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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Elizabeth Baldwin; Yongyang Cai; Karlygash Kuralbayeva |
| Abstract: | We investigate how irreversibility in “dirty” and “clean” capital stocks affects optimal climate policy, from both theoretical and numerical perspectives. An increasing carbon tax will reduce investments in assets that pollute, and so reduce emissions in the short term: our “irreversibility effect”. As such the “Green Paradox” has a converse if we focus on demand side capital stock effects. We also show that the optimal subsidy increases with the deployment rate: our “acceleration effect”. Considering second-best settings, we show that, although carbon taxes achieve stringent targets more efficiently, in fact renewable subsidies deliver higher welfare when policy is more mild. |
| Keywords: | infrastructure, clean and dirty energy inputs, renewable energy, stranded assets, carbon budget, climate change policies, Green Paradox |
| JEL: | O44 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6884&r=env |
| By: | Claudia Kettner-Marx (WIFO); Daniela Kletzan-Slamanig (WIFO) |
| Abstract: | Economic literature generally favours market-based instruments for regulating environmental externalities since they ensure compliance at the least cost to society. Emission taxes have been increasingly introduced internationally, with the focus shifting to CO2 after the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. In this paper, the theoretical economic literature on energy and emission taxes is reviewed. The focus is on theoretical recommendations regarding the optimal design of environmental and especially carbon taxes, their performance relative to other instruments, the concept of a double dividend as well as potential competitiveness and distribution effects. Carbon taxation can play a key role in climate policy and for achieving long-term emission reductions. This overview of economic considerations may help in creating a sustainable, effective and efficient regulatory system for reducing emissions. |
| Keywords: | climate policy, carbon pricing, instrument choice, market-based instruments, environmental tax reform |
| Date: | 2018–02–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2018:i:554&r=env |
| By: | Jeyhun I. Mikayilov; Marzio Galeotti; Fakhri J. Hasanov |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between the economic growth and CO2 emissions in Azerbaijan.A cointegration analysis is conducted over the period 1992-2013. For getting more robust results, Johansen, ARDLBT, DOLS, FMOLS and CCR methods to explore cointegration and estimate longrun coefficients are employed. We use cubic, quadratic and linear specifications and conclude that the last one is an adequate representation for the impact of the economic growth on CO2 emissions in Azerbaijan. The results from the different cointegration methods are consistent with each other and show that the economic growth has positive and significant impact on the emissions in the long-run implying that the EKC hypothesis does not hold for Azerbaijan. Moreover, we find that any short-run disequilibrium can be corrected towards the long-run equilibrium path within less than one year. The paper concludes that increasing the energy efficiency can be considered as a relevant environmental policy in order to reduce the carbon emissions. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions, cointegration, economic growth, EKC hypothesis; Azerbaijan |
| JEL: | C32 Q01 Q43 Q52 Q53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcu:iefewp:iefewp102&r=env |
| By: | Sebastian Bauhoff (Center for Global Development); Jonah Busch (Center for Global Development) |
| Abstract: | Deforestation has been found to increase malaria risk in some settings, while a growing number of studies have found that deforestation increases malaria prevalence in humans, suggesting that in some cases forest conservation might belong in a portfolio of anti-malarial interventions. However, previous studies of deforestation and malaria prevalence were based on a small number of countries and observations, commonly using cross-sectional analyses of less-than-ideal forest data at the aggregate jurisdictional level. In this paper we combine fourteen years of high-resolution satellite data on forest loss with individual-level survey data on malaria in more than 60,000 rural children in 17 countries in Africa, and fever in more than 470,000 rural children in 41 countries in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Adhering to methods that we pre-specified in a pre-analysis plan, we tested ex-ante hypotheses derived from previous literature. We did not find that deforestation increases malaria prevalence nor that intermediate levels of forest cover have higher malaria prevalence. Our findings differ from most previous empirical studies, which found that deforestation is associated with greater malaria prevalence in other contexts. We speculate that this difference may be because deforestation in Africa is largely driven by the slow expansion of subsistence or smallholder agriculture for domestic use by long-time residents in stable socio-economic settings rather than by rapid clearing for market-driven agricultural exports by new frontier migrants as in Latin America and Asia. Our results imply that at least in Africa anti-malarial efforts should focus on other proven interventions such as bed nets, spraying, and housing improvements. Forest conservation efforts should focus on securing other benefits of forests, including carbon storage, biodiversity habitat, clean water provision, and other goods and services. |
| Keywords: | Africa, pre-analysis plan, public health, Sustainable Development Goals |
| JEL: | C21 C23 I18 Q23 |
| Date: | 2018–03–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:480&r=env |
| By: | Akimoto, Keigo; Aldy, Joseph; Aleluia Reis, Lara; Carraro, Carlo; Pizer, Billy; Tavoni, Massimo |
| Abstract: | National governments have submitted emission mitigation pledges under the Paris Agreement that vary considerably in their form, level of required emission mitigation, elaboration of non-emission goals, and implementation strategies. As a result, domestic emission mitigation programs necessary to deliver on the Paris pledges will diverge in the degree to which that mitigation will be achieved at least cost. This paper explores both what we learn from how national determined contributions (NDCs) diverge from least-cost policies and the implications for comparing mitigation effort. The NDCs can reveal a country's preferences over climate policy, economic development, and other priorities. Modeling analysis of the NDCs can highlight opportunities for (i) measuring the revealed cost of institutional and political constraints that limit least cost implementation; (ii) mitigating climate change alongside other policy objectives; (iii) policy learning over time. We undertake two case studies based on global energy-economic models to illustrate how implementation of NDCs may deviate from least-cost implementation. In the first case study, we employ the WITCH model to assess how the non-emissions goals in NDCs may constrain implementation in a way that increases costs related to cost-effective emissions abatement. In the second case study, we employ the DNE21+ model to assess how countries' stated domestic implementation policies may diverge from a cost-effective domestic mitigation policy. These modelling analyses serve to illustrate how comparing mitigation implementation can then be represented by a bounding exercise that develops both conservative and generous estimates of mitigation effort. |
| Keywords: | comparability of effort; Emissions mitigation; international environmental agreements; modeling analysis; nationally determined contributions |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12757&r=env |
| By: | Kim, Seung-Leul; Lee, Sang-Ho |
| Abstract: | This study investigates environmental policy on the fixed-fee licensing strategy of clean eco-technology by an innovator having foreign ownership. We show that near-zero emission taxes accompanied by non-exclusive licensing regulation can improve social welfare when the cost gap is small or foreign penetration is high. However, when foreign ownership is not high, exclusive licensing regulations with an appropriate emission tax policy may improve social welfare. |
| Keywords: | Environmental policy; fixed-fee licensing; eco-technology; foreign penetration |
| JEL: | D45 L5 |
| Date: | 2016–05–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:84412&r=env |
| By: | Stefan E. Weishaar |
| Abstract: | The excitement about concluding the Paris Agreement is giving way to the sobering realisation that a lot more needs to be done to attain its climate policy objective. More and more EU member countries embrace carbon taxes but the national measures differ strongly. In an integrated European market this challenges the level playing field of competing industries and the transboundary nature of regulating a global pollutant and calls for a solution on EU level (or higher). Past attempts to regulate carbon emissions at EU level by fiscal measures have, however, been markedly unsuccessful. This paper therefore examines introduction issues and barriers of a CO2 tax at EU level and offers policy suggestions to move forward. |
| Keywords: | EU Law, Carbon taxes, Climate change |
| Date: | 2018–02–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2018:i:556&r=env |
| By: | Sophie Legras (CESAER - Centre d'Economie et de Sociologie Rurales Appliquées à l'Agriculture et aux Espaces Ruraux - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we study the interplay between residential location choice, sprawl and water quality. We propose an urban economics model of a, first, monocentric, then, polycentric city with two di erent residential areas : sewer-serviced suburbia, with small residential lot size, and exurbia where wastewater management is individual and on-site and residential lots are larger to accomodate sanitary requirements. Sewer and septic are also characterized by di erent abatement e ciencies. Within this framework, where development is assumed contiguous, we analyse how wastewater management and commuting costs impact on residential location choice and consequently on sprawl and water quality. According to the abatement e ciency gap between sewer and septic technologies, improving water quality may be achieved at the expense of higher or lower sprawl. The extension to the polycentric setting allows introducing heterogeneities in wastewater and commuting costs that illustrate how independant policy makers may impact the sprawl and water quality of the entire metropolis. |
| Keywords: | septic system,sewer system,residential water pollution,land use,commuting,polycentrism,wastewater management |
| Date: | 2017–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01190244&r=env |
| By: | Haenel, Hans-Dieter; Rösemann, Claus; Dämmgen, Ulrich; Döring, Ulrike; Wulf, Sebastian; Eurich-Menden, Brigitte; Freibauer, Annette; Döhler, Helmut; Schreiner, Carsten; Osterburg, Bernhard |
| Abstract: | The report at hand (including a comprehensive annex of data) serves as additional document to the National Inventory Report (NIR) on the German green house gas emissions and the Informative Inventory Report (IIR) on the German emissions of air pollutants (especially ammonia). The report documents the calculation methods used in the German agricultural inventory model GAS-EM as well as input data, emission results and uncertainties of the emission reporting submission 2018 for the years 1990 - 2016. In this context the sector Agriculture comprises the emissions from animal husbandry, the use of agricultural soils and anaerobic digestion of energy crops. As required by the guidelines, emissions from activities preceding agriculture, from the use of energy and from land use change are reported elsewhere in the national inventories. [...] |
| Keywords: | emission inventory,agriculture,animal husbandry,agricultural soils,anaerobic digestion,energy crops,renewable primary products,greenhouse gases,air pollutants,methane,loughing gas,ammonia,particulate matter,Emissionsinventar,Landwirtschaft,Tierhaltung,landwirtschaftliche Böden,anaerobe Vergärung,Energiepflanzen,nachwachsende Rohstoffe,Treibhausgase,Luftschadstoffe,Methan,Lachgas,Ammoniak,luftgetragene Partikel |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:jhtire:57&r=env |
| By: | S. Nazrul Islam; Kenneth Iversen |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relationship between “Transformative Change,” advocated by the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, and “Structural Change,” which has been a longstanding and important concept in Development Economics. It shows that while structural change is still relevant, growing concerns for social development and environmental protection made it necessary to switch to the more encompassing concept of “Transformative Change” that provides greater space for inclusion and interaction of all three dimensions of sustainable development. The paper notes that, in the era of greater globalization, countries have followed more varied patterns of structural change, all of which are not equally suitable for sustainable development. The paper notes that Transformative Change subsumes structural change, and it discusses the modifications that structural change needs to be more compatible with sustainable development. |
| Keywords: | Structural change; Transformative change; 2030 Agenda; Sustainable development |
| JEL: | O14 O44 Q0 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:une:wpaper:155&r=env |
| By: | Chiara Falco; Marzio Galeotti; Alessandro Olper |
| Abstract: | Migration and climate change are two of the most important challenges the world currently faces. They are connected as climate change may stimulate migration. One of the sectors most strongly affected by climate change is agriculture, where most of the world’s poor are employed. Climate change may affect agricultural productivity and hence migration because of its impact on average temperatures and rainfall and because it increases the frequency and intensity of weather shocks. This paper uses 50 years of data, from 1960 to 2010, for more than 150 countries to analyse the relationship between weather variation, agricultural productivity and migration. Our main findings are that, in line with theoretical predictions, negative shocks to agricultural productivity caused by weather fluctuations significantly increase migration in middle and lower income countries but not in the poorest and in the rich countries. The results are robust to different econometric specifications. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Temperature, Agriculture, International Migration |
| JEL: | F22 Q54 O13 Q15 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcu:iefewp:iefewp100&r=env |
| By: | S. Nazrul Islam; John Winkel |
| Abstract: | This paper offers a unifying conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between climate change and “within-country inequalities,” referred here collectively as “social inequality.” Available evidence indicates that this relationship is characterized by a vicious cycle, whereby initial inequality causes the disadvantaged groups to suffer disproportionately from the adverse effects of climate change, resulting in greater subsequent inequality. The paper identifies three main channels through which the inequality-aggravating effect of climate change materializes, namely (a) increase in the exposure of the disadvantaged groups to the adverse effects of climate change; (b) increase in their susceptibility to damage caused by climate change; and (c) decrease in their ability to cope and recover from the damage suffered. The paper presents evidence to illustrate each of the processes above. It also notes that the same analytical framework can be used to discuss the relationship between climate change and inequality across countries. Finally, it points to the ways in which the analysis can be helpful in making relevant policy decisions. |
| Keywords: | Climate change; inequality; exposure; susceptibility; ability to cope and recover; adaptation |
| JEL: | Q53 Q56 Q59 |
| Date: | 2017–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:une:wpaper:152&r=env |
| By: | Ian W.H. Parry; Victor Mylonas |
| Abstract: | The pan-Canadian approach to carbon pricing, announced in October 2016, ensures that carbon pricing applies throughout Canada in 2018, with increasing stringency over time to reduce emissions. Canadian provinces and territories have the flexibility to either implement an explicit price-based system—with a minimum price of CAN $10 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2018, increasing to CAN $50 per tonne by 2022—or an equivalently scaled emissions trading system. This paper discusses the rationale for, and design of, the price floor requirement; its (provincial-level) environmental, fiscal, and economic welfare impacts; monitoring issues; and (national-level) incidence. The general conclusion is that the welfare costs and implementation issues are manageable, and pricing provides significant new revenues. A challenge is that the floor price by itself appears well short of what will be needed by 2030 for Canada’s Paris Agreement pledge. |
| Date: | 2018–03–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:18/42&r=env |
| By: | David Le Blanc; Clovis Freire; Marjo Vierrosc |
| Abstract: | This paper maps interrelationships among targets of the Sustainable Development Goal dedicated to oceans (SDG 14), as well as interrelationships between those targets and other SDGs. This is done using a large number of UN reports as well as scientific publications. The literature identifies many linkages among the targets of SDG 14; most of these targets are potentially synergistic with one another. Many linkages also exist between SDG 14 targets and other SDGs. Different targets under SDG 14 link to different SDGs. This has implications for policy discussions on how to achieve progress on SDG 14. The interrelationships that we highlight can be used as a tool for dialogue between policy and scientific communities working on oceans, in particular for assessing the status of knowledge on the various linkages, as well as identifying linkages that are likely to matter most for progress on SDG 14. |
| Keywords: | Oceans, Sustainable Development Goals, science-policy interface, sustainable development, interlinkages |
| JEL: | O18 Q01 Q22 Q28 Q53 Q56 Q57 |
| Date: | 2017–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:une:wpaper:149&r=env |
| By: | Jeyhun I. Mikayilov; Fakhri J. Hasanov; Marzio Galeotti |
| Abstract: | The relationship between CO2 emissions, the main gas responsible for global warming, and economic growth is among the most studied themes of environmental economics. Reducing overall emissions while keeping a high pace of economic development is at the heart of the notion of sustainable development. Economists refer to the case when emissions increase (resp. decrease) less rapidly than the pace of economic growth as relative (resp. absolute) decoupling. This requires the empirical analysis of the emissions-GDP relationship. The study of this relationship has special importance for developed countries, since they have been historically the main contributors of the global warming. Unlike the bulk of the literature, in this paper we allow the income elasticity of emissions – a critical metrics for the study of decoupling – to vary over time. The reason is that the elasticity might change through the time due to the factors affecting the drivers of the CO2 emissions. We use a time-varying coefficients cointegration approach to investigate the CO2 emissions-GDP relationship for 12 Western European countries over a long period ranging from 1861 to 2015. The main finding is that the income elasticities of CO2 emissions are found to be positive in all investigated countries. In addition, we find evidence in favor of relative decoupling – emissions increasing more slowly than GDP – in 8 out of the 12 European countries. The remaining 4 cases the income elasticity of CO2 emissions are in excess of unity. In nearly half of cases the analysis confirms a statistically significant time-varying pattern for the income elasticities. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions, time-varying coefficient cointegration, economic growth, EKC hypothesis, decoupling |
| JEL: | C14 C32 Q01 Q43 Q52 Q53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bcu:iefewp:iefewp101&r=env |
| By: | Francois Cohen; Giulia Valacchi |
| Abstract: | Climate policy will predominantly affect industries that primarily rely on fossil fuels, such as steelmaking. Within these industries, exposure may be different by country according to the energy-intensity of national plants. We estimate the effect of coal prices on steel plant location worldwide and production preferences for BOF, a polluting technology, and EAF, a greener one. A 1% increase in national coal prices reduces BOF and EAF installed capacity by around 0.51% and 0.34% respectively. We simulate the implementation of a stringent European carbon market with no border adjustment and find a non-negligible shift in steel production outside Europe, with limited impact on the technologies employed to produce steel. If applied worldwide, the same policy would primarily affect production in Asia, which relies on BOF and currently benefits from lower coal prices. |
| Keywords: | Steel industry;.; Steel industry; firm relocation; technological change; energy prices |
| JEL: | O14 O33 Q41 Q42 |
| Date: | 2017–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gii:ciesrp:cies_rp_55_3&r=env |
| By: | Peyman Khezr (School of Economics, The University of Queensland); Ian A. MacKenzie (School of Economics, The University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | This article proposes a simple and efficient auction design to allocate environmental rights, such as tradable pollution permits. We show that if the auctioneer limits the number of bids that each buyer submits—coupled with a simple ex-post supply adjustment rule—then truthful bidding is obtained. Consequently, the uniform-price auction becomes efficient and revenue superior to conventional uniform-price auctions that are currently observed in pollution markets. |
| Keywords: | auctions; multi-unit; uniform-price; efficiency, pollution. |
| JEL: | D44 D82 L10 Q50 |
| Date: | 2018–02–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qld:uq2004:587&r=env |
| By: | McKenzie, Sidonia; Abdulkadri, Abdullahi |
| Abstract: | Almost two years have elapsed since the launch of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the pace of implementation in the Caribbean has remained slow. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has identified a lack of national institutional frameworks to support SDG implementation in most countries as a major factor in the slow pace of implementation. This study shows that Member States that have formalized an institutional arrangement for SDG implementation have recorded appreciable progress in mainstreaming the SDGs and in building national ownership of the global agenda. A template for implementing an institutional framework for SDG implementation in the remaining countries has been presented in this study. The study also highlights the critical role played by data in planning for sustainable development and calls for a renewed focus to strengthen statistical capacities in the Caribbean to support the follow-up and review process of the 2030 Agenda. |
| Keywords: | AGENDA 2030 PARA EL DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE, OBJETIVOS DE DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE, PLANES DE DESARROLLO, INDICADORES DEL DESARROLLO, RECOPILACION DE DATOS, 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, DEVELOPMENT PLANS, DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS, DATA COLLECTION |
| Date: | 2018–03–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col033:43362&r=env |
| By: | Toshi H.Arimura; Shinji Kaneko; Shunsuke Managi; Takayoshi Shinkuma; Masashi Yamamoto; Yuichiro Yoshida |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we attempt to identify the reasons behind the differences in environmental policy between Japan and other developed countries, particularly the US. Japan's environmental policy is unique in that voluntary approaches have been taken to reduce total emissions. This strategy is quite different from the traditional approach of heavy-handed regulation. In Japan, voluntary approaches are conducted through negotiations with polluters. The idea behind this type of voluntary approaches is that the government can induce polluters to abate emissions voluntarily by using light-handed regulations and the threat of heavy-handed regulations. The light-handed regulation is quite effective especially when it is costly to introduce heavy-handed regulations, although the negotiations are difficult to conduct when the number of stakeholders is large. To strengthen our analysis, we provide some examples of Japanese environmental policies which are successful and the ones that are not. |
| Date: | 2016–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tcr:wpaper:e107&r=env |
| By: | Penelope Buckley (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Daniel Llerena (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes) |
| Abstract: | The aim of demand response is to make energy consumption more flexible during peak periods. Using a contextualised CPR framework, we study energy consumption choices. Subjects decide the consumption level of five activities during 10 periods. The total consumption of these activities is the CPR contribution, and payoffs depend on own consumption and the amount consumed by the group. In the nudge treatment, subjects are nudged towards the socially optimal level of consumption using injunctive norms. The average consumption observed in the nudge treatment is used to calculate the price implemented in the price treatment. The objective is to quantify the nudge via an equivalent price. The main hypotheses are: consumption choices will be lower in the treatment groups compared to the control groups; when the price level is fixed according to the nudge result, consumption choices in the price treatment will be equivalent to those in the nudge treatment. Across all 10 periods, consumption is significantly lower in the nudge treatment, and higher for control groups. In the price treatment, consumption remains between the two at or slightly above the target. We conclude that the nudge treatment performs as well as an equivalent price without the implied loss of welfare. When comparing decisions under the nudge and price treatments to the control groups, the consumption decisions are significantly different from period 2 for the nudge and, consistently different from period 7 for the price. We conclude that the nudge is understood and integrated into subjects' decision making quicker than an equivalent price. |
| Keywords: | common pool resource, Demand Response, incentives, laboratory experiment, nudge, price |
| Date: | 2018–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01704457&r=env |
| By: | Anthony Smith (Yale University); Per Krusell (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | This paper builds a highly disaggregated, dynamic, general equilibrium model of interactions between the climate and the economy. The model consists of approximately 19,000 1-degree by 1-degree regions containing land. Regional climates (or average annual temperatures) respond differently to increases in the Earth's temperature, and regional productivity varies with regional temperature. Each region makes optimal consumption-savings decisions in response to its changing productivity in one of two extreme market structures: autarky and free capital mobility. The relationship between regional temperature and productivity has an inverse U-shape, calibrated so that the many-region model replicates estimates of aggregate global damages from climate change; the implied optimal temperature is approximately twelve degrees. The central result is that climate change affects regions very differently, with many regions gaining while others lose. Although a tax on carbon increases average welfare, there is a large disparity of views across regions, with both winners and losers. These findings depend very little on the structure of capital markets. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed017:1582&r=env |
| By: | Yoann Verger (REEDS - Centre international de Recherches en Economie écologique, Eco-innovation et ingénierie du Développement Soutenable - UVSQ - Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines) |
| Abstract: | Here I provide some further elaboration on the idea of Sraffian ecological economics and its articulation with the capability approach. This enables addressing some important questions raised by Nuno Ornelas Martins (2018) when commenting on the idea of Sraffian ecological economics as outlined in Verger (2017) while advancing the basis for a capability approach. In a more general way, a research pathway for the development of Sraffian ecological economics is presented, going from an historical work on the epistemological, ethical, and ontological positions of Sraffa, to the investigation of specific areas of research. Finally, to understand the connection between Sraffa's economic theory and the capability approach discussed by Martins (2018), while addressing the environmental impacts of production, an essential aspect is Pasinetti's concept of hyper-subsystem (Pasinetti, 1988), as suggested by Vivian Walsh (2003). |
| Date: | 2018–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01700228&r=env |
| By: | Xican Xi (International Monetary Fund and Fudan University); Adrian Peralta-Alva (International Monetary Fund); Marina Mendes Tavares (ITAM and IMF) |
| Abstract: | Energy is an important production input and also the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing energy use per unit output, or so-called energy intensity, is key to promote economic efficiency and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper, we study cross-country differences in energy intensity. We document a hump-shape relation between energy intensity and income per capita across countries, which is explained by cross-country differences in energy intensity of the industrial sector and by sectoral composition. We then extend the development accounting framework to understand the cross-country differences in industrial energy intensity. We find that energy-saving technologies account for most of the differences in industrial energy intensity, while energy prices and the industrial composition play a minor role. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed017:1531&r=env |
| By: | Ngawang Dendup (Graduate School of Economics, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan); Toshi H. Arimura (Faculty of Political Science and Economics, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan) |
| Abstract: | The outcome of household choice depends on the private information available to an agent, particularly in terms of costs and benefits. This study examines the role of information in the adoption of clean cooking fuel in Bhutan. We use a rural subsample of nationally representative data from the 2012 Bhutan Living Standard Survey (BLSS) conducted in all twenty districts. We estimate a bivariate probit model to control for the potentially endogenous information variable. The results indicate that households that have access to information are approximately 40 percent more likely to adopt clean cooking fuel. Similarly, households are 49 percent less likely to adopt dirty fuel (firewood) when exposed to information. Other factors such as education, the electricity supply, access to liquidity and the distance to the market are important factors that contribute to adopting clean cooking fuel. The results also show that the effect of information varies depending on the level of education of the household heads, thus highlighting the importance of accounting for the level of education of information recipients when designing a similar information provision. |
| Keywords: | clean fuel, information, operator, environment, indoor air pollution |
| JEL: | Q50 Q55 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:was:dpaper:1801&r=env |
| By: | Jansen, Jaap |
| Abstract: | The European Commission’s Renewable Energy Directive of 2001 mandated EU member states to develop a system for the guarantees of origin (GOs) of renewable electricity. In 2016, this market had an estimated value of €120 million per year across the EU, of which €100 million was income for generators of renewable electricity. Yet the GO system has been criticised for lacking environmental credibility and having little impact. The current legislation of the GO instrument leads to an oversupplied GO market and a double-counting problem. This enables suppliers who want to launch renewable electricity products, and corporations seeking to make their electricity demand more renewable, to do so in a legally correct and cheap but environmentally questionable way, which leads to little or no extra generation of renewable electricity. The author argues that well-designed reforms could address these weaknesses and provide additional, consumer-driven income streams to help realise new renewable energy projects in the future. He proposes a number of recommendations for action. |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eps:cepswp:12714&r=env |
| By: | Elkerbout, Milan |
| Abstract: | The clean energy transition – necessitated by the Paris Agreement and implemented in the EU through the Energy Union strategy – is changing the industrial landscape in Europe. Viewed through the lens of competitiveness, this transition brings about threats as well as opportunities. This transition also leads to increased integration and linkages between climate and energy policies, on the one hand, and industrial policies, on the other. The short report is a first attempt to describe these linkages and thereby make a step towards identifying key issues and emerging policy questions while starting to hint at possible answers. It is meant as a background for discussion upon which to build further research. |
| Keywords: | Energy Union; energy transition; EU ETS; climate and industrial policy; innovation finance |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eps:cepswp:13274&r=env |
| By: | Grubb, M.; Mercure, J.; Salas, P.; Lange, R. |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a stylised mathematical interpretation of innovation and inertia in economic systems, characteristics which feature in economics literature traceable back at least to Schumpeter and other economic theorists of innovation, as well as economic historians. Such characteristics are particularly important in energy systems and their potential response to climate change, where it is important to distinguish operational/fuel substitution from investment because the latter necessarily embodies both inertia and innovation, in systems as well as technologies. We argue that integrated assessments of climate abatement need to focus on investment, including the associated characteristics of both learning and inertia, and derive in detail the mathematical basis for incorporating these factors through marginal investment cost curves. From this we also introduce the concept of ‘pliability’ as an expression of the ratio between costs which are significant but transitional (including learning investments, infrastructure and overcoming inertia), as compared to the enduring costs implied by purely exogenous technology assumptions. We then incorporate these features in a global model of optimal climate mitigation and show that they can generate a very different profile and pattern of results from traditional ‘integrated assessment’ models, pinpointing the key sensitivities. We conclude that alongside all the attention devoted to evaluating climate change impacts and technology scenarios, far more effort should be devoted to understanding the structural characteristics of how the global energy system may respond to climate change mitigation. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, path dependence, inertia, learning by doing, climate change abatement, endogenous technological change, energy systems |
| JEL: | B52 L50 O33 O38 Q40 Q54 |
| Date: | 2018–03–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1819&r=env |
| By: | Charles F. Mason; Rémi Morin Chassé |
| Abstract: | The existing economics literature neglects the important role of capacity in the production of renewable energy. To fiill this gap, we construct a model in which renewable energy production is tied to renewable energy capacity, which then becomes a form of capital. This capacity capital can be increased through investment, which we interpret as arising from the allocation of energy, and which therefore comes at the cost of reduced general production. Requiring societal well-being to never decline, we describe how society could optimally elect to split energy in this fashion, the use of non-renewable energy resources, the use of renewable energy resources, and the implied time path of societal well-being. Our model delivers an empirically satisfactory explanation for simultaneous use of non-renewable and renewable energy. We also discuss the optimality of ceasing use of non-renewable energy before the non-renewable resource stock is fully exhausted. |
| Keywords: | sustainability, energy, resource use |
| JEL: | C61 Q42 Q56 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_6889&r=env |
| By: | Michaël GOUJON (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur le Développement International(CERDI)) |
| Abstract: | This short note recalls the debated conclusions of the literature on the impact of decolonization for small islands. It also presents an overview of compared performances of New-Caledonia in terms of human development and inequalities. It concludes with some thoughts on the vulnerability of New-Caledonia, in the face of climate change particularly. |
| Keywords: | Indicators, Development, Poverty, Climate change. |
| JEL: | Q54 P48 O15 F54 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdi:wpaper:1916&r=env |
| By: | Ross Levine; Chen Lin; Zigan Wang; Wensi Xie |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the impact of the credit conditions facing corporations on their emissions of toxic air pollutants. Exploiting cross-county, cross-time shale discoveries that generated liquidity windfalls at local bank branches, we construct measures of (1) the degree to which banks in non-shale counties, i.e., counties where shale was not discovered, receive liquidity shocks through their branches in shale counties and (2) the degree to which a corporation in a non-shale county has a relationship lender that receives liquidity shocks through its branches. From both the county- and firm-level analyses, we discover that positive shocks to credit conditions reduce corporate pollution. |
| JEL: | G21 O16 Q40 Q52 Q53 |
| Date: | 2018–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24375&r=env |
| By: | de Jong, Jacques; Hassel, Arndt; Egenhofer, Christian; Jansen, Jaap; Xu, Zheng |
| Abstract: | Electricity will play a greater role in the transport and building sectors and all decarbonisation scenarios point to the increasing electrification of the energy system. To reach EU climate change targets, however, electricity will need to come increasingly from low carbon sources, especially (but not only) from variable renewable energy sources. Both trends - the electrification of sectors and the need to integrate electricity from variable renewables - mean that the electricity sector should become more flexible. This report reflects the discussions held in the CEPS Energy Climate House Task Force on Creating a Market Design for Flexibility in EU Electricity Markets, which met between April and September 2017. The Task Force formulated a number of recommendations in the areas of short-term and balancing markets; grid reinforcement and cross-zonal capacity allocation; aggregation; priority dispatch; DSOs (distribution system operators); and sectoral integration. |
| Date: | 2017–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eps:cepswp:13093&r=env |
| By: | Stefan E. Weishaar |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the implementation issues and barriers for introducing a carbon tax at EU member state level. Important success determinants are related to the political economy of introducing taxes (negotiations with stakeholders, concessions, changes in proposed legislation, compromises, etc.) which translate i.a. into competitiveness issues, and fairness/equity/distribution issues. For these the design of the carbon tax exemptions, and safeguards to prevent progressivity and the use of the tax proceeds are important. The analysis will focus on the "frontrunner" countries in the EU which have been very successful in terms of the introduction of carbon taxes (Sweden, Denmark and Finland). The countries employed different implementation strategies but underscore the importance of successful issue, timing, linking and to foster political support by safeguarding competitiveness and by addressing income distributions. |
| Keywords: | Carbon taxes, Climate change |
| Date: | 2018–02–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2018:i:557&r=env |
| By: | Sosso FEINDOUNO (Ferdi); Michaël GOUJON (University of Auvergne); Olivier SANTONI (Ferdi) |
| Abstract: | Nous proposons un indicateur d’intensité de l’activité cyclonique calculé au niveau pays par année. Cet indicateur, simple, utilise des données historiques géolocalisées sur les cyclones, leur puissance, leur position, dont nous déduisons la part du territoire touchée, et leur durée. Cet indicateur est calculé (et est non-nul) pour 128 pays et territoires sur la période 1970-2014. Cet indicateur est utilisable pour comparer la vulnérabilité des pays à l’activité cyclonique, qui est une des conséquences importantes du changement climatique. |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fdi:wpaper:4185&r=env |
| By: | Isabelle Nicolaï (LGI - Laboratoire Génie Industriel - EA 2606 - CentraleSupélec); Julien Pillot (GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Côte d'Azur) |
| Date: | 2017–02–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01715029&r=env |
| By: | Geneviève Fontaine (ERUDITE - Equipe de Recherche sur l’Utilisation des Données Individuelles en lien avec la Théorie Economique - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - UPEC UP12 - Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12) |
| Date: | 2018–02–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01702951&r=env |
| By: | Clive George (University of Manchester); Shunta Yamaguchi (OECD) |
| Abstract: | This report assesses the progress of the implementation of environmental provisions in RTAs. It focuses on the extent to which governments have complied with the environmental commitments made in the trade agreements to which they are a Party. The report takes a two track approach. First, a review of implementation and evaluation reports associated with environmental provisions in such agreements is performed. Second, a survey of government officials, trade negotiators and other experts is carried out. |
| Keywords: | environment policy, environmental provisions, free trade agreements, Regional trade agreements, trade and environment, trade policy |
| JEL: | F13 F18 N50 Q56 R11 |
| Date: | 2018–03–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:traaaa:2018/01-en&r=env |
| By: | Paulin Ibanda Kabaka (UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, Centre de recherche Pau Droit Public - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, LAM - Les Afriques dans le monde - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Les incendies des forêts portent atteinte aux espaces forestiers et détruisent une quantité inestimable de biodiversité ainsi que des écosystèmes forestiers. Ils exposent également à des risques évidents les populations riveraines des forêts, car ils anéantissent habitations, propriétés agricoles voire des individus, comme les 32 personnes qui sont décédées l'été 2017 au Portugal. Pour en circonscrire l'impact et en prévenir la survenance, le droit forestier français (le nouveau code forestier émane de l'ordonnance et du décret de 2012) a édicté un certain nombre des règles à respecter ou à faire respecter. |
| Keywords: | maire, préfet,droit forestier, incendie, France |
| Date: | 2018–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01699028&r=env |
| By: | Zoran Sapuric; Sanela Shkrijelj; Blazhe Josifovski |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ftm:policy:2018-01&r=env |
| By: | DANIELE CESANO; ALEXANDRE GORI MAIA; BRUNO CESAR BRITO MIYAMOTO; GABRIELA SANTOS EUSEBIO; PATRICIA ANDRADE |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:anp:en2016:189&r=env |
| By: | Marjorie Tendero (SMART - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - AGROCAMPUS OUEST, CREAM - Centre de Recherche en Economie Appliquée à la Mondialisation - URN - Université de Rouen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université); Cécile Bazart (LAMETA - Laboratoire Montpelliérain d'Économie Théorique et Appliquée - UM1 - Université Montpellier 1 - UM3 - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 - Montpellier SupAgro - Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques - INRA Montpellier - Institut national de la recherche agronomique [Montpellier] - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier) |
| Abstract: | What first comes to mind when you think of contaminated brownfields? The information and ideas we hold about brownfield redevelopment can strongly influence discussions on this issue, the impacts we associate with it, and the types of regulation we view as appropriate. This study makes is based on the social representations theory, a process to decode reality by analyzing social representations associated with contaminated brownfield sites in France and isolate what influences individual's behaviors and acceptance of brownfield management programs today in France. It proceeds in particular with textual analyzes from data collected through open-ended questions from a cross-sectional survey administered among 803 individuals living nearby a contaminated brownfield site. Results show awareness regarding potential contamination of brownfields sites. However, this pollution is associated to visible elements but is disconnected from main pollutants the can be found on the site. We also observe regional disparities regarding contaminated brownfields representations, which are linked to historical activities in former industrial regions. This allows us to drawn some lines of recommendation for communication and management of future brownfield redevelopment programs. |
| Keywords: | brownfields, IRaMuTeQ,social representations,soil contamination,textual analysis,attitudes |
| Date: | 2018–02–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01709548&r=env |
| By: | Vringer, Kees; Heijden, Eline Van Der (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management); Soest, Daan Van (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management); Vollebergh, Herman (Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management); Dietz, Frank |
| Abstract: | To examine which considerations play a role when individuals make decisions to purchase sustainable product varieties or not, we have conducted a large scale field experiment with more than 600 participating households. Households can vote on whether the budgets they receive should only be spent on purchasing the sustainable product variety, or whether every household in a group is free to spend their budget on any product variety. By conducting several treatments, we tested whether people tend to view sustainable consumption as a social dilemma or as a moral dilemma. We find little support for the hypothesis that social dilemma considerations are the key drivers of sustainable consumption behaviour. Participants seem to be caught in a moral dilemma in which they not only weigh their individual financial costs with the sustainable benefits but they also consider the consequences of restricting other people’s freedom of choice. Complementary survey results further substantiate this claim and show that many people are reluctant to impose restrictions on their peers, but, at the same time, our results also suggest substantial support for the government to regulate the availability of unsustainable product varieties. |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tiu:tiutis:d683e2ed-c465-468e-b537-01a0a0069d76&r=env |
| By: | Ilaria Brunetti; Mabel Tidball; Denis Couvet |
| Abstract: | Agriculture is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. In this work we model the interdependent relationship between biodiversity and agriculture on a farmed land, supposing that, while agriculture has a negative impact on biodiversity, the latter can increase agricultural production. Farmers act as myopic agents, who maximize their instantaneous profit without considering the negative effects of their practice on the evolution of biodiversity. We find that a tax on inputs can have a positive effect on yield since it can be considered as a social signal helping farmers to avoid myopic behavior in regards to the positive effect of biodiversity on yield. We also prove that, by increasing biodiversity productivity the level of biodiversity at equilibrium decreases, since when biodiversity is more productive farmers can maintain lower biodiversity to get the same yield. |
| Date: | 2018–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lam:wpceem:18-01&r=env |