, however successful, will only solve a small part of our problems. Much more will be needed to increase resilience. As evidenced in this policy brief, this realization is beginning to penetrate the most recent literature on adaptation policy. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:pegnpb:32015&r=env |
| By: | Rubio, Santiago J. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines international cooperation on technological development as an alternative to international cooperation on GHG emission reductions. In order to analyze the scope of cooperation, a three-stage technology agreement formation game is solved. First, countries decide whether or not to sign up to the agreement. Then, in the second stage, the signatories (playing together) and the non-signatories (playing individually) select their investment in R&D. In this stage, it is assumed that the signatories not only coordinate their levels of R&D investment but also pool their R&D efforts to fully internalize the spillovers of their investment in innovation. Finally, in the third stage, each country decides non-cooperatively upon its level of energy production. Emissions depend on the decisions made regarding investment and production. If a country decides to develop a breakthrough technology in the second stage, its emissions will be zero in the third stage. For linear environmental damages and quadratic investment costs, the grand coalition is stable if marginal damages are large enough to justify the development of a breakthrough technology that eliminates emissions completely, and if technology spillovers are not very important. |
| Keywords: | International Environmental Agreements, R&D Investment, Technology Spillovers, Breakthrough Technologies, Environmental Economics and Policy, D74, F53, H41, Q54, Q55, |
| Date: | 2016–02–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemmi:232181&r=env |
| By: | Christoph Böhringer (University of Oldenburg); Nicholas Rivers (University of Ottawa); Hidemichi Yonezawa (ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | We show that imposition of a state-level environmental tax in a federation crowds out pre-existing federal taxes. We explain how this vertical fiscal externality can lead unilateral state-level environmental policy to generate a welfare gain in the implementing state, at the expense of other states, even absent any environmental benefits. Using a computable general equilibrium model of the Canadian federation, we show that vertical fiscal externalities can be the major determinant of the welfare change following environmental policy implementation by a state government. Our numerical simulations indicate that - as a consequence of vertical fiscal externalities - state governments can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 20 percent without any net cost to themselves. |
| Keywords: | fiscal externality, climate policy, federalism, computable general equilibrium |
| JEL: | C68 H77 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:16-234&r=env |
| By: | W. Brock (Economics Department, University of Wisconsin and University of Missouri); A. Xepapadeas (Athens University of Economics and Business) |
| Abstract: | This paper is, to our knowledge, the first paper in climate economics to consider the combination of spatial heat transport and polar amplification. We simplified the problem by stratifying the Earth into latitude belts and assuming, as in North et al. (1981), that the two hemispheres were symmetric. Our results suggest that it is possible to build climate economic models that include the very real climatic phenomena of heat transport and polar amplification and still maintain analytical tractability. We derive optimal fossil fuel paths under heat transport with and without polar amplification. We show that the optimal tax function depends not only on the distribution of welfare weights but also on the distribution of population across latitudes, the distribution of marginal damages across latitudes and cross latitude in- teractions of marginal damages, and climate dynamics. We also determine optimal taxes per unit of emission and show that, in contrast to the standard results suggesting spatially uniform emission taxes, poorer latitudes should be taxed less per unit emissions than richer latitudes. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Heat Transport, Polar Amplification, Welfare Maximization, Fossil Fuels, Optimal Taxation |
| JEL: | Q54 Q58 C61 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2016.03&r=env |
| By: | De Cian, Enrica; Wing, Ian Sue |
| Abstract: | This paper combines an econometric analysis of the response of energy demand to temperature and humidity exposure with future scenarios of climate change and socioeconomic development to characterize climate impacts on energy demand at different spatial scales. Globally, future climate change is expected to have a moderate impact on energy demand, in the order of 6-11%, depending on the degree of warming, because of compensating effects across regions, fuels, and sectors. Climate-induced changes in energy demand are disproportionally larger in tropical regions. South America, Asia, and Africa, increase energy demand across all sectors and climate scenarios, while Europe, North America and Oceania exhibit mixed responses, but with consistent reductions in the residential sector. Even so, only Europe and Oceania in the moderate warming scenario experience aggregate reductions in energy use, as commercial electricity use increases significantly. We find that climate change has a regressive impact on energy demand, with the incidence of increased energy demand overwhelmingly falling on low- and middle-income countries, raising the question whether climate change could exacerbate energy poverty. |
| Keywords: | Panel Data, Climate Change, Adaptation, Energy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, N5, O13, Q1, Q54, |
| Date: | 2016–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemei:232222&r=env |
| By: | Bersimis, Sotirios; Degiannakis, Stavros; Georgakellos, Dimitrios |
| Abstract: | One of the most important environmental health issues is air pollution, causing the deterioration of the population’s quality of life, principally in cities where the urbanization level seems limitless. Among ambient pollutants, carbon monoxide (CO) is well known for its biological toxicity. Many studies report associations between exposure to CO and excess mortality. In this context, the present work provides an advanced modelling scheme for real time monitoring of pollution data and especially of carbon monoxide pollution in city level. The real time monitoring is based on an appropriately adjusted multivariate time series model that is used in finance and gives accurate one-step-ahead forecasts. On the output of the time series, we apply an empirical monitoring scheme that is used for the early detection of abnormal increases of CO levels. The proposed methodology is applied in the city of Athens and as the analysis revealed has a valuable performance. |
| Keywords: | Air Quality Surveillance, Atmospheric Pollution, Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity modelling, Control Charts, Diag-aVECH, Multivariate Statistical Process Monitoring, Multivariate Time Series, Value-at-Risk. |
| JEL: | C10 C32 C4 C40 C51 C53 |
| Date: | 2015–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:65865&r=env |
| By: | Dasgupta,Susmita; Huq,Mainul; Mustafa,Md. Golam; Sobhan,Md Istiak; Wheeler,David R. |
| Abstract: | Fisheries constitute an important source of livelihoods for tens of thousands of poor people in the southwest coastal region of Bangladesh living near the UNESCO Heritage Sundarbans mangrove forest, and they supply a significant portion of protein for millions. Among the various threats fisheries in the southwest coastal region and Sundarbans mangrove forest will face because of climate change, adverse impacts from increased aquatic salinity caused by sea level rise have been identified as one of the greatest challenges. This paper focuses on 83 fish species consumed by poor households in the region. Using the salinity tolerance range for each species, 27 alternative scenarios of climate change in 2050 were investigated to assess the possible impacts of climate change and sea level rise on aquatic salinity, fish species habitats, and the poor communities that consume the affected fish species. The results provide striking evidence that projected aquatic salinization may have an especially negative impact on poor households in the region. The estimates indicate that areas with poor populations that lose species are about six times more prevalent than areas gaining species. |
| Keywords: | Ecosystems and Natural Habitats,Regional Economic Development,Fisheries and Aquaculture,Wildlife Resources,Biodiversity |
| Date: | 2016–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:7593&r=env |
| By: | Ke Wang; Yujiao Xian; Yi-Ming Wei (Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEP), Beijing Institute of Technology); Zhimin Huang |
| Abstract: | The measurement of carbon productivity makes the effort of global climate change mitigation accountable and helps to formulate policies and prioritize actions for economic growth, energy conservation, and carbon emissions control. Previous studies arbitrarily predetermined the directions of directional distance function in calculating the carbon productivity indicator, and the traditional carbon productivity indicator itself is not capable of identifying the contribution of different energy driven carbon emissions in carbon productivity change. Through utilizing an endogenous directional distance function selecting approach and a global productivity index, this paper proposes a global Luenberger carbon productivity indicator for computing carbon productivity change. This carbon productivity indicator can be further decomposed into three components that respectively identify the best practice gap change, pure efficiency change, and scale efficiency change. Moreover, the carbon productivity indicator is shown as a combination of individual carbon emissions productivity indicators that account for the contribution of different fossil fuel driven carbon emissions (i.e. coal driven CO2, oil driven CO2, and natural gas driven CO2) toward the carbon productivity change. Our carbon productivity indicator is employed to measure and decompose the carbon productivity changes of 37 major carbon emitting countries and regions over 1995¨C2009. The main findings include: (i) Endogenous directions identifying the largest improvement potentials are noticeably different from exogenous directions in estimating the inefficiencies of undesirable outputs. (ii) Carbon productivity indicator calculated with the consideration of emission structure provides a more significant estimation on productivity change. (iii) The aggregated carbon productivity and the specific energy driven carbon productivities significantly improve over our study period which are primarily attributed to technical progress. (iv) Empirical results imply that policies focused on researching and developing energy utilization and carbon control technologies might not be enough; it is also essential to encourage technical efficiency catching-up and economic scale management. |
| Keywords: | Data envelopment analysis (DEA); Energy driven carbon emissions; Efficiency change; Best practice gap change |
| JEL: | Q54 Q40 |
| Date: | 2016–03–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:biw:wpaper:91&r=env |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Pacific Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Pacific Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | This brief provides representatives of national government and regional organizations—and other key decision makers in climate change, development, fisheries, agriculture, environment, and natural resource management in Coral Triangle of the Pacific (CTP) and similar countries—with policy advice to help rural communities adapt to climate change. The brief also provides donor organizations with information on where to target resources to support fishing and farming communities as they adapt to climate change. Policy interventions and issues to be considered are highlighted. |
| Keywords: | climate change adaptation, coral triangle, community adaptation, pacific, fiji, papua new guinea, solomon islands, timor-leste, vanuatu, integrated coastal management, integrated water resources management, natural resources conservation, coral triangle initiative, CTI, coral reefs fisheries, food security, fishing and farming communities, adb briefs 42 |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:abf157605-2&r=env |
| By: | Roberto Roson (Department of Economics, University Of Venice Cà Foscari); Martina Sartori (Department of Economics, University Of Trento) |
| Abstract: | Climate change damage (or, more correctly, impact) functions relate variations in temperature (or other climate variables) to economic impacts in various dimensions, and are at the basis of quantitative modeling exercises for the assessment of climate change policies. This document provides a summary of results from a series of meta-analyses aimed at estimating parameters for six specific damage functions, referring to: sea level rise, agricultural productivity, heat effects on labor productivity, human health, tourism flows and households' energy demand. All parameters of the damage functions are estimated for each of the 140 countries and regions in the GTAP9 dataset. To illustrate the salient characteristics of our estimates, we approximate the change in real GDP for the different effects, in all regions, corresponding to an increase in average temperature of +3°C. After considering the overall impact, we highlight which factor is the most significant one in each country, and we elaborate on the distributional consequences of climate change. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, integrated assessment, computable general equilibrium, damage function, climate impacts |
| JEL: | C68 C82 D58 Q51 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2016:06&r=env |
| By: | Jean Pierre Del Corso (LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Toulouse - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - UT2 - Université Toulouse 2 - École Nationale de Formation Agronomique - ENFA); Charilaos Kephaliacos (LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Toulouse - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - UT2 - Université Toulouse 2 - École Nationale de Formation Agronomique - ENFA); Gaël Plumecocq (AGIR - AGrosystèmes et développement terrItoRial - Institut national de la recherche agronomique (INRA), LEREPS - Laboratoire d'Etude et de Recherche sur l'Economie, les Politiques et les Systèmes Sociaux - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Toulouse - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - UT2 - Université Toulouse 2 - École Nationale de Formation Agronomique - ENFA) |
| Abstract: | This article examines the role of communication in the process that guides economic actors to integrate the moral obligations implied by adopting sustainability principles in their action choices and to reexamine their practices. We analyze two approaches to implementing agro-environmental measures that encourage farmers to preserve water resources. Verbal interactions between farmers and agricultural advisors, who are part of these policy programs, are analyzed drawing on Jürgen Habermas's theory of communicative action. The discourse analysis used here shows that communicative action encouraged participants to reexamine the validity of the technical, experiential, and normative knowledge that legitimized their reasons for acting. This study brings to light the fact that, in the context of a business primarily oriented towards making a profit, committing to sustainable development does not only operate in technical terms; such a commitment also requires collective validation of the effectiveness of alternative farming practices. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural advice , Communicative action theory , Agricultural innovations , Learning processes , Agro-environmental policy |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01286845&r=env |
| By: | Cati Torres (Applied Economics Department, Universitat de les Illes Balears.); Nick Hanley (Department of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St. Andrews) |
| Abstract: | This report aims to provide, through an extensive review of the literature, a comprehensive overview of the current (2015) knowledge base regarding the valuation of coastal and marine ecosystem services (ES), placing emphasis on the analysis of both the policy implications of current studies as well as on existing challenges. It aims to contribute not only to the role EV/ECBA can play in the management of coastal and marine ecosystems, but also to promote discussion among social and ecological researchers about further research needs |
| Keywords: | valuation, benefits transfer, marine and coastal ecosystem services, environmental cost-benefit analysis, policy analysis |
| JEL: | Q51 Q25 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sss:wpaper:2016-01&r=env |
| By: | Leonid V. Sorokin (Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia); Gérard Mondello (University of Nice Sophia Antipolis) |
| Abstract: | Until now, most of the growing climate legal litigations mainly concern environmental associations or victims against energy of energy-users firms or States. However, in a near future, because of exacerbating sudden floods linked to climate change, future litigations could (will) concern infrastructure governance versus private companies. Indeed, sues would (will) concern the financial losses these last ones would (will) endure because the infrastructure managers did not make convenient protection choices in due time. This paper particularly investigates the case of coastal airports at the European level. It insists on the importance of climate scientists divergent opinions about the sea level rise and its consequences for decision-takers concerning their potential legal liability for negligence. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Sea Level Rise, Flood, Airports, Transportation Infrastructures, Legal Liability, Uncertainty |
| JEL: | K32 Q54 R53 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2016.05&r=env |
| By: | Sorokin, Leonid V.; Mondello, Gérard |
| Abstract: | Until now, most of the growing climate legal litigations mainly concern environmental associations or victims against energy of energy-users firms or States. However, in a near future, because of exacerbating sudden floods linked to climate change, future litigations could (will) concern infrastructure governance versus private companies. Indeed, sues would (will) concern the financial losses these last ones would (will) endure because the infrastructure managers did not make convenient protection choices in due time. This paper particularly investigates the case of coastal airports at the European level. It insists on the importance of climate scientists divergent opinions about the sea level rise and its consequences for decision-takers concerning their potential legal liability for negligence. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Sea Level Rise, Flood, Airports, Transportation Infrastructures, Legal Liability, Uncertainty, Environmental Economics and Policy, K32, Q54, R53, |
| Date: | 2016–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemei:232211&r=env |
| By: | Asian Development Bank (ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Southeast Asia Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Southeast Asia Department, ADB); Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
| Abstract: | This Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Urban Development Strategic Framework, – sets out a broad framework to encourage and facilitate a coordinated approach to the development of urban areas throughout the GMS. The framework includes three pillars: (i) planning and development of key urban areas, (ii) planning and development of border areas, and (iii) capacity development in urban planning and management. Underlying these are four crosscutting themes—green development and climate change resilience, disaster risk management, inclusive development, and competitiveness. The GMS Urban Development Strategic Framework also provides the context for ongoing and planned projects in the six GMS member countries. |
| Keywords: | Greater Mekong Subregion, GMS Program, regional cooperation, urban development, urban planning and management, spatial planning, capacity development, urban centers, special economic zones, border economic zones, priority border areas, urban task force, results framework, GMS Strategic Framework, Regional Investment Framework, economic corridors, Cambodia, PRC: Yunnan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, green development, climate change resilience, disaster risk management, inclusive development, competitiveness |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:asd:wpaper:rpt157586-2&r=env |
| By: | Natasha Chichilnisky-Heal (Yale University); Graciela Chichilnisky (Columbia University and Stanford University) |
| Abstract: | In "Bargaining to Lose: The Permeability Approach to Post Transition Resource Extraction" [1] Natasha Chichilnisky-Heal introduces an original and fertile explanation for the resource curse. Her "permeability" approach questions the treatment of the state as a decision maker having the public good as an objective, and replaces it by the results of a bargaining game between the state and International organizations. Her new theory is illustrated with unique hands-on experience in the case of copper and gold mines in Mongolia and Zambia, and focuses on a bargaining game between the state and key financial organizations: the Bretton Woods Institutions (IMF, World Bank) and MNCs. This piece extends and generalizes "Bargaining to lose" providing economic models that validate the original conclusions, and exploring its implications for the global commons: the atmosphere, the oceans and biodiversity. Chichilnisky-Heal’s "permeable state" is a transition to a new globalized society where the sovereign state - a relatively recent creation - is receding giving rise to a new set of global economic agents and institutions that better explain the dynamics of the global commons. We show that the permeable state complements other explanations for the resource curse [2] as a global market failure magnified by globalization and based on the lack of well-defined property rights on natural resources during the pre-industrial period. We generalize Chichilnisky-Heal’s "bargaining to lose" approach to the resource curse and explore its natural implications for the environmental crisis on the global commons. The solutions that Chichilnisky-Heal proposes, e.g. limiting the Bretton Woods’ Institutions’ ‘seat at the negotiation table’ of resource extraction contracts, could help resolve the environmental crisis that is based on over-extraction of global resources. |
| Keywords: | Bargaining, Global Commons |
| JEL: | C70 C78 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2015.103&r=env |
| By: | Simone Tagliapietra (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | Energy efficiency is one of the key crossroads between energy, climate and economic issues. In fact, it represents one of the most cost effective ways to enhance security of energy supply, to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and to enhance economic competitiveness at one fell swoop. This paper explores the potential for energy efficiency gains in Turkey, a country characterized by a strong growth in energy demand and by a strong need of better security of supply, emissions reduction and economic competitiveness. |
| Keywords: | Energy Efficiency, Turkey, Sustainability |
| JEL: | Q41 Q43 Q48 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2016.11&r=env |
| By: | Eric C. Edwards; Oscar Cristi; Gonzalo Edwards; Gary D. Libecap |
| Abstract: | We present a lobby model to explain the adoption and persistence of seemingly costly environmental policies relative to the likely benefits generated. The arguments of the model are illustrated by water trade restrictions for mining firms in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. The area is one of the driest in the world but also the world’s top copper producer. Due to regulation of access to local water in the region, firms have begun using desalinated water at a cost of up to $19,542 per m3/day while agricultural water trades at median price of $343 per m3/day. We explore how governmental maintenance of environmental and indigenous water supplies through restrictions on water trades causes these large price differentials. We provide a simple framework that explains how this type of policy can be supported under reasonable assumptions about lobbying. Interest group lobbying, limited information to unorganized general citizens about policy costs and benefits, and their associated distribution can lead to strong regulation, even when the protected environmental areas and agricultural populations are small and isolated. Difference- in-difference modeling of sector prices indicates that after an abrupt increase in regulatory denials, prices diverged in a manner consistent with the lobbying model. Using market price and desalination cost data, policy costs are estimated at $6.15 billion dollars or approximately $350 per citizen, which may or may not equate to perceived general benefits. |
| JEL: | N56 N76 Q25 Q28 Q51 Q56 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21869&r=env |
| By: | Schott, Johanna; Kalatas, Talin; Nercissians, Emilia; Barkmann, Jan; Shelia, Vakhtang |
| Abstract: | Nature conservation has a long tradition in the South Caucasus, a region with very high biodiversity. Alongside century old nature reserves (NR) in Azerbaijan and Georgia, two new transboundary national parks (NP) have recently been created in Armenia and Georgia. All of these protected areas exert an influence on the local populations, which use land located inside or in proximity to these areas. To investigate the impact of protected areas on the local populations, we conducted a qualitative study close to two neighbouring, historical NRs in Georgia (Lagodekhi) and Azerbaijan (Zaqatala), and close to the two new transboundary NPs in Armenia (Lake Arpi) and in Georgia (Javakheti). We collected the opinions of the local populations, local administrations, and environmental NGOs regarding the impact of protected areas on the livelihoods of the local populations and investigated whether the local populations developed strategies for dealing with these impacts. Results show that the land use restrictions entailed by protected areas cause conflicts of interests between the goals of conservation and those of the local populations on the one hand, and competition between different local groups with regard to scarce resources such as pastures on the other hand. These land use restrictions are due to the land use regulations of the protected areas and concern the use of pastures and forests. All sorts of tourism could provide a possible solution to settle conflicts and to increase incomes. |
| Abstract: | Naturschutz hat eine lange Tradition im Südkaukasus, einer Region, die sich durch eine hohe Biodiversität auszeichnet. Neben über hundert Jahre alten Naturschutzgebieten in Aserbaidschan und in Georgien wurden kürzlich zwei neue grenzübergreifende Nationalparks in Armenien und Georgien eingerichtet. Alle diese Schutzgebiete haben Auswirkungen auf die lokale Anrainerbevölkerung, welche Land innerhalb oder in der Nähe dieser Gebiete nutzt. Um die Auswirkungen von zwei benachbarten, historischen Schutzgebieten in Georgien (Lagodekhi) und in Aserbaidschan (Zaqatala) sowie von zwei neuen grenzübergreifenden Nationalparks in Armenien (Lake Arpi) und in Georgien (Javakheti) auf die lokale Bevölkerung zu untersuchen, führten wir eine qualitative Studie durch. Zentrale Fragestellungen der Studie betrafen zum einen die Ansichten der lokalen Bevölkerung, der lokalen Verwaltung und von Umwelt-Nichtregierungsorganisationen hinsichtlich der Auswirkungen von Schutzgebieten auf den Lebensunterhalt der Anrainerbevölkerung und zum anderen mögliche Strategien der Anrainerbevölkerung für den Umgang mit den Auswirkungen der Schutzgebiete. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Landnutzungsbeschränkungen, die durch die Schutzgebiete hervorgerufen werden, einerseits Interessenkonflikte zwischen den Zielen des Naturschutzes und den Zielen der Anrainerbevölkerung hervorrufen können, und andererseits Rivalitäten zwischen verschiedenen lokalen Gruppen in Bezug auf knappe Ressourcen wie Weideland. Landnutzungsbeschränkungen sind eine Folge der Landnutzungsbestimmungen der Schutzge und betreffen den Zugang zu Weideland und Wäldern. Verschiedene Arten von Tourismus könnten eine mögliche Lösung darstellen, um bestehende Konflikte zu lösen und um die Einkommen der lokalen Bevölkerung zu verbessern. |
| Keywords: | Transcaucasia,nature conservation,qualitative research,protected areas,rural livelihoods,Südkaukasus,Naturschutz,qualitative Forschung,Schutzgebiete,ländlicher Lebensunterhalt |
| JEL: | Q56 Z1 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iamodp:152&r=env |
| By: | Bostian, Moriah (Department of Economics, Lewis & Clark College); Färe, Rolf (Department of Economics, Oregon State University); Grosskopf, Shawna (CERE and Department of Economics, Oregon State University); Lundgren, Tommy (CERE); Weber, William L. (Department of Economics and Finance, Southeast Missouri State University) |
| Abstract: | We apply recent advances in time substitution modeling to examine the environmental performance of firms in Sweden’s pulp and paper industry for the years 2002 - 2008. Our data allow us to estimate the optimal reallocation of environmental investments, expenditures and energy use to simultaneously maximize production output and minimize emissions reductions in the years immediately before and after the implementation of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. We find some evidence of overall productivity decline when considering both emissions and output objectives, due primarily to technological decline, and that cumulative dynamic inefficiency outweighs static inefficiency. A comparison of optimal investment time paths to observed investment levels indicates that firms could have improved their performance by reallocating environmental investments to early periods and production-oriented investment to later periods. |
| Keywords: | Time Substitution; Dynamic Efficiency; Environmental Performance; Environmental Investment; DEA |
| JEL: | D22 D24 M14 Q40 Q41 |
| Date: | 2016–02–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:slucer:2016_003&r=env |
| By: | Fernando M. Aragon (Simon Fraser University); Juan Jose Miranda (The World Bank); Paulina Oliva (University of California, Santa Barbara) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the effect of air pollution on labor supply using the case of Lima, Peru. We focus on fine particulate matter (PM2.5), an important air pollutant, and show that moderate levels of pollution reduce hours worked for working adults. The effect is concentrated among households with susceptible dependents, i.e., small children and elderly adults. This indicates that caregiving is likely a mechanism linking air pollution to labor supply. We find no evidence of intra-household attenuation behavior. For instance, there is no re-allocation of labor across household members, and earnings decrease. Finally, we show evidence of non-linearities in the dose response function: at higher concentrations, households without susceptible dependents also start experiencing negative effects. |
| Keywords: | pollution, labor supply, cost of pollution |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sfu:sfudps:dp16-01&r=env |
| By: | Jens Hanson (TIK Centre, University of Oslo); Markus Steen (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim and SINTEF Technology & Society, Trondheim); Tyson Weaver (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim); Håkon E. Normann (TIK Centre, University of Oslo); Gard H. Hansen (Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim) |
| Abstract: | Building industrial capacity for new renewable energy technologies (RETs) is a central challenge in transitioning to a low-carbon economy. This article analyses how resources from established industries can contribute to new industrial path creation for RETs, by processes of path branching. We develop a theoretical framework that explores pressures and drivers of path branching and how complementary resources are mobilized from established to emerging paths. The framework is confronted with two cases in Norway that illustrate how old and new industrial paths are interlinked: (1) the energy intensive process industry and solar photovoltaics and (2) oil & gas and offshore wind power. We find that multiple resources are transferred, including knowledge, infrastructures and financial and human capital. We further suggest that processes of resource transfer are driven by the simultaneous presence of selection pressures and branching opportunities. Our findings have implications for policy making as well as theorizing sustainability transitions with regards to how established industries can provide key foundations for and inputs to emergence of new ones. |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tik:inowpp:20160310&r=env |
| By: | Gary D. Libecap |
| Abstract: | I examine Ronald Coase’s criticism of standard regulatory and tax policies to address environmental externalities. I elaborate some of Coase’s key points and discuss opportunities for Coasean exchange as an alternative mitigation approach. Regulation, tax, and Coasean exchange, such as through cap-and-trade regimes, are presented as substitutes, based on the relative transaction costs involved. Transaction costs are those of information, bounding, enforcing, and exchanging property rights. In general, transaction costs are not examined in depth in the environmental economics literature. This is particularly the case for the costs of political bargaining and lobbying that arise from implementing and administering government regulation and tax policies, although these costs have received somewhat more attention with cap and trade regimes. Coasean exchange and important market design issues are illustrated with examples. |
| JEL: | H23 K32 N5 Q28 Q38 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21903&r=env |
| By: | Kruse, Juergen (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI)) |
| Abstract: | In this article, I empirically analyze and compare the impact of innovation in green and non-green energy technologies on the economic performance of firms. My analysis is conducted on a panel of 8,619 patenting firms including 968 green energy patenters from 22 European countries over the period 2003 to 2010. I measure economic firm performance in terms of productivity and use a panel data model based on an extended Cobb-Douglas production function. My results show that green energy innovation has a statistically significant negative impact on economic firm performance. In contrast, non-green energy innovation is shown to have a statistically significant positive impact on economic firm performance. These findings suggest that private economic returns in terms of productivity are lower for green energy than for non-green energy innovation. |
| Keywords: | green energy technologies; innovation; performance; patents; technological change |
| JEL: | C33 L25 O31 Q40 Q55 |
| Date: | 2016–02–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:ewikln:2016_002&r=env |
| By: | Timothy J. Bartik (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research) |
| Keywords: | benefit-cost analysis, worker displacement, environmental regulation, social cost of labor |
| JEL: | D61 Q52 J68 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upj:weupjo:tjb15&r=env |
| By: | Kenneth Lee; Edward Miguel; Catherine Wolfram |
| Abstract: | In Sub-Saharan Africa, there are active debates about whether increases in energy access should be driven by investments in electric grid infrastructure or small-scale “home solar” systems (e.g., solar lanterns and solar home systems). We summarize the results of a household electrical appliance survey and describe how households in rural Kenya differ in terms of appliance ownership and aspirations. Our data suggest that home solar is not a substitute for grid power. Furthermore, the environmental advantages of home solar are likely to be relatively small in countries like Kenya, where grid power is primarily derived from non-fossil fuel sources |
| JEL: | O18 Q42 |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:21949&r=env |
| By: | Gilles Grolleau; Lisette Ibanez; Nathalie Lavoie |
| Abstract: | Firms increasingly develop partnerships with non-profit organizations (NPO) to support a cause and improve their corporate image. This type of Corporate Social Responsibility, called Cause-Related Marketing, commits firms to fund associations that encourage environmental protection, international development, and other causes by donating part of their profits. In this article, we argue that when cause-related marketing is applied to products with a negative externality, these a priori win-win arrangements can generate adverse and unexpected effects. We consider a vertical differentiation model integrating two assumptions. First, consumers may perceive the firm's contribution to be higher than the actual donation. Second, consumers who value highly socially responsible behavior may prefer not to consume rather than consuming products that aren’t socially responsible. In this set-up we identify several possible counter-productive effects such as the likelihood of increase of the externality and the crowding out of direct contributions. We also draw policy and managerial implications. |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lam:wpaper:02-16&r=env |
| By: | Chan, Gabriel; Carraro, Carlo; Edenhofer, Ottmar; Kolstad, Charles; Stavins, Robert |
| Abstract: | The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is broadly viewed as the world’s most legitimate scientific assessment body that periodically assesses the economics of climate change (among many other topics) for policy audiences. However, growing procedural inefficiencies and limitations to substantive coverage have made the IPCC an increasingly unattractive forum for the most qualified climate economists. Drawing on our observations and personal experience working on the most recent IPCC report, published last year, we propose four reforms to the IPCC’s process that we believe will lower the cost for volunteering as an IPCC author: improving interactions between governments and academics, making IPCC operations more efficient, clarifying and strengthening conflict of interest rules, and expanding outreach. We also propose three reforms to the IPCC’s substantive coverage to clarify the IPCC’s role and to make participation as an author more intellectually rewarding: complementing the IPCC with other initiatives, improving the integration of economics with other disciplines, and providing complete data for policymakers to make decisions. Despite the distinct characteristics of the IPCC that create challenges for authors unlike those in any other review body, we continue to believe in the importance of the IPCC for providing the most visible line of public communication between the scholarly community and policymakers. |
| Keywords: | Scientific Assessment, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Scientific Communication, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q5, Q58, |
| Date: | 2016–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemmi:232218&r=env |
| By: | Boxell, Levi |
| Abstract: | Historians have frequently suggested that droughts helped facilitate the African slave trade. By introducing a previously unused dataset on historical rainfall levels in Africa, I provide the first empirical answer to this hypothesis. I demonstrate how negative rainfall shocks and long-run shifts in the mean level of rainfall increased the number of slaves exported from a given region and can have persistent effects on the level of development today. Using a simple economic model of an individual's decision to participate in the slave trade, along with observed empirical heterogeneity and historical anecdotes, I argue that consumption smoothing and labor allocation adjustments are the primary causal mechanisms for the negative relationship between droughts and slave exports. These findings contribute to our understanding of the process of selection into the African slave trade and have policy implications for contemporary human trafficking and slavery. |
| Keywords: | slave trade; climate; droughts; consumption smoothing; human trafficking |
| JEL: | N37 N57 O15 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016–03–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:69853&r=env |
| By: | Jomo Kwame Sundaram; Anis Chowdhury; Krishnan Sharma; Daniel Platz |
| Abstract: | In light of a cautious emphasis given to public-private partnerships (PPPs) as a mechanism to finance infrastructure projects and highlighting the need for capacity building and knowledge sharing at the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, this paper reviews the extant literature on the subject and identifies areas requiring better understanding and institutional innovation for ensuring value for money, minimizing contingent fiscal risk and improving accountability. An institutional capacity to create, manage and evaluate PPPs is essential to ensure that they become an effective instrument of delivery of important services, such as infrastructure. There is also a need for a common definition of PPPs and internationally accepted guidelines, including uniform accounting and reporting standards. |
| Keywords: | Public-Private Partnerships, value for money, infrastructure, Addis Ababa Action Agenda, sustainable development |
| JEL: | H41 H54 L32 L33 O18 |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:une:wpaper:148&r=env |
| By: | Adam Heal (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)) |
| Abstract: | The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets forth seventeen goals (known as the Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs) which will define global development priorities for the next fifteen years. The importance of trade as an engine of growth is recognised in a number of targets, most notably within Goal 17 on partnerships for the goals and the means of implementation. This goal sets, among other objectives, a target for least developed countries to double their share of global exports by 2020. This note assesses the prospects for Asia-Pacific least developed countries (LDCs) meeting this goal. |
| Keywords: | export, least developed countries, asia-pacific, sustainable development |
| JEL: | F1 |
| Date: | 2016–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unt:esctis:tis15&r=env |
| By: | Shingo Umino; Yoichi Toshiki Jinushi (Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University) |
| Date: | 2016–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:koe:wpaper:1610&r=env |
| By: | Borghesi, Simone; Flori, Andrea |
| Abstract: | In this work, we investigate which countries have been more central during Phases I and II of the European Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) with respect to the different types of accounts operating in the system. We borrow a set of centrality measures from Network Theory's tools to describe how the structure of the system has evolved over time and to identify which countries have been in the core or in the periphery of the network. In doing this, we investigate by means of extensive partitions on the different types of accounts and transactions characterizing the EU ETS whether the role of intermediaries (approximated by Person Holding Accounts - PHAs) has affected the overall structure of the system. Preliminary findings over the period 2005-2012 suggest that PHAs have played a prominent role in the transaction of permits, heavily influencing the configuration of the system. This motivates further research on the impact of non-regulated entities in the EU ETS design. |
| Keywords: | Emission Trading, EU ETS, European Union Transaction Log (EUTL) data, Account and Transaction Types, Network Analysis, Centrality Measures, Environmental Economics and Policy, C45, D85, L14, Q48, Q54, Q58, |
| Date: | 2016–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemmi:232214&r=env |