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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Simplice A. Asongu (Yaounde, Cameroon); Xuan V. Vo (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) |
| Abstract: | There is a glaring concern of income inequality in the light of the post-2015 global development agenda of sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially for countries that are in the south of the Sahara. There are also concerns over the present and future consequences of environmental degradation on development outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This study provides carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions thresholds that should be avoided in the nexus between financial development and income inequality in a panel of 39 countries in SSA over the period 2004-2014. Quantile regressions are used as an empirical strategy. The following findings are established. Financial development unconditionally decreases income inequality with an increasing negative magnitude while the interactions between financial development and CO2 emissions have the opposite effect with an increasing positive magnitude. The underlying nexuses are significant exclusively in the median and top quantiles of the income inequality distribution. CO2 emission thresholds that should not be exceeded in order for financial development to continuously reduce income inequality are 0.222, 0.200 and 0.166 metric tons per capita for the median, 75th quantile and 90th quantile of the income inequality distribution, respectively. Policy implications are discussed with particular relevance to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). |
| Keywords: | Renewable energy; Inequality; Finance; Sub-Saharan Africa; Sustainable development |
| JEL: | H10 Q20 Q30 O11 O55 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abh:wpaper:20/030&r=all |
| By: | Kaitila, Ville |
| Abstract: | Abstract In order to fight the climate change, the European Union and Finland as its member country are seeking carbon neutrality by 2050, Finland already by 2035. In this brief, we assess the development of Finnish greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) in 2019–2024 based on Etla’s most recent macroeconomic and industry sector forecasts. Technological change that will cut greenhouse gas emissions is paramount for the efforts to reach carbon neutrality. We use three technological assumptions that describe how the emission intensity of value added may develop. Our baseline scenario, based on how value added will change in each industry combined with their average development in emission intensity over the past few years, shows that the aggregate emissions will decrease on average by about four per cent annually in 2019–2024. Compared to our previous forecast, we have now calculated the development of CO2 emissions in the electricity, gas and steam producing sector and the development of carbon sinks in a new way. However, this good development is not yet enough to reach the carbon neutrality target which requires a speed of decline in emissions of around six per cent annually. Consequently, technological change needs to accelerate considerably. The public sector can support the efforts to reach carbon neutrality by, among other things, R&D funding, removing harmful subsidies, introducing environmental taxes, and being active in the development of the EU’s emissions trading system. Carbon neutrality can also be taken into account in public procurement and infrastructure investments. |
| Keywords: | Economic forecast, CO2, Carbon neutrality, Emissions trading |
| JEL: | E17 O11 O30 O44 O47 |
| Date: | 2020–09–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:briefs:90&r=all |
| By: | Matthew E. Kahn; Weizeng Sun; Siqi Zheng |
| Abstract: | The surprise economic shutdown due to COVID-19 caused a sharp improvement in urban air quality in many previously heavily polluted Chinese cities. If clean air is a valued experience good, then this short-term reduction in pollution in spring 2020 could have persistent medium-term effects on reducing urban pollution levels as cities adopt new “blue sky” regulations to maintain recent pollution progress. We document that China’s cross-city Environmental Kuznets Curve shifts as a function of a city’s demand for clean air. We rank 144 cities in China based on their population’s baseline sensitivity to air pollution and with respect to their recent air pollution gains due to the COVID shutdown. The largest experience good effect should take place for cities featuring a high pollution sensitive population and where air quality has sharply improved during the pandemic. The residents of these cities have increased their online discussions focused on environmental protection, and local officials are incorporating “green” industrial subsidies into post-COVID stimulus policies. |
| JEL: | Q52 Q53 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27790&r=all |
| By: | Donatella Baiardi (Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche ed Aziendali, University of Parma, Italy; Rimini Centre for Economic Analysis); Simona Scabrosetti (Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza, University of Pavia, Italy; Carlo F. Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policies, Università Bocconi, Italy) |
| Abstract: | We empirically investigate the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) focusing on a sample of 39 countries in the period 1996-2014. Using an interaction model, we also analyze whether the effectiveness of environmental taxes in reducing CO2 emissions depends on the quality of political institutions. Our results show that the inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental stress and economic development holds independently of the quality of political institutions and environment related taxes. Moreover, an increase in the environmental tax revenue has the expected reducing effect on environmental degradation only in countries with more consolidated democratic institutions, higher civil society participation and less corrupt governments. Our findings also show that the effects on environmental stress of revenue neutral shifts to different tax sources depend not only on the quality of political institutions, but also on the kind of externality the policymaker aims at correcting. |
| Keywords: | Environmental tax revenue, Environmental tax mix, Environmental Kuznets Curve, CO2 emissions |
| JEL: | H23 P16 Q50 Q53 Q38 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rim:rimwps:20-25&r=all |
| By: | Bernal-Ramirez, Joaquin; Ocampo, José Antonio |
| Abstract: | It is increasingly recognized that climate change generates major macroeconomic and financial risks. There are physical risks associated to the disasters generated by hydrometeorological events and to gradual but persistent changes in temperatures that have structural impacts on economic activity, productivity and incomes. Additionally, the process of adjustment towards a lower-carbon economy, prompted by changes in climate-related policies, technological disruptions and changes in consumer preferences, generates transition risks. After a brief analysis of the macroeconomic, fiscal and tax policies to manage these risks, this paper concentrates on: (i) how financial policies can help improve transparency and climate-related risk disclosure in financial institutions’ balance sheets and assets prices,particularly with appropriate prudential regulation and supervision; and (ii) how those risks could be taken into account in monetary policy and central banks’ balance sheets and operations. The paper ends with some reflections on the Covid-19 pandemic and the will for a “green” recovery. |
| Keywords: | climate change; carbon tax; financial policy; monetary policy; central banks |
| JEL: | E50 G18 H23 Q54 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rie:riecdt:63&r=all |
| By: | Pal, Barun Deb; Kapoor, Shreya; Saroj, Sunil; Jat, M. L.; Kumar, Yogesh; Anantha, K. H. |
| Abstract: | Climate change has brought large instabilities in agricultural systems, in terms of both crop yield and net farm income. Climate smart agriculture is one of the innovative methods that tries to build resilience in agricultural systems. A study is conducted in Raichur district of Karnataka state in India to assess the impact of adoption of laser land levelling (LLL), a climate smart agriculture technology, on crop yield and farmers’ income. A primary survey was conducted in 2018 among 604 paddy growing farmers in Raichur district. The study provides results based on both qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data. The study examines farmers’ perceptions about climate change and effectiveness of LLL. Statistically, the results are evaluated using econometric methods like propensity score matching, coarsened exact matching, and endogenous switching regression. Advanced econometric methods are adopted to check for the problem of unobserved endogeneity. Adoption of laser land levelers increased crop yield by 0.5 tonnes/hectare and net farm income by Rs. 5000 per annum. Further, farmers observed drought as the most extreme climatic event which resulted in heavy crop loss to them. Lastly, farmers revealed that adoption of LLL reduced cost of cultivation and limits crop loss due to climate variability. |
| Keywords: | INDIA; SOUTH ASIA; ASIA; climate change; farming systems; agricultural systems; climate-smart agriculture; innovation; technology; climate change adaptation; impact assessment; sustainable development; econometric models; regression analysis; livelihoods; farm income; farmers; food production; drought; laser land levelling (LLL); innovative technologies; econometric modeling; agricultural technology |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1960&r=all |
| By: | Hintermayer, Martin (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI)) |
| Abstract: | Despite the reform of the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), discussions about complementing it with a carbon price floor (CPF) are ongoing. This paper analyzes the effect of a European CPF in the reformed EU ETS using a Hotelling model of the EU ETS, amended by the market stability reserve (MSR), and the cancellation mechanism. Two CPF designs are compared: (1) a buyback program and (2) a top-up tax. The buyback program sets a minimum price for the allowances from the implementation year onwards. After the announcement, firms anticipate the CPF, which immediately increases the carbon price to the discounted CPF level. Therefore, firms emit less and bank more allowances, leading to more intake into the MSR, and more cancellation of allowances. The top-up tax imposes a tax on emissions, which enhances the market price of allowances to the CPF level from the implementation year onwards. Firms increase their short-run emissions in anticipation of the upcoming tax. Only after the implementation year firms start to lower their emissions. Thus, the effect on aggregate cancellation is ambiguous. Despite being equivalent in a static setting, the design choice for the CPF matters in a dynamic context, such as the EU ETS. |
| Keywords: | Intertemporal Emission Trading; Carbon Price Floor; EU ETS |
| JEL: | H23 H32 Q58 |
| Date: | 2020–09–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:ewikln:2020_003&r=all |
| By: | Liang, Yuanning; Rudik, Ivan (Cornell University); Zou, Eric; Johnston, Alison; Rodewald, Amanda; Kling, Catherine |
| Abstract: | Massive wildlife losses over the past 50 years have brought new urgency to identifying both the drivers of population decline and potential solutions. We provide the first large-scale evidence that air pollution, specifically ozone, is associated with declines in bird abundance in the United States. We show that an air pollution regulation limiting ozone precursors emissions has delivered substantial benefits to bird conservation. Our results imply that air quality improvements over the past four decades have stemmed the decline in bird populations, averting the loss of 1.5 billion birds, approximately 20 percent of current totals. Our results highlight that in addition to protecting human health, air pollution regulations have previously unrecognized and unquantified conservation co-benefits. |
| Date: | 2020–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:74ujt&r=all |
| By: | Ekundayo P. Mesagan (University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria); Chidi N. Olunkwa (University of Lagos, Nigeria) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the effects of energy consumption and capital investment on environmental degradation in selected African countries between 1981 and 2017 using panel cointegration approaches. The Fully Modified and the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares results affirm that energy consumption positively affects carbon emissions in Algeria, Nigeria, Morocco, and in the panel. At the same time, both also confirm that capital investment positively and significantly impacts carbon emissions in the region. Again, results show that capital investment augments energy use to reduce carbon emissions in Africa significantly. This implies that capital investment can provide needed impetus to reduce environmental degradation in the continent. The study, therefore, recommends that African countries should focus on energy conservation policies to reduce the adverse effect of energy use on carbon emissions. |
| Keywords: | Electricity Consumption, Capital investment, Environmental Degradation, Africa |
| JEL: | Q40 Q42 Q43 Q54 Q57 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abh:wpaper:20/022&r=all |
| By: | Neeraj Bokde; Bo Tranberg; Gorm Bruun Andresen |
| Abstract: | In the Paris agreement of 2015, it was decided to reduce the CO2 emissions of the energy sector to zero by 2050 and to restrict the global mean temperature increase to 1.5 degree Celcius above the pre-industrial level. Such commitments are possible only with practically CO2-free power generation based on variable renewable technologies. Historically, the main point of criticism regarding renewable power is the variability driven by weather dependence. Power-to-X systems, which convert excess power to other stores of energy for later use, can play an important role in offsetting the variability of renewable power production. In order to do so, however, these systems have to be scheduled properly to ensure they are being powered by low-carbon technologies. In this paper, we introduce a graphical approach for scheduling power-to-X plants in the day-ahead market by minimizing carbon emissions and electricity costs. This graphical approach is simple to implement and intuitively explain to stakeholders. In a simulation study using historical prices and CO2 intensity for four different countries, we find that the price and CO2 intensity tends to decrease with increasing scheduling horizon. The effect diminishes when requiring an increasing amount of full load hours per year. Additionally, investigating the trade-off between optimizing for price or CO2 intensity shows that it is indeed a trade-off: it is not possible to obtain the lowest price and CO2 intensity at the same time. |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2009.03160&r=all |
| By: | Jorrit Gosens (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | Much hope has been placed on China’s decisions regarding low-carbon stimulus following COVID-19. Analysis of China’s recent Government Work Report suggests that while a repeat of recovery measures focused on high-emissions infrastructure following the 2008 global recession is not in the cards, a Chinese Green New Deal is not in sight either. Much investment is flowing to fossil fuel industries, whilst support policies for renewable energy industries are absent from Beijing’s recovery program. These signs of environmental ambition taking a back seat are worrisome given that Beijing is currently designing its 14th Five-Year Plan. |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:2006&r=all |
| By: | Robert I. Harris; William A. Pizer |
| Abstract: | A sizeable number of papers beginning with Roberts and Spence (1976) have studied the use of price floors and ceilings (or “collars”) to manage prices in tradable permit markets. In contrast, economists have only recently begun examining polices to manage quantities under a pollution tax. Importantly, it can be difficult to know how to evaluate these policies, as papers dating back to Pizer (2002) suggest welfare is maximized by not focusing on quantities in the first place. In this paper, we propose an objective function to evaluate these alternative “carbon tax policies to meet an emission target.” The objective function includes a discrete jump in marginal emission consequences at the target, where the discontinuity can be interpreted as a true benefit measure or a necessary political constraint. We parameterize these emission consequences using recent legislative proposals, coupling this function with mitigation cost estimates to define the complete objective. This objective identifies the first-best tax policy design, one that requires relatively complex adjustments to mimic a tradable permit system. Turning to simpler, practical rules, we find that such rules achieve much of the difference in expected net benefits between an ordinary, exogenous tax and the first-best tax policy design. However, the ranking among simple rules depends on the interpretation of the higher, above-target emission penalty as a political constraint or a true benefit measure. We find that making these views explicit could facilitate billions of dollars per year in welfare gains. |
| JEL: | H23 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27781&r=all |
| By: | Davide Pace (University of Amsterdam); Joël van der Weele (University of Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | We investigate how consumers respond to uncertainty about CO2 emission size. In an incentivized online experiment, participants can acquire a valuable good that emits an unknown amount of CO2. We find that beliefs about emission size are strongly predictive of purchases, even exceeding the effect of substantial changes in the price of the good. Moreover, information that makes beliefs more precise causes a 26% reduction in overall emissions, even though average beliefs are unchanged. The reduction occurs as the marginal willingness to pay for emission reduction declines with emission size, so people who are too optimistic about emissions are more responsive to information. We also test for the formation of self-serving beliefs. Contrary to theories of motivated reasoning, increasing the surplus from buying the product does not change patterns of attention or belief formation about emissions. Overall, the results suggest that information about CO2 impact can be an important policy lever, and that willingness-to-pay for emission reductions should take into account the size of emissions. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions, sustainable consumption, economic experiments |
| JEL: | Q54 C91 D81 |
| Date: | 2020–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20200059&r=all |
| By: | Rohan Best (Department of Economics, Macquarie University); Paul J. Burke (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University); Frank Jotzo (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | To date there has been an absence of cross-country empirical studies on the efficacy of carbon pricing. In this paper we present estimates of the contribution of carbon pricing to reducing national carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fuel combustion, using several econometric modelling approaches that control for other key policies and for structural factors that are relevant for emissions. We use data for 142 countries over a period of two decades, 43 of which had a carbon price in place at the national level or below by the end of the study period. We find evidence that the average annual growth rate of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion has been around two percentage points lower in countries that have had a carbon price compared to countries without. An additional euro per tonne of CO2 in carbon price is associated with a reduction in the subsequent annual emissions growth rate of approximately 0.3 percentage points, all else equal. While it is impossible to fully control for all relevant influences on emissions growth, our estimates suggest that the emissions trajectories of countries with and without carbon prices tend to diverge over time. |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:2004&r=all |
| By: | Erik P. Johnson; Juan Moreno-Cruz |
| Abstract: | Electricity transmission redistributes environmental impacts across space. We exploit episodes of high electricity transmission system congestion to explore changes in ambient concentrations of air pollutants in the eastern United States. Reducing electricity system congestion decreases ozone and PM2.5 concentrations in New England and New York and increases them in the western portions of the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland electricity market and much of the Midwestern states. We quantify the health impacts of changes in environmental pollution induced by a reduction in congestion and find overall health losses in central states such as Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio and health gains in Atlantic. |
| Keywords: | electricity congestion, air quality, electricity transmission, health impacts |
| JEL: | Q51 Q52 Q53 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8483&r=all |
| By: | Cavalli, Laura; Lizzi, Giulia |
| Abstract: | Adapting traditional business models to be more cost-effective, and socially and environmentally sustainable – the triple bottom line of sustainable development – is becoming increasingly important. This applies to all industries, diverse and multidimensional sectors and activities, of which ports are a key example. This can be achieved by implementing sustainable port growth policies, through new or re-designed operational planning. As part of this, introducing new technologies into port processes and ecosystems that factor in the environment, but have wider-reaching benefits, will enable a move towards the port of the future. Although the expected consequences of a changed climate are one of the reasons behind actions in coastal protection and port management, issues such as scarcity of prime building locations, use of resources, environmental impact and the lives of neighboring communities also affect business decisions. 5G networks and digital technologies are crucial to addressing these challenges and transforming port operations to generate sustainable development. Different methods can be used to measure the impact of technological advancements on competitiveness, efficiency and growth of the sector. In this report, however, we identify the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their corresponding measurable key port performance indicators that can be used to monitor sustainability performance and help make business decisions for port master plans. Launched in 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 17 SDGs and their 169 associated targets represent an authoritative global guideline to achieving sustainability across different sectors. The agenda has many targets that can be directly or indirectly linked to port operations. These include the protection and management of ecosystems, as well as goals related to infrastructure and the circular economy, sustainable cities and communities, principles of good corporate governance, and data transmissibility and partnership relations management. With a timeline stretching to 2030, port authorities have time and capacity to contribute to the accomplishment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Achieving the SDGs also requires public and private sector partnerships. In such a setup, port community actors are engines for change. They not only facilitate the reduction of emissions, to enable energy transition and stimulate the circular economy, but are also points of dialogue with urban stakeholders and port cities. |
| Keywords: | Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2020–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemgc:305211&r=all |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | The city of Bonn, Germany, has a long-standing commitment towards sustainable development. The city has gone through a comprehensive process to link the city’s 2030 Sustainability Strategy to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Strategy seeks to address the main challenges faced by the city in terms of providing affordable housing, expanding and maintaining green spaces, shifting to clean forms of transport and energy, and providing employment opportunities for all, especially for low-skilled workers. The SDGs can also help to institutionalise Bonn’s Sustainability Strategy and allocate adequate resources to its implementation. They also provide a holistic framework to manage trade-offs between climate, sustainable mobility and affordable housing goals, while striving to reduce inequalities. |
| Date: | 2020–10–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:govaab:2020/06-en&r=all |
| By: | Thomas Longden (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University); Frank Jotzo (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University); Mousami Prasad (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University); Richard Andrews (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | A crucial question in the development of a hydrogen industry is whether green hydrogen, made using renewable energy, will be able to be produced at a cost that makes it attractive compared to hydrogen produced from fossil fuels. The main factors are the cost of electricity and the cost of electrolysers, together with capacity utilisation rates. Over recent years the cost of electricity from solar PV and wind have fallen dramatically, and further reductions are expected. Cost reductions are also being realised for electrolysers. In this note, we compile recent cost estimates and projections to provide plausible ranges for the production cost of green hydrogen. We find that the cost of green hydrogen could readily be at or below A$3/kg in the near future, and that the ‘stretch goal’ of A$2/kg mentioned in Australian strategy documents is likely to come into reach, possibly rapidly. |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:2007&r=all |
| By: | James H. Cassing; Ngo Van Long |
| Abstract: | We study how the opportunity to trade in trash might influence the equilibrium outcome when the tax on the externality is determined by a political economy process. In our model, individuals have heterogeneous preferences for environmental quality, and there is a leakage when funds are transferred from the pressure groups to the politicians. When hard-core environmentalists and capitalists are organized interest groups while moderate environmentalists are not organized, we find that the politically chosen tax on the externality is below the optimal Pigouvian level. The opportunity to export waste in unlimited quantities, but at a price, is not the environmentalists’ panacea and does not eliminate political social tension and suboptimal results. |
| Keywords: | trade in trash, interest groups, externalities, environmental lobby, political economy, trade and environment |
| JEL: | F18 D72 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8522&r=all |
| By: | Rohan Best (Department of Economics, Macquarie University); Paul J Burke (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | Energy mix persistence is a defining characteristic of energy systems, for reasons including the long-lived nature of energy infrastructure and the role of local endowments. This persistence is evident in current energy-type use being strongly influenced by past use. Our analysis uses data for eight energy types and a large sample of countries, finding varying degrees of energy mix persistence. We also find evidence that carbon pricing appears to have played a key role in tilting energy mixes from coal toward renewable energy. Our estimates provide empirical support to policymakers seeking to implement carbon pricing to transition their energy systems in a lower-carbon direction. |
| Date: | 2020–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:2001&r=all |
| By: | Schmidt, Ulrich |
| Abstract: | In einer Studie hat das Umweltbundesamt (UBA) die Konsequenzen eines Tempolimits auf Autobahnen für die Treibhausgasemissionen im deutschen Verkehrssektor berechnet. Dabei wurde gezeigt, dass ein generelles Tempolimit von 130 km/h die Emissionen um 1,9 Mio. t CO2-Äquivalente pro Jahr reduzieren würde. Für Tempolimits von 120 und 100 km/h ergäben sich entsprechend 2,6 und 5,4 Mio. t. Das UBA schließt daraus, dass ein generelles Tempolimit "ohne nennenswerte Mehrkosten" zu den Klimaschutzzielen im Verkehrssektor beitragen kann. Der Autor zeigt hingegen, dass die mit den niedrigeren Geschwindigkeiten einhergehenden längeren Fahrzeiten zu erheblichen Mehrkosten führen. Werden diese näherungsweise berücksichtigt, ergeben sich für die vom UBA betrachteten Tempolimits Vermeidungskosten zwischen 716 und 1.382 EUR je t CO2-Äquivalent, was verglichen mit alternativen Klimaschutzmaßnahmen hoch ist. Selbst wenn man die mögliche Reduktion der Verkehrstoten berücksichtigt, führen generelle Tempolimits zwischen 100 und 130 km/h zu Wohlfahrtverlusten. Der Autor empfiehlt, dass die Verkehrspolitik Maßnahmen priorisieren sollte, bei denen Ökonomie und Klimaschutz im Einklang stehen, wie es bei einem einheitlichen CO2-Preis, variablen Tempolimits sowie zeit- und ortsabhängigen Straßennutzungsgebühren der Fall wäre. |
| Keywords: | Tempolimit,Treibhausgasemissionen,Verkehrstote,Kosten-Nutzen Analyse,Speed Limit,Carbon Emissions,Traffic Fatalities,Cost-Benefit Analysis |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkpb:145&r=all |
| By: | Simplice A. Asongu (Yaounde, Cameroon); Nicholas M. Odhiambo (Pretoria, South Africa) |
| Abstract: | This study assesses how globalisation modulates the effect of environmental degradation on inclusive human development in 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), using data for the period 2000 to 2012. The empirical results are based on the Generalized Method of Moments (GMM). The following main findings are established. First, a trade openness (imports + exports) threshold of between 80-120% of GDP is the maximum level required for trade openness to effectively modulate CO2 emissions (metric tonnes per capita) and induce a positive effect on inclusive human development. Second, a minimum threshold required for trade openness to modulate CO2 intensity (kg per kg of oil-equivalent energy use) and induce a positive effect on inclusive human development is 200% of GDP. Third, there is a net positive effect on inclusive human development from the relevance of trade openness in modulating the effect of CO2 emissions per capita on inclusive human development and a negative net effect on inclusive human development from the importance of trade openness in moderating the effect of CO2 intensity on inclusive human development. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions; Economic development; Africa |
| JEL: | C52 O38 O40 O55 P37 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abh:wpaper:20/015&r=all |
| By: | Henri-Louis Vedie |
| Abstract: | The Kingdom of Morocco, which has no oil and gas, has shifted to renewable energy as early as 1960, giving priority to hydroelectricity and the construction of dams. However, most of the country’s power plants were and remain powered by diesel or gas, which has a heavy impact on its balance payments. Since then, the demand for electricity has continued to grow due to the country’s development on the one hand and, as a result of the use of desalination facilities on the other hand, which consume a lot of electricity, to meet the constantly increasing drinking water needs. Since 2009, and at the initiative of King Mohammed VI, renewable energy has become a reign-long project, with the objective of covering 42% of the electricity produced by 2020. To achieve this goal, three branches will be used to contribute an equal share of 14% each: hydropower, wind energy and solar energy. This study shows that this objective should be achieved at the cost of considerable investment, with a focus on state-of-the-art technologies. Over and above this statistical success, Morocco will also be able to export the know-how learned, particularly in the solar and wind fields, a success which should give hope to emerging economies deprived of fossil energy, in search of development and sustainable development. |
| Date: | 2020–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:ppaper:pb20-11-1&r=all |
| By: | Udi Joshua (Federal University Lokoja, Kogi state, Nigeria); Festus V. Bekun (Istanbul Gelisim University, Istanbul, Turkey); Samuel A. Sarkodie (Nord University Business School (HHN), Bodø, Norwa) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the relationship between foreign direct investment inflows and economic growth by incorporating the role of urbanization, coal consumption and CO2 emissions as additional variables to avoid omitted variable bias. The different order of integration from the unit root test suggested the adoption of a dynamic autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing procedure. The results confirmed the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between the outlined series within the period under investigation with a high speed of convergence. The ARDL equilibrium relationship shows that coal consumption is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide emissions in both short- (0.77%) and long- (0.86%) run. Economic growth was found to escalate CO2 emission by approximately 0.27% (in the short-run) and 0.19% (in the long-run). The Granger causality test indicates a non-causal effect between FDI inflow and economic expansion in South Africa, which implies that FDI is not a driver of economic advancement. The empirical study shows a bidirectional causal effect between urbanization and foreign direct investment. This suggests that urban development stimulates foreign direct investment in South Africa. The findings reveal a one-way link from GDP to coal consumption, suggesting economic prosperity promotes coal consumption. The study underscores that economic development and the attraction of more economic investments is in part, dependent on the conservative policy, development of urban centres through infrastructural improvement, and establishing industrial zones. |
| Keywords: | South Africa; coal consumption; CO2 emissions; climate change; urbanization |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abh:wpaper:20/011&r=all |
| By: | Asongu, Simplice; Nting, Rexon; Nnanna, Joseph |
| Abstract: | This study investigates linkages between environmental degradation, globalisation and governance in 44 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa using data for the period 2000-2012. The Generalised Method of Moments is employed as empirical strategy. Environmental degradation is proxied by carbon dioxide emissions whereas globalisation is appreciated in terms of trade openness and net foreign direct investment inflows. Bundled and unbundled governance indicators are used, namely: political governance (consisting of political stability/no violence and “voice & accountability”), economic governance (encompassing government effectiveness and regulation quality), institutional governance (entailing corruption-control and the rule of law) and general governance (a composite measurement of political governance, economic governance and institutional governance). The following main finding is established. Trade openness modulates carbon dioxide emissions to have positive net effects on political stability, economic governance, the rule of law and general governance. |
| Keywords: | Carbon dioxide emissions; Economic development; Africa |
| JEL: | C52 O38 O40 O55 P37 |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:101534&r=all |
| By: | Pinchbeck, Edward W. (University of Birmingham); Roth, Sefi (London School of Economics); Szumilo, Nikodem (University College London); Vanino, Enrico (University of Sheffield) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the housing market to examine the costs of indoor air pollution. We focus on radon, an indoor air pollutant which is the largest source of exposure to natural ionising radiation and the leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. To overcome potential confounders, we exploit a natural experiment whereby a risk map update in England induces exogenous variation in published radon risk levels. Using a repeat-sales approach, we find a significant negative relationship between changes in published radon risk levels and residential property prices of affected properties. Interestingly, we do not find that the effect of increasing or decreasing radon risk is symmetric. We also show that the update of the risk map led higher socio-economic groups (SEGs) to move away from radon affected areas, attracting lower SEG residents via lower prices. Finally, we propose and utilise a new theoretical framework to account for preference based sorting which allows us to calculate that the average willingness to pay to avoid radon risk is $3,360. |
| Keywords: | indoor air pollution, risk information, house prices, radon, neighbourhood sorting |
| JEL: | R21 R28 Q53 H23 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13655&r=all |
| By: | Schiff, Maurice (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Production of commodities based on open-access renewable natural resources (NR) has usually been examined under "low" congestion (LC) – where MC > AC and both increase with output. I identify two additional congestion categories, "high" (HC) and "super" (SC) congestion – where AC is backward-bending and MC |
| Keywords: | open access, natural resource, low, high and super congestion, autarky and trade |
| JEL: | D62 F18 Q22 Q27 Q56 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13652&r=all |
| By: | Geoffrey Heal |
| Abstract: | I make three points relating to the transition from fossil fuels to non-carbon energy. One is that the economic cost of moving from fossil fuels to renewable energy in electricity generation is very low, and probably lower than many estimates of the economic benefits from this change. The second is that, if it were to move the economy away from fossil fuels and from oil in particular, a carbon tax would have to be much great than generally believed, in the range of $400 per ton CO2 or above. Finally, decarbonization of the economy implies electrification, the replacement of fossil fuels by electricity in for example space heating. Currently electricity is far too expensive for this to be politically realistic: this is because its price does not reflect its marginal cost but this plus a wide range of fixed costs that are recovered in the per kilowatt hour charge. If we are to electrify the economy then the price of electricity will need to be nearer to its marginal cost, which raises questions about the business models of utilities. |
| JEL: | Q42 Q54 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27766&r=all |
| By: | Lines, Jo; Bett, Bernard; Fèvre, Eric; Moodley, Arshnee; Waage, Jeff |
| Abstract: | Human health is a fundamental feature of sustainable agricultural intensification. Agricultural intensification that increases the burden of human disease, however environmentally benign, is not sustainable. Conversely, sustainable agricultural methods provide specific opportunities for improving human health. The intensification of food systems in low- and middle income countries (LMIC), as they transition from subsistence to market-oriented production, is typically associated with human health risks. Some health risks are associated with the initial stages of intensification, for example, concentration of livestock production and animal waste in peri-urban areas. Inputs associated with this intensification, including fertilizers, pesticides, and antibiotics, can have negative effects on farmers’ health, clean water, and resistance in pathogens and vectors. In rapidly intensifying agricultural systems, regulatory processes that limit the use of harmful products and their residues in water and food may not be in place. Therefore, LMIC face a particular challenge to “de-risk†agricultural intensification, through technical and policy-related interventions that reduce health risks in transitioning agricultural systems. |
| Keywords: | health; intervention; public health; agriculture; rice; malaria; zoonoses; developing countries; agricultural intensification; human health; cross-sectoral collaboration; antimicrobial resistant infection; zoonotic diseases; low- and middle income countries (LMIC) |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:othbrf:133953&r=all |
| By: | Štěpán Mikula; Mariola Pytliková |
| Abstract: | This paper from Štěpán Mikula (Masaryk University) and Mariola Pytliková (EconPol Europe, CERGE-EI) examines causal effects of air pollution on migration by exploiting a unique natural experiment of desulfurization of power plants in the region of North Bohemia in the Czech Republic after the fall of communism in 1989. They find that anti-emigration policies had no impact on emigration decisions, but the effect of air pollution on emigration tended to be stronger in municipalities with weaker social capital and in municipalities less equipped with man-made amenities. These results suggest that strengthening social capital, investing into better facilities in the area of education, health and social care, and promoting sport and cultural activities can partially mitigate the migratory response to air pollution. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:econwp:_43&r=all |
| By: | Coker, Eric; Cavalli, Laura; Fabrizi, Enrico; Guastella, Gianni; Lippo, Enrico; Parisi, Maria Laura; Pontarollo, Nicola; Rizzati, Massimiliano; Varacca, Alessandro; Vergalli, Sergio |
| Abstract: | Long-term exposure to ambient air pollutant concentrations is known to cause chronic lung inflammation, a condition that may promote increased severity of COVID-19 syndrome caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). In this paper, we empirically investigate the ecologic association between long-term concentrations of area-level fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and excess deaths in the first quarter of 2020 in municipalities of Northern Italy. The study accounts for potentially spatial confounding factors related to urbanization that may have influenced the spreading of SARS-CoV-2 and related COVID-19 mortality. Our epidemiological analysis uses geographical information (e.g., municipalities) and negative binomial regression to assess whether both ambient PM2.5 concentration and excess mortality have a similar spatial distribution. Our analysis suggests a positive association of ambient PM2.5 concentration on excess mortality in Northern Italy related to the COVID-19 epidemic. Our estimates suggest that a one-unit increase in PM2.5 concentration (μg/m3) is associated with a 9% (95% confidence interval: 6% - 12%) increase in COVID-19 related mortality. |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2020–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemgc:305209&r=all |
| By: | Coker, Eric; Cavalli, Laura; Fabrizi, Enrico; Guastella, Gianni; Lippo, Enrico; Parisi, Maria Laura; Pontarollo, Nicola; Rizzati, Massimiliano; Varacca, Alessandro; Vergalli, Sergio |
| Abstract: | Long-term exposure to ambient air pollutant concentrations is known to cause chronic lung inflammation, a condition that may promote increased severity of COVID-19 syndrome caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). In this paper, we empirically investigate the ecologic association between long-term concentrations of area-level fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and excess deaths in the first quarter of 2020 in municipalities of Northern Italy. The study accounts for potentially spatial confounding factors related to urbanization that may have influenced the spreading of SARS-CoV-2 and related COVID-19 mortality. Our epidemiological analysis uses geographical information (e.g., municipalities) and negative binomial regression to assess whether both ambient PM2.5 concentration and excess mortality have a similar spatial distribution. Our analysis suggests a positive association of ambient PM2.5 concentration on excess mortality in Northern Italy related to the COVID-19 epidemic. Our estimates suggest that a one-unit increase in PM2.5 concentration (μg/m3) is associated with a 9% (95% confidence interval: 6% - 12%) increase in COVID-19 related mortality. |
| Keywords: | Health Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2020–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemff:305210&r=all |
| By: | Stefano Carattini (Georgia State University); Marcella Veronesi (Department of Economics (University of Verona)) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the relationship between generalized trust, temperature fluctuations during the maize growing season, and international migration by asylum seekers. A priori generalized trust can be expected to have an ambiguous effect on migration. On the one hand, countries with higher trust may exhibit higher adaptive capacity to temperature fluctuations and so lower climate-induced migration. On the other hand, trust may also facilitate migration by increasing the likelihood that communities invest in risk sharing through migration and enjoy reliable networks supporting migrants. Hence, it is an empirical question whether trust mitigates or increases the impact of climate change on migration. Our findings are consistent with an ambivalent effect of trust on migration. We find that for moderate temperature fluctuations, trust mitigates the impact of weather on migration. This effect is driven by the role of trust in increasing adaptive capacity. However, for severe temperature fluctuations, communities with higher trust experience more migration. Overall, the former effect dominates the latter, so that the net effect is that trust mitigates migration. Our findings point to important policy implications concerning the role of trust in fostering adaptation by facilitating collective action, and the need for targeted interventions to support adaptation and increase resilience in low-trust societies in which collective action may be harder to achieve. |
| Keywords: | Migration; climate change; trust; adaptation |
| JEL: | O15 Q54 Z13 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:17/2020&r=all |
| By: | Cheng, Charles Fang Chin; Cantore, Nicola |
| Abstract: | Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID) calls for full engagement of policymakers in industrializing countries by minimizing environmental footprint and enhancing social inclusiveness. This study investigates the progress of 118 countries towards ISID (2005-2015) through an input-oriented CCR (Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes) slack-based (Data Envelopment Analysis) DEA model. The efficiency analyses have been carried out with two approaches: i) the ISID approach represents the aspiration of countries to promote industrialization and consequently sustain economic growth by reducing the adverse environmental and social effects which manifest in the overall economy; ii) ISIDsdg9 approach considers the same aspects of ISID but only focuses on indicators related to the industrial sector. An analytical tool is developed to measure ISID with the two different approaches. This study finds that (i) Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland are at the top of the ranking with the ISID approach, and the Czech Republic and Switzerland are at the top of the ranking with the ISIDsdg9 approach. Throughout 2005-2013, there is no sign of catching up between developed and developing countries in progress towards ISID and ISIDsdg9. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2020–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemff:305208&r=all |
| By: | Fan, Yubing; Ma, Wanglin |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304661&r=all |
| By: | Johar, Meliyanni (University of Technology, Sydney); Johnston, David W. (Monash University); Shields, Michael A. (Monash University); Siminski, Peter (University of Technology, Sydney); Stavrunova, Olena (University of Technology, Sydney) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies how having your home damaged or destroyed by a natural disaster impacts on economic and financial outcomes. Our context is Australia, where disasters are frequent. Estimates of regression models with individual, area and time fixed-effects, applied to 10 waves of data (2009-2018), indicate that residential destruction has no average impact on employment and income, but increases financial hardship and financial risk aversion. These impacts are generally short-lived, larger for renters than home owners, and greater for smaller isolated disasters. Using a Group Fixed Effects estimator, we find that around 20% of the population have low resilience to financial shocks, and for these individuals we find a substantive increase in financial hardships. The most vulnerable are the young, single parents, those in poor health, those of lower socioeconomic status, and those with little social support. These results can help target government aid after future natural disasters to those with the greatest need. |
| Keywords: | natural disasters, financial hardship, risk aversion, mental health, resilience |
| JEL: | Q54 J21 I31 C23 H84 |
| Date: | 2020–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13616&r=all |
| By: | Gammans, Matthew; Mérel, Pierre; Paroissien, Emmanuel |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304475&r=all |
| By: | Huang, Zeying; Skidmore, Mark; Lim, Jungmin |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304422&r=all |
| By: | Nguyen, V.C.; Thanh, Hai Phan; Nguyen, Thu Thuy |
| Abstract: | Nowadays, environmental pollution has become a global problem and common to both developed and developing countries. The purpose of this study is to analyze the environmental pollution during the period from 1990 to 2014 in order to discuss the most important factors can effect environmental quality in a specific region in Asia. Using a panel data, in particular generalized least squares model for the sample with T large, N small examined by Pesaran (2006), Sickles and Horrace (2014), our results that a less developed country has a lower level of environmental pollution than a more developed country. More specifically, countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam have a positive and significant effect on environmental degradation, but no effect for Myanmar. In regard to environmental quality across year, environmental pollution has become even more urgent over time. Specifically, a negative and significant effect can be found in the period from 2005 to 2014 but insignificant effect in the period from 1991 to 2004, and the magnitude of effect has increasingly increased. Further, electricity consumption and income have a positive and significant effect on environmental pollution. However, although export performance has a negative effect on environmental pollution but this effect was insignificant. |
| Date: | 2020–08–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:bq2h7&r=all |
| By: | Jeffrey D Sachs; Salim Abdool Karim; Lara Aknin; Joseph Allen; Kirsten Brosbol; Gabriela Cuevas Barron; Peter Daszak; MarÃÂa Fernanda Espinosa; Vitor Gaspar; Alejandro Gaviria; Andy Haines; Peter Hotez; Phoebe Koundouri; Jong-Koo Lee; Muhammad Pate; Paul Polman; Srinath Reddy; Ismail Serageldin; Raj Shah; John Thwaites; Vaira Vike-Freiberga; Chen Wang; Miriam Khamadi Were; Felipe Larrain Bascunan; Lan Xue; Min Zhu; Chandrika Bahadur; Maria Elena Bottazzi; Yanis Ben Amor; Lauren Barredo; Ozge Karadag Caman; Guillaume Lafortune; Emma Torres; Ismini Ethridge; Juliana G E Bartels |
| Abstract: | The Lancet COVID-19 Commission was launched on July 9, 2020, to assist governments, civil society, and UN institutions in responding effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Commission aims to offer practical solutions to the four main global challenges posed by the pandemic: suppressing the pandemic by means of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions; overcoming humanitarian emergencies, including poverty, hunger, and mental distress, caused by the pandemic; restructuring public and private finances in the wake of the pandemic; and rebuilding the world economy in an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable way that is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. Many creative solutions are already being implemented, and a key aim of the Commission is to accelerate their adoption worldwide. |
| Date: | 2020–09–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:2032&r=all |
| By: | Dang, Hai-Anh (World Bank); Trinh, Trong-Anh (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Little evidence currently exists on the effects of COVID-19 on air quality in poorer countries, where most air pollution-linked deaths occur. We offer the first study that examines the pandemic's impacts on improving air quality in Vietnam, a lower-middle income country with worsening air pollution. Employing the Regression Discontinuity Design method to analyze a rich database that we compile from satellite air pollution data and data from various other sources, we find the concentration of NO2 to decrease by 24 to 32 percent two weeks after the COVID-19 lockdown. While this finding is robust to different measures of air quality and model specifications, the positive effects of the lockdown appear to dissipate after ten weeks. We also find that mobility restrictions are a potential channel for improved air quality. Finally, our back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest that two weeks after the lockdown, the economic gains from better air quality are roughly $0.6 billion US dollars. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, air pollution, mobility restriction, RDD, Vietnam |
| JEL: | D00 H00 O13 Q50 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp13651&r=all |
| By: | Christian von Hirschhausen; Claudia Kemfert; Fabian Praeger |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses the potential role of fossil natural gas (and other gases) in the process of the energy transformation in Europe on its way to complete decarbonization. Mainstream conventional wisdom has it that natural gas, perhaps in combination with other gases, should maintain an important role in the energy mix, first, as a “bridge fuel”, and then through a gradual transition toward decarbonized gases. This is most comprehensively rolled out in three consecutive discussion papers by Jonathan Stern from the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (2017b, 2017a, 2019). Based on an in- depth assessment of the ambitious climate targets of the EU and the subsequent need for far-reaching decarbonization, as well as on results from energy system modeling, a contrasting result emerges, where the disappearance of fossil natural gas and its corresponding infrastructure is the next logical step of the transformation process in Europe. The lack of an economic perspective for nuclear power and the absence of a plausible deployment of large-scale carbon-dioxide removal technologies (CDR) imply that natural gas has no “sweet spot” any longer in the decarbonization process. In other words: Fossil natural gas is no longer part of the solution to the challenge of climate change, but has become part of the problem. Over the last years, the phasing out of natural gas in Europe has already started, and will continue until its complete phase-out, most likely in the 2040s, i.e. only two decades from now. The decline of natural gas in Europe has implications for the short- and longer-term aggregate and sectoral energy mix, but also for the future of the lumpy infrastructure, that has been developed over the last decades for a growing market. Today, investments into natural gas infrastructure are likely to produce stranded assets, as we show in three concrete cases: The € 10 bn. investment into the North Stream 2 pipeline are not necessary to assure European supply security, nor to make a return on investment; projects of new LNG terminals on the shore of the German North Sea (Brunsbuettel, Stade, Wilhelmshaven) lack a business case; and new natural gas power plants are likely to be unprofitable. The paper proposes to replace the dominant narrative (“natural gas in decarbonizing European energy markets“) with what we consider a more coherent narrative in the context of decarbonization: Fossil natural gas exit. |
| Keywords: | Europe, decarbonization, fossil natural gas, energy gases |
| JEL: | Q48 Q54 L52 L95 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1892&r=all |
| By: | Liverpool-Tasie, Saweda; Parkhi, Charuta M. |
| Keywords: | International Development, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304507&r=all |
| By: | Lee, Meongsu; Westhoff, Patrick |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Resource/Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304518&r=all |
| By: | Tovar Reanos, Miguel |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp673&r=all |
| By: | Huang, Jiaoyuan; Bruno, Christopher C.; Shah, Farhed A. |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304377&r=all |
| By: | O'Brien, Anna |
| Abstract: | Global biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. This loss is largely attributed to human activities, in particular urban, industrial and agricultural development. Biodiversity offsetting seeks to balance the environmental impacts from development through the generation of measurable gains in biodiversity that compensate for loss. To achieve No Net Loss or a Net Gain in biodiversity, the biodiversity gains from offsetting must be at least equivalent or greater to the biodiversity losses from development. But while losses from development are typically immediate, gains from offsetting are generated over longer timeframes, often after the impact has occurred. Determining equivalence between an impact and an offset thereby requires projecting the gains that will be generated over an offset management period. As biodiversity is in decline, gains may be generated from averting further loss in biodiversity, as well as from improving the biodiversity at an offset site. To determine the gains attributable to an offset, assumptions must be made about changes in biodiversity with and without the offset. These assumptions have serious implications on achieving a No Net Loss outcome from offsetting, however they may not always be drawn from empirical data. In this thesis, I review the assumptions used to calculate gains from offsets in two loss-gain exchange case studies under Victorian offsetting policy. These gains were used to offset losses in native vegetation from permitted development impacts, and reflect the gains from projected averted loss and improvement in native vegetation over the 10-year offset management periods. The assumptions of gain vary between the case studies according to the native vegetation condition, foregone land use entitlements and proposed management activities, but the assumptions are not entirely explicit nor supported by empirical data. When compared to available data on native vegetation change without an offset, I reveal that the assumptions of gain from averted loss are significantly over-estimated. Over-estimating gains from offsetting is problematic, as it allows a larger development impact for the same offset, resulting in a net loss of native vegetation and exacerbating biodiversity decline. I conclude that a No Net Loss outcome was unlikely to have been achieved in either case study presented in this thesis, and that it is questionable whether No Net Loss is possible under the current policy framework in Victoria. Based on my analysis of the two case studies, I make eight recommendations to improve the plausibility and transparency of the assumptions of gains under Victorian offsetting policy, and to ensure that the policy is more likely to achieve its No Net Loss objective. |
| Date: | 2020–05–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:nv4za&r=all |
| By: | Zangari del Balzo, Gianluigi |
| Abstract: | In the past few days, the global scientific community has made much progress in research for the COVID-19 pandemic, but the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has not yet been correctly characterized thermodynamically and much is still unknown. In particular, the current SARS-CoV-2 models lack the characterization of the virus system within its environment. This is a serious systematic error, which stands in the way of impeding research into the pandemic. In the present work, therefore, we consider the SARS-CoV-2 system with its environment, and we give a correct thermodynamic definition, through analysis and simulations, from air transport to cellular entry through the mechanism of receptor- mediated endocytosis. In studying the aerosol environment of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, we cannot omit the presence of nanoparticles or dust. Therefore, analyzing and comparing the air environments in China and Italy, we note that the Chinese and Italian regions which were at the beginning the most affected by the pandemic are also the most polluted. The same phenomenon is happening today for the United States and Brazil. We therefore propose an energy landscape theory of synergistic complexes of SARS- CoV-2 with particulate matter (PM). This could explain the optimized strategy of deep penetration of interstitial lung cells and the rapid spread of the pandemic in the most polluted areas of the planet. It could also explain the severity and difficulty of treating the forms of interstitial pneumonia occurred in Italy and worldwide. The energy landscape theory of complexes of SARS-CoV-2 with particulate matter (PM), leads to crucial methodological constraints aimed at containing systematic errors in experimental laboratory procedures and in mathematical modeling, which can allow and accelerate the definition of the mechanism of action of the virus and therefore the realization of the appropriate therapies and health protocols. |
| Date: | 2020–03–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:qnws8&r=all |
| By: | Siedschlag, Iulia; Meneto, Stefano |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp674&r=all |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | Kópavogur was the first municipality in Iceland to formally embrace the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In September 2018, the Municipal Council adopted a holistic strategy for Kópavogur, based on the 15 prioritised SDGs and their 36 targets. The city is following a data-driven approach to implement the SDGs as a tool for public sector innovation and to bring all the municipality’s actions under one strategic framework. The city is also using the SDGs to build awareness and strengthen ownership of the local strategy among private sector and civil society. The case of Kópavogur also points to the importance of addressing the SDGs through an integrated and functional approach, since many sustainable development challenges span beyond sole perimeter of the city and require close cooperation with the hinterland, as in the case of public transport and waste management. |
| Date: | 2020–09–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:govaab:2020/05-en&r=all |
| By: | Gautam, Tej K.; Watkins, Bradley |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304549&r=all |
| By: | Kim, GwanSeon; Seok, Jun Ho; Mark, Tyler B. |
| Keywords: | Productivity Analysis, Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304537&r=all |
| By: | Li, Man; Guo, Zhe; Zhang, Wei |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, International Development |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304530&r=all |
| By: | Siedschlag, Iulia; Yan, Weijie |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp672&r=all |
| By: | Steve Cicala (University of Chicago - Harris School of Public Policy and NBER); Stephen P. Holland (University of North Carolina at Greensboro - Department of Economics and NBER); Erin T. Mansur (Dartmouth - Tuck School of Business and NBER); Nicholas Z. Muller (Carnegie Mellon University and NBER); Andrew J. Yates (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in stay-at-home policies and other social distancing behaviors in the United States in spring of 2020. This paper examines the impact that these actions had on emissions and expected health effects through reduced personal vehicle travel and electricity consumption. Using daily cell phone mobility data for each U.S. county, we find that vehicle travel dropped about 40% by mid-April across the nation. States that imposed stay-at-home policies before March 28 decreased travel slightly more than other states, but travel in all states decreased significantly. Using data on hourly electricity consumption by electricity region (e.g., balancing authority), we find that electricity consumption fell about six percent on average by mid-April with substantial heterogeneity. Given these decreases in travel and electricity use, we estimate the county-level expected improvements in air quality, and therefore expected declines in mortality. Overall, we estimate that, for a month of social distancing, the expected premature deaths due to air pollution from personal vehicle travel and electricity consumption declined by approximately 360 deaths, or about 25% of the baseline 1500 deaths. In addition, we estimate that CO2 emissions from these sources fell by 46 million metric tons (a reduction of approximately 19%) over the same time frame. |
| Keywords: | Air pollution, COVID-19, Social Distancing |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bfi:wpaper:2020-61&r=all |
| By: | Pahmeyer, Christoph; Kuhn, Till; Britz, Wolfgang |
| Abstract: | Deciding on which crop to plant on a field and how to fertilize it has become increasingly complex as volatile markets, location factors as well as policy restrictions need to be considered simultaneously. To assist farmers in this process, we develop the web-based, open source decision support system ‘Fruchtfolge’ (German for ‘crop rotation’). It provides decision makers with a crop and management recommendation for each field based on the solution of a single farm optimization model. The optimization model accounts for field specific location factors, labor endowments, field-to-farm distances and policy restrictions such as measures linked to the EU Nitrates Directives and the Greening of the EU Common Agricultural Policy. ‘Fruchtfolge’ is user-friendly by automatically including big data related to farm, location and management characteristics and providing instant feedback on alternative management choices. This way, creating a first optimal cropping plan generally requires less than five minutes. We apply the decision support system to a German case study farm which manages fields outside and inside a nitrate sensitive area. In the year 2021, revised fertilization regulations come in force in Germany, which amongst others lowers maximal allowed nitrogen applications relative to crop nutrient needs in nitrate sensitive areas. The regulations provoke profit losses of up to 15% for the former optimal crop rotation. The optimal adaptation strategy proposed by ‘Fruchfolge’ diminishes this loss to 10%. The reduction in profit loss clearly underlines the benefits of our support tool to take optimal cropping decisions in a complex environment. Future research should identify barriers of farmers to apply decision support systems and upon availability, integrate more detailed crop and field specific sensor data. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2020–09–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubfred:305287&r=all |
| By: | Fontanilla-Diaz, Carlos A.; Preckel, Paul; Foster, Kenneth A. |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304653&r=all |
| By: | Frank Jotzo (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University); Thomas Longden (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University); Zeba Anjum (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | To counteract the recession caused by the measures to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, governments are implementing fiscal stimulus measures for economic recovery. In addition to keeping people in jobs and businesses afloat, public investment can improve productivity and economic growth prospects, resilience and quality of life for the long term. Importantly, it can also help achieve long-term low-carbon trajectories, especially where new stimulus spending goes to infrastructure projects. This paper takes stock of approaches for evaluating and choosing options for public investment in projects and programs that support economic recovery, are consistent with a low-carbon transition, and bring broader economic, environmental and social benefits. We develop a multi-criteria analysis framework and illustratively apply this to infrastructure projects and programs in Australia that have previously been designated as priorities. Promising categories for public stimulus include renewable energy supply including by fast-tracking renewable energy zones and transmission investment, some types of transport infrastructure projects, energy efficiency programs including retrofits of public housing and buildings, and land management projects including to restore ecosystems that were damaged in Australia’s bushfires. Investments like these hold promise to create jobs and local economic activity, while supporting lower-carbon outcomes and achieving other societal goals. Comprehensive evaluation of public investment options along a clear set of criteria can help improve decision making on public infrastructure investments, and transparency about public policy objectives may also inspire greater public confidence in how governments make funding decisions in COVID-19 recovery. |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:2005&r=all |
| By: | Zheng, Maoyong; Escalante, Cesar L. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Finance, Risk and Uncertainty, Agribusiness |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304211&r=all |
| By: | Bruno, Ellen; Van Dop Sears, Molly; Hanemann, Michael |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Agribusiness |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304340&r=all |
| By: | Christoph Buehren (Clausthal University of Technology); Maria Daskalakis (University of Kassel) |
| Abstract: | Which behavioral interventions are more appropriate to induce energy saving: energy saving goals with or without monetary incentives, environmentally related information, social comparison, or a competition to save energy? We try to answer this question in a comprehensive study. First, we designed energy bills with different behavioral interventions. Second, we evaluated their appropriateness in an empirical survey with 457 participants. Third, we tested behavioral consequences in a “real effort†lab experiment with 550 subjects in 11 treatments and one baseline. Finally, we tested two interventions in a small field experiment with 36 test-households. Our results indicate that monetary incentives to save energy foster the intention to invest effort in energy saving but may backfire if real effort is required. Instead, self-set goals – without monetary incentives – and providing social comparison induced substantial effort in our lab experiment. Extending the social comparison to a competition – without monetary incentives – provided the best results. In our field experiment, however, we find no support that goals and social comparison change every-day behavior in energy consumption. Our study concludes with implications for practical policy design and possible future research. |
| Keywords: | Energy-saving; Goals; Social Comparison; Competition; Real effort experiment |
| JEL: | D03 D12 C91 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:202042&r=all |
| By: | Lee, Gi-Eu; Chou, Chang-Erh |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304253&r=all |
| By: | Ndebele, Tom; Johnston, Robert J.; Newburn, David |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304338&r=all |
| By: | Daniel J. Caron; Vincent Nicolini; Sara Bernardi |
| Abstract: | L’objectif de ce rapport est d’étudier le potentiel d’optimisation des pratiques d’échanges d’information en utilisant les technologies numériques afin d’accroître les occasions d’affaires et favoriser l’innovation au niveau local et régional. Le rapport s’inscrit dans un projet plus large du Ministère des Finances du Québec visant à faciliter la reprise des activités économiques au Québec post-COVID-19 afin de favoriser un développement économique durable pour les régions du Québec. Le rapport part de l’hypothèse qu’une utilisation stratégique des technologies numériques comme levier pour favoriser l’adoption d’un modèle informationnel fluide entre les acteurs du développement pourrait permettre aux économies locales et régionales d’être mieux outillées pour se développer et innover. Comme il est montré dans le rapport, l’information et sa circulation jouent un rôle primordial dans le développement régional et les technologies numériques offrent de nombreuses possibilités permettant d’améliorer cette circulation de l’information entre les différents acteurs (publics et privés). Après un bref portrait des principales approches au développement régional au Québec, le rapport s’appuie sur les recherches récentes en économie du savoir et de l’information pour démontrer comment l’amélioration des flux informationnels pourrait aider à accroître la cohérence des actions des différents paliers de gouvernements, à tisser des liens entre les institutions publiques et privées et à favoriser le transfert de connaissances. Ces trois facteurs sont déterminants pour la croissance économique et l’innovation. À partir de ce cadre, le rapport identifie quatre endroits dans l’écosystème du développement régional où les technologies numériques pourraient stimuler les flux informationnels et favoriser une meilleure intégration institutionnelle des efforts : 1) La création d’un espace virtuel unifié, intégré et dynamique en appui au développement régional. 2) Des initiatives pour mieux relier main d’œuvre et entreprises en régions. 3) L’élaboration d’un réseau de partage interrégional pour les entrepreneurs 4) La diversification des méthodes de collecte, d’analyse et de partage de données étatiques. Ces quatre propositions prennent appui sur les technologies numériques et visent à stimuler la circulation de l’information de nature économique, ce qui, à terme, devrait favoriser l’innovation et l’entrepreneuriat régional et la diversification de l’économie des régions. |
| Keywords: | , Région,Local,Technologie,Numérique,Innovation |
| Date: | 2020–09–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirpro:2020rp-25&r=all |
| By: | Simplice A. Asongu (Yaounde, Cameroon); Joseph Nnanna (The Development Bank of Nigeria, Abuja, Nigeria) |
| Abstract: | This study assesses the role of income levels (low and middle) in modulating governance (political and economic) to influence inclusive human development. The empirical evidence is based on interactive quantile regressions and forty-nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2000-2002.The following main findings are established. First, low income modulates governance (economic and political) to positively affect inclusive human development exclusively in countries with above-median levels of inclusive human development. It follows that countries with averagely higher levels of inclusive human development are more likely to benefit from the relevance of income levels in influencing governance for inclusive development. Second, the importance of middle income in modulating political governance to positively affect inclusive human is apparent exclusively in the median while the relevance of middle income in moderating economic governance to positively influence inclusive human development is significantly apparent in the 10th and 75th quantiles. Third, regardless of panels, income levels modulate economic governance to affect inclusive human development at a higher magnitude, compared to political governance. Policy implications are discussed in the light of the post-2015 agenda of sustainable development goals and contemporary development paradigms. This study complements the extant sparse literature on the inclusive human development in Africa. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable development; Income levels; Governance; Sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | D31 I10 I32 K40 O55 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:abh:wpaper:20/014&r=all |
| By: | J Peillex (ICD International Business School Paris); Imane El Ouadghiri (PULV - Pôle Universitaire Léonard de Vinci, EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Mathieu Gomes (CleRMa - Clermont Recherche Management - Clermont Auvergne - École Supérieure de Commerce (ESC) - Clermont-Ferrand - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne); Jamil Jaballah (GEM - Grenoble Ecole de Management) |
| Abstract: | We aim to advance our understanding of the adverse effects of extreme temperatures by examining the extent to which high temperatures affect stock market activity. We address this question by analyzing the trading volumes on the French stock market on days when the weather in Paris is excessively hot over the period 1995-2019. Our empirical analyses show that, on average, trading volumes fall significantly (between 4 percent and 10 percent) when maximum daily temperatures exceed 30°C (86°F). The observed negative association is remarkably robust to a battery of alternative analyses such as bin tests, event studies, and time-series regressions controlling for any seasonal effects and financial market conditions. From a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to the literature on behavioral finance by demonstrating the existence of a "hot weather" effect on financial markets. It also offers important managerial and public policy implications. |
| Keywords: | behavioral finance,global warming,high temperatures,market activity,trading volume |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02935431&r=all |
| By: | Traxler, Emilia; Li, Tongzhe |
| Abstract: | Best management practices (BMPs) are a valuable approach towards improving agricultural sustainability by encouraging producers to conserve soil and water resources and mitigate the release of pollutants without sacrificing productivity. The behavioural factors that influence producer decision-making are an important aspect of understanding BMP adoption with the study of experimental and behavioural economics. This summary examines multiple publications from 1982 to 2020 establishing a broad overview of the current research in the BMP adoption literature. The focus is to highlight relevant economic theories and methods used to study producer decision-making and establish behavioural interventions that can help improve the adoption of BMPs. The summary covers major themes in the existing literature, identifying the similarities and differences in three major agricultural sectors including livestock production, crop production, and aquaculture. A review of the literature reveals both consistent and inconsistent findings that have various policy implications and opportunities for future research. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics |
| Date: | 2020–08–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uguiwp:305271&r=all |
| By: | Thomas, Elizabeth; Fan, Linlin; Stevens, Andrew W. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Marketing, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304523&r=all |
| By: | Hu, Yuanning; Jikun, Huang |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304533&r=all |
| By: | Kim, Jaehyun; An, Donghwan |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Risk and Uncertainty |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304434&r=all |
| By: | Mensah, Edouard R.; Kostandini, Genti |
| Keywords: | International Development, Risk and Uncertainty, Production Economics |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304477&r=all |
| By: | Zhuo, Ni; Ji, Chen |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304292&r=all |
| By: | Armand Hatchuel (CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - MINES ParisTech - École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - PSL - Université Paris sciences et lettres) |
| Abstract: | Pour répondre à cette question, il faut préciser la conception de l'ingénieur à laquelle on se réfère. Car, la définition de l'ingénieur, de ses missions, de ses compétences, de sa place dans la civilisation, ne sont pas universelles. Ainsi, la conception française est différente de celle qui domine dans les pays anglo-saxons. En outre, y compris en France, cette conception peut varier d'une Ecole à l'autre. En tant que professeur à MinesParisTech, je peux attester que notre Ecole a accordé, au cours de sa longue histoire, des efforts continus de réflexion sur ce sujet, et je m'appuierai dans ce texte sur cette expérience accumulée. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02931531&r=all |
| By: | Yvon Pesqueux (EESD - Equipe en émergence sécurité défense - CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM]) |
| Date: | 2020–09–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02928213&r=all |
| By: | Sloggy, Matthew R.; Manning, Dale |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304575&r=all |
| By: | Siedschlag, Iulia; Yan, Weijie |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp670&r=all |
| By: | Henri-Louis Vedie |
| Abstract: | Le Royaume du Maroc, dépourvu de pétrole et de gaz, s'est tourné, dès 1960, vers les énergies renouvelables, privilégiant alors l'hydroélectricité et la construction de barrages. Pour autant, l'essentiel des centrales électriques du pays était et demeure alimenté en gazole ou en gaz, impactant lourdement sa balance des paiements. Depuis, la demande d'électricité n'a cessé de croitre, d'une part, du fait du développement du pays et, d'autre part, suite au recours à des désalinisateurs, fort consommateurs d'énergie électrique, pour répondre à des besoins en eau potable qui ne cessent, eux aussi, d'augmenter. Depuis 2009, à l'initiative du Roi Mohammed VI, les énergies renouvelables sont devenues un chantier de règne, avec l'objectif de représenter 42% de l'électricité produite, horizon 2020. Pour y parvenir, trois filières vont être mises à contribution, à part égale, de 14% : la filière hydroélectrique, la filière éolienne et la filière solaire. Cette étude montre que cet objectif devrait être atteint au prix d'investissements considérables, privilégiant les technologies de dernière génération. Et au-delà de ce succès statistique, c'est aussi l'apprentissage d'un savoir-faire, particulièrement dans le domaine solaire et éolien, que le Maroc va pouvoir exporter, et une réussite qui doit donner espoir aux économies émergeantes, dépourvues d'énergies fossiles, en quête de développement et développement durable. |
| Date: | 2020–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:ppaper:pb20-11&r=all |
| By: | Jorrit Gosens (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | Countries in the global South, or developing and emerging economies, are experiencing rapid economic growth, and increased economic integration with other countries in the global South, including trade. Some analysts have raised concerns that such South-South trade might encourage the use of outdated conventional energy technologies, and lock developing countries into high carbon growth paths. Here, trade data from the UN Comtrade database is analyzed with a gravity model of trade. Results show that levels of clean energy technologies in South-south trade were relatively low up until the first half of the 2010’s, but that these are entirely comparable to North-North or other trade flows in recent years. The analysis thus finds no evidence to support concerns that South-South trade might encourage high carbon development. South-South trade contains particularly high levels of solar PV, hydropower, and electric two-wheeler technologies, whilst exporters in the global North are more competitive in markets for wind power equipment and electric vehicles. Trade in electric vehicles is the fastest growing class of clean energy technologies, and the dominance of Northern countries in their exports may mean that South-South trade could, in the foreseeable future, once again lag behind in levels of clean energy technologies. |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:2003&r=all |
| By: | Permani, Risti; Xu, Xing |
| Keywords: | International Relations/Trade, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Development |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304269&r=all |
| By: | Robert K. Perrons; Adam B. Jaffe; Trinh Le |
| Abstract: | The challenge of mitigating climate change has focused recent attention on basic scientific research feeding into the development of new energy technologies (Popp, 2017). Energy innovation tends to consist of a series of partially overlapping processes involving: (1) the production of scientific and technological knowledge, (2) the translation of that knowledge into working technologies or artifacts, and (3) the introduction of the artifacts into the marketplace, where they are matched with users’ requirements. However, relatively little data are available showing how long each of these processes takes for energy technologies. Here we combine information from patent applications with bibliographic data to shine light on the second process—that is, the translation of scientific knowledge into working prototypes. Our results show that “clean” energy technologies are more dependent on underlying science than “dirty” technologies, and that the average lag between publication of scientific findings and the incorporation of those findings in clean energy patents has risen from about five to about eight years since the 1980s. These findings will help policymakers to devise more effective mechanisms and strategies for accelerating the overall rate of technological change in this domain. |
| JEL: | O13 O31 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:27777&r=all |
| By: | Shi, Longzhong; Chen, Xuan; Chen, Bo |
| Keywords: | Resource/Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304512&r=all |
| By: | Kolcava, Dennis |
| Abstract: | Environmental policy in many Western democracies relies on voluntary environmental action by the private sector. This policy mode is strongly contested though. Proponents of introducing government regulation argue that voluntary corporate environmental action is rarely more than “greenwashing”. Can policymakers rely on public opinion to hold firms accountable for (lacking) contributions to environmental goods? I argue that greenwashing accusations reduce citizens’ confidence in both the effectiveness of voluntary environmental action by firms and the alignment of firms’ economic interest and environmental protection. Furthermore, I propose, that citizens’ support for government intervention increases in response to firms being accused of greenwashing. I test this argument in a survey experiment (N=2112) on a sample representative of the Swiss voting population. The analysis shows that accusing firms of greenwashing changes how citizens perceive voluntary environmental action by firms. This, however, does not translate into shifts in citizens’ regulatory preferences. |
| Date: | 2020–08–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:sj4dk&r=all |
| By: | Hasan, Iftekhar; Manfredonia, Stefano; Noth, Felix |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the critical role of culture for economic recovery after natural disasters. Using Hurricane Katrina as our laboratory, we find a significant adverse treatment effect for plant-level productivity. However, local religious adherence and larger shares of ancestors with disaster experiences mutually mitigate this detrimental effect from the disaster. Religious adherence further dampens anxiety after Hurricane Katrina, which potentially spur economic recovery. We also detect this effect on the aggregate county level. More religious counties recover faster in terms of population, new establishments, and GDP. |
| Keywords: | natural disasters,plant-level productivity,religion,recovery |
| JEL: | E23 E32 Z12 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:162020&r=all |
| By: | Lai, Yufeng; Yue, Chengyan |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Demand and Price Analysis, Research Methods/Statistical Methods |
| Date: | 2020–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea20:304328&r=all |
| By: | Comincioli, Nicola; Vergalli, Sergio |
| Abstract: | Among the wide variety of policy options adopted worldwide to control carbon emissions, one of the most environmentally effective and economically efficient is represented by carbon tax, that aims to recoup the damage arising from polluting production processes. In this paper, we focus on the Australian Carbon Pricing Mechanism (CPM) and on the effects that its introduction had on the electricity market. The most relevant effect is the reduction of the level of electricity price’s volatility. This effect has been investigated after having removed, from electricity data time series, the periodic behavior, through a multiple linear regression. Then, to study volatility dynamics, we fit a two-states Markov-switching model to represent a high-volatility and a low-volatility states of the world. This model highlighted that in both states the level of volatility is lower and that the persistence of the second state is increased by the presence of the CPM. This result is particularly important in investment evaluation: knowing the different dynamics of price volatility in presence of a carbon tax or not, can provide crucial information in investment decision and its timing. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2020–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemgc:305205&r=all |