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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | J. Andrés; J.E. Boscá; A. Di Gennaro; R. Doménech; J. Ferri |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the driving factors behind the business cycle dynamics of carbon emissions in the U.S. economy from 1975Q1 to 2023Q3. We first identify some key stylized facts regarding the correlation between carbon emissions and the different components of the Kaya decomposition, some of which exhibit a sharp change in sign around the trend reversal of the environmental Kuznets curve in the late 20th century. From the estimated distribution of shocks in a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium environmental model, we find that: (a) innovations in green energy production play a marginal role in U.S. emissions cycles; (b) barely 17 percent of total emissions cycles are explained by aggregate shocks like those to total factor productivity or household consumption, while the rest stem from innovations in the efficiency in production of brown energy (brown energy productivity shock) and emissions per unit of brown energy; (c) since 2000, brown energy shocks have positively affected (increased) emissions growth, while emissions technology shocks have negatively impacted emissions, particularly following a structural break around 2007; and (d) without these shocks, the U.S. would have experienced a negative emissions gap for over 40 years. Since 2007, emissions reduction has accelerated, leading to convergence of observed and counterfactual Kuznets curves at around $16, 000 per capita GDP. Our findings explain the intriguing negative correlation between emissions and the share of dirty energy observed over the past twenty years. They suggest a connection to innovations in shale oil and gas production, highlighting both the limited potential for emission reduction through advances in producing a "cleaner" brown energy mix, and the urgent need for a decisive shift to renewable energy to achieve long-term climate goals. |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2025-04 |
| By: | Marie Young-Brun (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CNRS, Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne, Paris School of Economics and IWH, University of Leipzig - Germany); Francis Dennig (Yale-NUS, World Bank - Italy); Frank Errickson (School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University - USA); Simon Feindt (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) - Germany, Technische Universität Berlin, Economics of Climate Change - Germany, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam - Germany); Aurélie Méjean (CIRED - CNRS, Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement (CNRS, Agro Paris Tech, Ponts ParisTech, EHESS, CIRAD); Stéphane Zuber (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, CNRS, Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne, Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Climate change and global inequality are intertwined. First, from a cross-country perspective, poorer countries have less financial capacity to abate emissions and are more vulnerable to climate impacts. Second, within countries, climate damages and mitigation costs tend to fall disproportionately on poorer households, which has implications for the political feasibility of mitigation. Integrated Assessment Models used for global climate policy evaluation have so far typically not considered inequality effects within countries. To fill this gap, we develop a global Integrated Assessment Model representing national economies and sub-national income distribution, and assess a range of climate policy schemes with varying levels of effort sharing across countries and households. The schemes are consistent with limiting temperature increases to 2°C, and account for the possibility to use revenues from carbon pricing to address distributional effects within and between countries. Among these, we explore a "Loss and Damage" scheme, aiming to compensate vulnerable countries for unavoidable damages from climate change. A key finding is that relatively low levels of international transfers can result in sizable improvements in inequality and welfare, due to the impacts on the most vulnerable households within countries. If international transfers are not feasible, our results show that the greatest inequality reductions can be achieved through sub-national transfers and reallocation of abatement efforts across time and countries |
| Keywords: | Inequality; Climate policy; "Loss and Damage" |
| JEL: | H23 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:25009 |
| By: | Rock, Joachim; Adam, Sascha; Bender, Susann; Dunger, Karsten; Rüter, Sebastian; Stümer, Wolfgang |
| Abstract: | Drought, heat and bark-beetle infestations in the years 2018 till 2022 have had severe impacts on German forests. With the results of the National Forest Inventory 2022 being available since late 2023, new projections of possible future development of carbon stocks in forests and the Harvested Wood Products pool have been estimated. Such projections are required by the German Federal Climate Protection Law (CPL) on an annual basis, for policy evaluation and information. Three scenarios have been constructed and implemented in the Matrix-Model, using data from the National Forest Inventories 2012 and 2022, and the Carbon Inventory 2017: - Changes and developments as in the period 2013 – 2017 (“optimal conditions”), - as in the period 2018 – 2022 (including disturbances, “pessimistic”), and - as in the period 2013 – 2022 (”medium”). The results show that, under “optimal” conditions, -40 to -30 Mt CO2 may be removed from the atmosphere and stored in “living biomass” annually, the “medium” scenario will result in appr. -10 Mt CO2 a-1, and the “pessimistic” scenario in net emissions of 20 – 10 Mt CO2. In the two “extreme” scenarios, sequestration will drop by appr. 10 Mt CO2 per year until 2050. As a result, the targets set by the CPL will be missed significantly even under “optimal” conditions and by up to 60 Mt CO2 per year in 2030 in the “medium” scenario. Measures already implemented in LULUCF will alleviate this by just 3.7 Mt CO2-eq. per year. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:jhimwp:356624 |
| By: | Drigo, Alessandra |
| Abstract: | This study offers the first analysis of environmental and climate inequalities at the census tract level in Italy, providing valuable insights into spatial patterns of environmental and social vulnerability. The results highlight significant environmental inequality related to exposure to air pollution (PM2.5), as well as climate inequality linked to thermal discomfort (measured by the Discomfort Index). Among all regions, the Padana Valley stands out as the most severely affected by both stressors, marking its population as particularly vulnerable—regardless of their socioeconomic status. At the national level, the analysis identifies a negative correlation between exposure to environmental stressors and income proxies, and a positive correlation with the presence of non-European foreign residents. These associations remain robust even when the focus shifts to census tracts within the same municipality, suggesting that environmental and social inequalities persist not only across regions but also within local urban contexts. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Sustainability |
| Date: | 2025–04–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemwp:356626 |
| By: | Lea-Rachel Kosnik; John C. Whitehead; Timothy C. Haab |
| Abstract: | In 2023, a survey was given to environmental and natural resource economists to gauge levels of consensus in the field. Respondents were queried on core topics in the discipline, including air quality, groundwater, climate change, natural resource management, land conservation, environmental justice, and more. Many of the survey questions mirrored questions from the first such survey of environmental and natural resource economists in 2012, but additional questions on newer topics were also added. From these survey results, we can determine contemporary levels of consensus in the field, as well as how these levels have changed over the last decade. We find, for the most part, significant levels of consensus today, and over time, on many key topics including the prevalence of market failures and support for policy interventions including Pigouvian taxes and cap-and-trade schemes. At the same time, some areas with lower levels of consensus today, and over time, include the effects of population growth on the environment, and what to do with revenues from policy interventions such as taxes or cap-and-trade schemes. Key Words: environmental policy, natural resources, professional consensus, survey, academic opinion, AERE |
| JEL: | A1 A2 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apl:wpaper:25-02 |
| By: | Adrien Bilal; James H. Stock |
| Abstract: | This paper surveys the literature that links macroeconomics and climate change. We organize our review into three categories: (i) loss and damage, which assesses long-run economic costs and non-market impacts from climate change; (ii) mitigation and the energy transition, which evaluates the macroeconomic consequences of shifting away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy; and (iii) adaptation, which explores the economic adjustments necessary to manage heat stress, more frequent severe weather events and rising seas. We discuss macroeconomic frameworks that quantify these structural shifts as well as empirical estimates that guide their calibration. We suggest areas in which macroeconomic research on climate is needed. |
| JEL: | E60 F55 H23 H41 Q43 Q50 R10 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33567 |
| By: | Alin Marius Andries (Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi; Romanian Academy - Institute for Economic Forecasting); Steven Ongena (University of Zurich - Department Finance; Swiss Finance Institute; KU Leuven; NTNU Business School; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)); Nicu Sprincean (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași; National Institute for Economic Research, Romanian Academy) |
| Abstract: | We examine the relationship between climate-related financial policies (CRFPs) and banks' systemic risk. Using a sample of 458 banks in 47 countries over the period 2000-2020, we document that more stringent CRFPs are detrimental to overall financial stability and contribute to increased system-wide distress. These findings raise the possibility that overly stringent green finance policies could lead to a disorderly transition. In addition, measures that restrict banks' exposure to carbon-intensive counterparties, both directly and indirectly, may lead to less lending to the real economy and higher lending rates. The latter increase, in turn, could lead to significant credit losses, reduced bank profitability and other spillover effects with the potential to undermine systemic resilience. However, the implementation and ratification of the Paris Agreement, more robust adaptation strategies to cope with climate shocks and a higher incidence of natural disasters and a larger number of people affected by extreme climate events may counteract the amplifying effects of CRFPs on systemic risk. Moreover, banks with stronger environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitments experience less systemic distress when exposed to green financial policies. Our findings have critical policy implications for public authorities formulating green financial policies to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. |
| Keywords: | systemic risk, climate change, climate-related financial policy |
| JEL: | G21 G32 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2530 |
| By: | Johannes Klausmann (University of Virginia - Darden School of Business); Philipp Krueger (University of Geneva - Geneva Finance Research Institute (GFRI); Swiss Finance Institute; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); University of Geneva - Geneva School of Economics and Management); Pedro Matos (University of Virginia - Darden School of Business; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)) |
| Abstract: | We introduce a novel measure of revenues from green products and services for publicly listed firms worldwide that is not spanned by prior sustainability metrics used in the literature. We show that green revenues grew at an accelerated pace after the Paris Agreement. This growth has been driven by innovative US companies converting green patents into green revenues, as well as by firms with higher sustainability-focused institutional ownership before the Paris Agreement. Furthermore, we examine the stock returns of firms with green revenues and find modest evidence of a green alpha in the post-Paris period, primarily concentrated in US stocks. |
| Keywords: | green revenues, sustainability, climate change, climate finance, green impact, ESG |
| JEL: | G15 G18 G23 G30 Q55 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2540 |
| By: | Vaska Atta-Darkua (University of Virginia, Darden School of Business); Simon Glossner (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System); Philipp Krueger (University of Geneva - Geneva Finance Research Institute (GFRI); Swiss Finance Institute; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); University of Geneva - Geneva School of Economics and Management); Pedro Matos (University of Virginia - Darden School of Business; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)) |
| Abstract: | We study how institutional investors that join climate-related investor initiatives decarbonize their equity portfolios. Decarbonization can be achieved either by re-weighting portfolios towards lower carbon emitting firms or alternatively via targeted engagements with portfolio companies to reduce their emissions. Our findings indicate that portfolio re-weighting is the predominant greening strategy by climate-conscious investors, in particular by those based in countries with carbon emissions pricing schemes. We do not uncover much evidence of engagement even after the 2015 Paris Agreement. Furthermore, we find no evidence that climate-conscious investors allocate capital towards firms developing climate patents, but they do re-weight towards firms starting to generate green revenues. Overall, our analysis raises doubts about the effectiveness of investor-led initiatives in reducing corporate emissions and helping an all-economy transition to “green the planet”. |
| Keywords: | climate change, decarbonization, GHG emissions, sustainability, institutional investors, CDP, Climate Disclosure Project, Climate Action 100+ |
| JEL: | G15 G23 G30 M14 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2542 |
| By: | Naudé, Wim (RWTH Aachen University) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a primer on climate technology entrepreneurship, recognizing its limitations and potential adverse consequences. Climate technology entrepreneurship is needed to contribute to mitigation of and adaptation to climate change, and to help decouple economic growth from resource use. This paper identifies and describes three climate technology gaps: (i) an energy climate tech gap, an (ii) overshoot climate tech gap; and (iii) a resilience climate tech gap. The paper furthermore argues that policies for supporting climate technology entrepreneurship, including entrepreneurial ecosystems and mission-oriented approaches, have significant shortcomings. Furthermore, the paper concludes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is unlikely to make a difference to the world’s climate change predicament. Hence, climate technology entrepreneurship is no panacea for climate change and ecological overshoot caused by human activity. On its own it will not save the world. |
| Keywords: | climate change, entrepreneurship, climate technology, sustainable development |
| JEL: | L26 Q54 O31 L53 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17794 |
| By: | Angelos Alamanos; Giannis Arampatzidis; Stathis Devves; Kostas Dellis; Christopher Deranian; Olympia Nisiforou; Phoebe Koundouri; Jeffrey D Sachs |
| Abstract: | Achieving climate-neutrality is a global imperative that demands coordinated efforts from both science and robust policies supporting a smooth transition across multiple sectors. However, the interdisciplinary and complex science-to-policy nature of this effort makes it particularly challenging for several countries. Greece has set ambitious goals across different policies; however, their progress is often debated. For the first time, we simulated a scenario representing Greece's climate-neutrality goals drawing upon its main relevant energy, agricultural and water policies, and compared it with a 'current accounts' scenario by 2050. We follow a systems-nexus approach that encompasses the FABLE Calculator, the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP), the MaritimeGCH model, and the tools WaterReqGCH, LandReqCalcGCH and BiofuelGCH. The results indicate that most individual/sector policies have the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions across all sectors of the economy (residential, industrial, transportation, services, agriculture, and energy production). However, their implementation seems to be based on economic and governance assumptions that often overlook sectoral interdependencies, infrastructure constraints, and social aspects, hindering progress towards a unified and more holistic sustainable transition. |
| Keywords: | Climate Neutrality, Energy-emissions modelling, LEAP, FABLE Calculator, MaritimeGCH, WaterReqGCH, Decarbonization, Greece |
| Date: | 2025–04–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:2531 |
| By: | Brown, Christina Estela; Tanner, Sophia J.; Hrozencik, R. Aaron; Gramig, Benjamin M. |
| Abstract: | Water is an essential resource that sustains not only agriculture and human communities but also the natural environment. It provides a suite of ecosystem services, such as recreation and habitat for wildlife, that affect the well-being of the public. However, the use and allocation of water involve tradeoffs, especially in the context of competing demands and limited availability. This report presents a targeted review of the economics literature on the economic value of water for agriculture and environmental flows, leveraging both observed behavior and survey methods. It examines the economic implications of these tradeoffs, with a focus on environmental and resource economics, energy economics, and applied econometrics. The report also highlights the challenges and opportunities associated with measuring the economic value of water, including the complexity of the systems involved, the heterogeneity of preferences and behaviors, and the uncertainty of water availability. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource/Energy Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uersib:356606 |
| By: | Guglielmo Maria Caporale; Nieves Carmona-González; Luis Alberiko Gil-Alana; María Fátima Romero Rojo |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses trends and persistence in air pollution levels in 88 US metropolitan areas using fractional integration methods. The results indicate that the differencing parameter d is higher than 0 in 38 of the series, which supports the hypothesis of long-memory behaviour and implies that, although the effects of shocks are long-lived, they eventually die out. The highest degrees of persistence are found in the Fresno, Bakersfield, Bradenton and San Diego areas. On the whole the gathered evidence indicates that regional differences in pollution levels are significant, with factors such as industrialisation history and extreme weather events playing a crucial role in their degree of persistence. This suggests that, in order to tackle pollution more effectively, federal environmental policies, such as the Clean Air Act, should be complemented by more targeted ones taking into account local characteristics. |
| JEL: | C22 Q53 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11827 |
| By: | Ahmed, Bruktawit (Missouri University of Science and Technology); Fikru, Mahelet G (Missouri University of Science and Technology) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of carbon capture and storage (CCS) on electricity prices, an essential aspect of decarbonization in the power sector. While prior research has analyzed CCS's economic feasibility and environmental implications, the direct effects on electricity prices remain largely unaddressed. This study employs a profit-maximization model within a Cournot oligopoly framework, integrating Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate how production costs, policy incentives, and energy demand influence the percentage of carbon captured by power generators and the resulting electricity prices. The analysis incorporates key factors such as carbon taxes, renewable energy, and CCS subsidies, production and abatement costs, and consumer preferences for greener energy. The findings suggest that when mixed-asset power generators optimize carbon abatement to maximize profits, the relationship between the percentage of carbon captured and electricity prices varies by energy source. Carbon capture can lower non-renewable electricity prices to a certain threshold, driven by net benefits from CCS subsidies and tax-saving effects. In contrast, the price of greener electricity sees a modest increase due to the net costs of shifting production from renewable to non-renewable assets. Despite this, renewable electricity remains the more cost-effective option for consumers. Additionally, the result from the Monte Carlo simulations reveals that policy parameters, particularly CCS subsidies, effectively incentivize carbon capture but may also shift production dynamics, leading to nuanced effects on electricity pricing. For example, the study shows that with mixed-asset power generation, the price of non-renewable electricity could be higher than greener electricity, where higher CCS subsidies could drive up renewable electricity prices while lowering non-renewable electricity prices. These findings have important implications for energy policymakers. While CCS adoption is essential for reducing emissions, its potential to impact electricity prices presents affordability concerns, especially in price-sensitive markets. These shifts in price signals could disrupt price stability, making it challenging to ensure equitable energy access. Therefore, policymakers must carefully balance CCS incentives with support for renewable energy to avoid unintended price distortions. Within a well-designed framework that assesses price impacts, policymakers could encourage a hybrid energy strategy that facilitates the transition to renewables while leveraging carbon capture as a bridging solution. In this regard, future studies should explore the long-term effects of CCS on electricity price volatility, further examining how different market structures, regulatory environments, and technological advancements can mitigate or exacerbate price fluctuations, ultimately contributing to more sustainable and equitable energy systems. Future research could also incorporate heterogeneous firm behavior and dynamic investment decisions to refine the understanding of CCS pricing effects further. |
| Date: | 2025–03–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:saqhf_v1 |
| By: | António Afonso; José Alves; Tovar João Jalles; Sofia Monteiro; João Tovar Jalles |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of natural disasters on fiscal and external sustainability across 134 economies from 1980 to 2023. We adopt a two-step approach: first, we estimate country-specific, time-varying sustainability coefficients; second, we assess their determinants using Weighted Least Squares panel regressions with fixed effects. To complement the long-run analysis, we employ local projections to capture the short-term dynamics following disaster-related mortality, vulnerability, and resilience shocks. Results show that natural disasters weaken fiscal sustainability, particularly in emerging and vulnerable economies. Vulnerability exacerbates fiscal and external fragility, while resilience mitigates adverse effects on public accounts. Local projections reveal that fiscal sustainability deteriorates significantly in the medium term after disaster shocks, whereas external sustainability responses are more muted and heterogeneous. Together, these findings highlight the importance of combining long- and short-run approaches to understand how climate shocks propagate through macroeconomic channels and to inform adaptive, risk-sensitive fiscal policy frameworks. |
| Keywords: | fiscal sustainability, external sustainability, climate risk, natural disasters, local projections, weighted least squares. |
| JEL: | E62 F32 H63 O23 Q54 C33 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11818 |
| By: | Marco Ceccarelli (VU University Amsterdam); Stefano Ramelli (University of St. Gallen - School of Finance; Swiss Finance Institute); Anna Vasileva (University of Zurich - Department of Finance); Alexander F. Wagner (University of Zurich - Department of Finance; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Swiss Finance Institute) |
| Abstract: | Does the political context shape investors’ non-pecuniary demand for green assets? We provide evidence from incentivized surveys of U.S. investors before and after the 2024 U.S. presidential election. After Trump’s victory, investors reduced green investments on average. However, investors who strongly disapprove of his climate policy increased their green investment taste. These “contrarians” placed greater weight on non-pecuniary considerations and less on financial ones, suggesting they view green investing as a way to compensate for perceived climate inaction. Empirical analyses of real-world ETF flows align with this interpretation. The findings have implications for understanding and modeling green investment behavior. |
| Keywords: | Beliefs, Climate change, Expected returns, Investments, Political economy, Surveys, Sustainable finance, Transition risk, Behavioral finance |
| JEL: | D83 G11 G12 G41 G51 P18 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2536 |
| By: | David Jaggi (Zurich University of Applied Sciences; University of Zurich - Department of Finance); Markus Leippold (University of Zurich; Swiss Finance Institute); Tingyu Yu (University of Zurich - Department Finance) |
| Abstract: | This study presents ClimateControversyBERT, a novel open-source language model for real-time detection and classification of corporate climate controversies (i.e., brown projects, misinformation, ambiguous actions) from financial news. Validated using RepRisk and Refinitiv metrics, the model effectively identifies inconsistencies between corporate climate commitments and actions as they emerge. We document significant negative market reactions to these controversies: firms experience an immediate average stock price drop of 0.68%, with further declines over subsequent weeks. The impact is intensified by high media visibility and is notably stronger for firms with existing emission reduction commitments, underscoring the market's penalty for perceived environmental failures. |
| Keywords: | Climate controversy, corporate greenwashing, natural language processing |
| JEL: | G14 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2545 |
| By: | Dechezlepretre, Antoine; Fabre, Adrien; Kruse, Tobias; Planterose, Bluebery; Sanchez Chico, Ana; Stantcheva, Stefanie |
| Abstract: | This paper explores global perceptions and understanding of climate change and policies, examining factors that influence support for climate action and the impact of different types of information. We conduct large-scale surveys with 40, 000 respondents from 20 countries, providing new international data on attitudes toward climate change and respondents’ socioeconomic backgrounds and lifestyles. We identify three key perceptions affecting policy support: perceived effectiveness of policies in reducing emissions, their impact on low-income households, and their effect on respondents’ households (self-interest). Educational videos clarifying policy mechanisms increase support for climate policies; those merely highlighting climate change’s impacts do not. |
| JEL: | C80 D83 D91 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025–04–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:127870 |
| By: | Luca Salvatici; Marco Sforza (Department of Economics, Roma Tre University); Cristina Vaquero-Piñeiro |
| Abstract: | The paper aims to examine how the existing economic simulation models have addressed environmental and emission issues in agriculture. From a modelling perspective, assessing the impacts of agricultural emissions is bound to be complex, and currently, we are far from reaching a consensus on which modelling approaches are more effective and why. This lack of agreement can be partly explained by a severe data constraint at detailed levels, different theoretical modelling foundations, and institutional aspects, such as model maintenance and dissemination of results. We select eight general and partial equilibrium models, which include the agriculture sector, to provide a comparative assessment of al- ternative modelling approaches for agricultural emissions. Specifically, the review intends to: i) contribute to the taxonomy of simulation models, including the agrifood sector and the status of current research at the global level; ii) identify factors influencing the quality of the results in terms of opportunities for decarbonizing agriculture, reducing net emissions related to land use, and mitigating non-CO2 greenhouse gases; and iii) present how the models in the literature deal with mitigation potential, cost-benefits and side effects, and cost-effectiveness of selected technologies. |
| Keywords: | Economic models, Ex-ante simulation models, GHG emissions, Agricultural economics |
| JEL: | Q53 D58 Q11 C68 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtr:wpaper:0286 |
| By: | KuK Mo Jung (Department of Economics, Sogang University, Seoul, Korea); Sungwon Lee (Department of Economics, Sogang University, Seoul, Korea) |
| Abstract: | We estimate long-run economic impacts of climate volatility by employing a stochastic frontier model where climate volatility is additionally included into the production frontier. Our climate panel dataset covers 157 countries over the period 1950-2014. We finnd that both temperature and precipitation affect production possibilities in a hump-shaped way. Most importantly, temperature volatility turns out to reduce long- term potential output. This negative effect is found to be statistically significant, and various robustness checks, including income as well as temperature heterogeneity across nations, confirm it. We also find short-term weather anomalies, either temperature or precipitation, are found to be insignificant across all specifications. Our findings provide supporting empirical evidence for a growing body of Integrated Assessment Model literature, emphasizing the role of uncertainty about global temperature dynamics. |
| Keywords: | climate change, long-term climate volatility, stochastic frontier analysis |
| JEL: | D24 O44 O47 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sgo:wpaper:2502 |
| By: | Tatsuya Kato (Financial System and Bank Examination Department, Bank of Japan (E-mail: tatsuya.katou@boj.or.jp)); Koki Sawai (Associate Professor, Saitama University, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences (E-mail: sawaik@mail.saitama-u.ac.jp)) |
| Abstract: | The Paris Agreement of 2015 set a goal of limiting the increase in the global average temperature to 1.5 to 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Subsequently, the Japanese government announced its policy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. To achieve carbon neutrality and decarbonization, carbon pricing is expected to be utilized to place a price on carbon and control emissions. This study summarizes the debate among standard-setting bodies regarding the accounting treatment of cap-and-trade schemes and the practices around emissions trading. It examines their rationale from the perspectives of decision usefulness and achievement of optimal emissions levels. In particular, the method that recognizes the obligation to return allowances at the allocation of allowances (Allocation Method) excels in terms of timeliness and faithful representation of information related to total emissions. However, if profit or loss volatility undermines the predictability of future profits, it is necessary to find ways to control volatility. On the other hand, the Allocation Method is reasonable from the perspective of achieving optimal emissions levels because reductions in total emissions result in reduced liabilities and the recognition of gains. In addition, based on empirical evidence of the relationship between emissions disclosures by firms and emissions, it can be concluded that the current disclosure system contributes to achieving optimal emissions levels. |
| Keywords: | Cap-and-Trade Emissions Trading Systems, Decision Usefulness, Real @Effects, Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Sustainability Disclosure Standards |
| JEL: | M41 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ime:imedps:25-e-02 |
| By: | Ayers, Megan; Sanford, Luke; Gardner, Will; Kuebbing, Sara |
| Abstract: | Recent work has questioned the credibility of forest carbon offsets as an environmental intervention and nature-based solution for mitigating climate change. Despite some updates to carbon credit methodologies and advice to purchase only high-integrity or high-quality credits, it is not clear which carbon offsets meet these standards under which conditions. In this paper, we draw on the fields of statistics and causal inference to develop a generalized framework for analyzing carbon offset protocols. We show that strategic enrollment combined with even seemingly innocuous measurement errors in carbon stocks can lead to market distortions and that there is an inherent tradeoff between minimizing these distortions and broadening enrollment. The provided framework clarifies what purchasers of carbon offsets must believe about the world in order for purchased credits under each protocol to accurately reflect the impact of crediting programs and builds common ground on which more fruitful engagement between different sectors of the carbon market can build agreement. |
| Date: | 2025–03–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:5pcuh_v2 |
| By: | Alevtinowitch, Kleschev Anton |
| Abstract: | This paper presents MoonShine, an integrated 20-year roadmap to elevate humanity to a Type I Kardashev civilization by achieving ∼ 10’16 W of sustainable power. Key innovations include in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) on the Moon, fully automated self-replicating robotic factories with automatic repair capabilities to counteract space debris, hybrid laser-microwave power transmission, and an AI-governed control infrastructure. We detail technological modules, quantitative growth models (22% annual power expansion), economic scenarios, ecological safe- guards, and a new supranational governance framework: the Lunar-Earth Energy Alliance (LEEA). Risk analyses cover debris mitigation, climate feedback, geopolitical stability, and system resilience. We show that through synergy of current breakthroughs in materials science, AI, robotics, and energy conversion, the MoonShine project can deliver planetary energy sovereignty and climate management, setting the stage for Mars and beyond. |
| Date: | 2025–04–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:a9yuh_v1 |
| By: | Bressler, R. Daniel (Columbia University); Papp, Anna (Columbia University); Sarmiento, Luis (Bank of Mexico); Shrader, Jeffrey G. (Columbia University); Wilson, Andrew J. (Stanford University) |
| Abstract: | We investigate how occupation influences the relationship between temperature and mortality in Mexico. Using multiple decades of nationwide death records---which include information on occupation---linked to local weather data, we find that heat-related mortality risk varies sharply by occupation. Young adults in climate-exposed jobs, especially in agriculture, experience significantly higher death rates from warm and hot temperatures. A 15 to 24 year-old agricultural worker is over 10 times more likely to die from heat exposure than a peer in professional or managerial employment, underscoring the role of occupation in climate vulnerability. These findings show that the burden of extreme heat disproportionately falls on the working poor. Our results suggest that implementing occupational safety measures and targeted heat adaptation policies (such as mandatory rest breaks and early warnings for outdoor workers) are essential to protect vulnerable workers. Furthermore, ongoing economic shifts away from highly exposed sectors may reduce increases in heat-related mortality due to climate change. |
| Keywords: | health, occupation, climate, temperature, mortality |
| JEL: | I10 J81 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17759 |
| By: | Jennifer Alix-García; Christopher R. Knittel |
| Abstract: | Mangroves provide vital ecosystem services like storm surge protection and carbon sequestration, but their coverage is rapidly declining. This study evaluates an environmental education program in the Dominican Republic, targeting children’s attitudes, knowledge, behaviors, and willingness to pay for conservation. The program boosted attitudes, especially in girls, with modest, non-significant behavioral changes. There were also positive spillover effects on peers and parents, with non-treated peers in clubs showing increased mangrove preference and positive attitude shifts in parents. |
| JEL: | C93 I25 Q57 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33675 |
| By: | Pandit, Ram; Burton, Michael P.; Zander, Kerstin K.; Garnett, Stephen T.; Pannell, David P. |
| Abstract: | Ecosystem Accounting (EA) involves tracking the extent, condition, and services provided by ecosystems and linking them to the economy under the international standard developed by the United Nations – System of Environmental-Economic Accounting. Ecosystem assets (species, ecosystems and ecological communities) provide use and non-use benefits to society. A key challenge is how to value non-market benefits that arise from these assets. This study aims to contribute to this challenge by estimating the marginal willingness to pay for key ecosystem assets in the Gunbower-Koondrook-Perricoota (GKP) Forest Icon Site in the Murray-Darling Basin of Australia, as a necessary precursor to identifying an exchange price, from which to derive exchange values. A discrete choice experiment with three types of ecosystem assets as attributes was designed and implemented among the Australian public in 2021. The ecosystem asset attributes were six threatened species (Australian bittern, Painted honeyeater, Superb parrot, Koala, Green-comb spider-orchid, Winged pepper-cress), three ecosystem types (River-swamp wallaby grass, River red gum, Black box) and two species groups or ecological communities (water birds and vascular plants). Collected data was analysed using a mixed-logit model. Findings suggest that the estimated marginal willingness-to-pay (WTP) for improvement in status (population or habitat condition index) of ecosystem assets vary from AU$14.60 per year per household for 20 years for water birds to AU$1.32 for Green-comb spider-orchid. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2025–05–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uwauwp:356762 |
| By: | Li Li (Peking University, Guanghua School of Management, Students); Xiangyang Li (Nankai University); Steven Ongena (University of Zurich - Department Finance; Swiss Finance Institute; KU Leuven; NTNU Business School; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)); Yabin Wang (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) |
| Abstract: | How do extreme weather and climate adaptation affect local financing cost? To answer this question, we examine the impact on Chinese municipal corporate bonds of both extreme rainfall and the Sponge City Pilot program. A one standard deviation increase in rainfall raises bond issuance spreads by 16 bps on average, but Sponge Cities manage to more than offset that. Further analysis demonstrates that the savings from reduced borrowing costs, coupled with broader economic gains in employment and corporate profits, far outweigh the program's investment costs. These findings underscore the importance of urban resiliency in shielding local finances from climate risks. |
| Keywords: | Extreme rainfall, Municipal corporate bond, Climate adaptation, Climate finance |
| JEL: | E32 E44 G32 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2525 |
| By: | Thomas Eichner; Marco Runkel |
| Abstract: | Within a two-country model, this paper identifies a novel emission leakage channel that is caused by moral behavior of (atomistic) consumers. In a non-cooperative emission tax game between the countries, the leakage effect lowers the governments’ marginal benefit of emission taxation, so equilibrium emission tax rates are even lower and the emission levels even higher than in the business-as-usual without moral consumers. The detrimental effect of consumer morality may remain, if governments behave morally, too, and may even be exacerbated under country asymmetries. It disappears, if governments choose emission caps, since the caps fix national emissions and avoid morality-induced leakage. |
| Keywords: | moral behaviour, emissions, tax, cap, leakage |
| JEL: | H23 H71 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11698 |
| By: | Julian di Giovanni; Galina Hale; Neel Lahiri; Anirban Sanyal |
| Abstract: | The slow adoption of climate change policies stems from concerns about their economic impact. The EU has led global carbon pricing through its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). This study examines the effect of ETS policy shocks on global stock market returns at the country-industry level using linear and spatial autoregression models. Results show that while markets react negatively to rising carbon prices, the impact is small in magnitude. Global spillovers are limited to sectors linked to EU industries via intermediate goods trade, with no significant effects beyond these supply chain linkages. Overall, the unintended consequences of EU climate policies appear negligible, with minimal effects on targeted industries’ stock returns and no spillovers outside supply chain linkages. |
| JEL: | F10 F18 F36 G15 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33647 |
| By: | Yerushalmi, Erez; Saha, Krishnendu |
| Abstract: | Circular economy (CE) is championed as a sustainability solution, promoting reuse, recycling, and resource efficiency to reduce environmental harm. However, efficiency innovations can trigger a rebound effect (RE), where lower costs stimulate higher consumption and production, paradoxically negating sustainability gains. This study applies a multi-region, multi-sector Dynamic Computable General Equilibrium (DCGE) model to quantify the circular economy rebound effect in the textile and clothing (TC) sector, the second most polluting industry. Our findings reveal a 155% rebound backfire, showing that CE innovations in the TC sector may exacerbate rather than mitigate environmental pressures. This challenges the assumption that CE alone can drive sustainability and underscores the need for complementary policies. We explore one policy - a uniform Pigouvian tax on TC production, finding that a minimum rate of 1.25% is required to curb the RE. However, effective implementation requires targeted regulatory interventions that also account for socio-economic trade-offs, particularly in low-income countries. To achieve truly sustainable outcomes, we argue for exploring broader systemic shifts, including insights from Degrowth theory. |
| Keywords: | Circular Economy (CE); Rebound Effect (RE); Computable General Equilibrium (CGE); Degrowth; Textile and Clothing |
| Date: | 2025–04–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:akf:cafewp:35 |
| By: | Dylan Dunlop-Barrett |
| Abstract: | Investors are increasingly adopting Paris-aligned strategies to better manage climate risks and opportunities. Despite sovereign debt investments making up approximately half of global bond markets, frameworks for assessing Paris-alignment for sovereign portfolios are still in their infancy. This paper firstly advocates for Implied Temperature Rise (ITR) as a metric which investors can use to assess portfolio Paris-alignment, and to capture the embedded transition risks in current sovereign holding. It then proposes a new ITR methodology, further refining existing methodologies. This methodology differs from existing methodologies in that is does not rely on benchmark emission pathways, which we believe yields less volatile and more accurate results. Furthermore, the methodology can more easily include updated global temperature data, and takes a consumption based approach to emissions. Finally, the paper provides a worked example of the methodology, utilizing a hypothetical sovereign portfolio. |
| Keywords: | responsible investment; Paris-alignment; sovereign investments; implied temperature rise |
| JEL: | G12 G18 H63 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dnb:dnbwpp:833 |
| By: | Michael Gechter; Namrata Kala |
| Abstract: | Firm location decisions are a key managerial choice, usually optimized over factors like proximity to customers or suppliers. These decisions may also impose externalities on the environment, and on other firms due to competitive or agglomerative forces. The inherent endogeneity of location decisions makes estimating the impact of firm presence difficult. In this paper, we study an environmental place-based policy that randomly moved over 20, 000 small firms in New Delhi to industrial areas outside the city over several years. We find that a reduction in firm presence improves air quality, reducing industrial pollution by 8% for the average neighborhood. However, industrial relocation is costly for firms, significantly increasing the probability of firm exit. We combine the exogenous assignment of firms to industrial plots with a model of firms playing a game of incomplete information to estimate the effect of neighborhood composition on firm survival through Marshallian agglomeration forces. We find that proximity to neighboring firms with input-output linkages increases the likelihood of firm survival, and taking these into account while determining firm placement in industrial areas would have halved the costs imposed on firms by the policy. These results provide causal evidence on the trade-offs between firm presence and environmental quality, and show that firm spillovers can be a useful force to minimize the costs on regulated firms. |
| JEL: | D22 L20 O10 Q52 Q53 Q56 Q58 R38 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33707 |
| By: | Joseph E. Aldy; Forest L. Reinhardt; Robert N. Stavins |
| Abstract: | There is growing recognition of the relative importance of anthropogenic emissions of methane as a contributor to global climate change. An important source of such emissions in some countries, including the United States, is the oil and gas (O&G) sector. This points to the importance of developing understanding of the marginal abatement cost functions for methane emissions reductions. Scholars have employed a diverse set of methodologies to estimate abatement costs, including engineering cost models, econometric analysis of natural gas markets, and statistical retrospective analysis of state-level regulation. We critically summarize these approaches and synthesize their results. We find significant potential for low-cost methane abatement in the O&G sector in the United States and elsewhere, although claims of widespread negative abatement cost opportunities should be taken with a grain of salt. We also find that the potential for low-cost abatement is not without limit. Whereas it appears that cutting methane emissions in half would be relatively inexpensive, a sharp uptick in marginal abatement cost may occur when reductions exceed 60 to 80 percent below baseline levels. This threshold may change over time with technological advances in remote sensing, which can reduce abatement costs at various levels of ambition. |
| JEL: | Q52 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33564 |
| By: | Stupak, Nataliya; Augustin, Lea; Baumann, Thomas; Broda, Stefan; Busciacco, Fabio M.; Ebers, Niklas; Fricke, Ekkehard; Frühauf, Cathleen; Grauthoff, Janosch; Gronimus, Susanne; Heßdörfer, Daniel; Klickermann, Felix; Ostermann, Ulrich; Rubo, Samantha; Söder, Mareike; Weinheimer, Sebastian; Zinkernagel, Jana |
| Abstract: | The maintenance and expansion of vegetables and fruit production in Germany is of high importance for enabling plant-based diets. Horticulture is characterised by high reliance on water resources. Water availability has been changing due to climate crisis with negative implications for irrigation. These challenges but also available and possible solutions were the focus of the conference “Water availability challenge and adaptation options in horticulture” which took place on 18-19 June 2024 at the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. The conference was organised jointly by the federal ministry and the Thünen Institute – Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries. Its objective was to inform the policy makers, the representatives of public administrations, practice and science about the current state of knowledge regarding water availability and its future development, and to discuss jointly the prospects of viable water management for horticultural sector... |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:jhimwp:356763 |
| By: | Yin, Cynthia (Ohio State U) |
| Abstract: | Prior studies focus on how investors' sustainability preferences incentivize firms to reallocate resources from dirty to clean physical capital. However, the impact of investors' preferences on capital allocation depends critically on whether clean capital and dirty capital are substitutable. I develop a novel empirical strategy showing that dirty capital and clean capital are highly complementary. Theoretically, I explore firms' investment decisions, assuming that investors dislike carbon emissions through both risk and nonpecuniary utility channels. Given the current level of complementarity, investors' preferences have a limited impact on investment decisions, underscoring the need for technological innovation to address this production friction. |
| JEL: | C61 G11 G32 L21 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:ohidic:2024-25 |
| By: | Alexandre Garel (Audencia Business School); Arthur Romec (Toulouse Business School); Zacharias Sautner (University of Zurich - Department of Finance; Swiss Finance Institute; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI)); Alexander F. Wagner (University of Zurich - Department of Finance; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); Swiss Finance Institute) |
| Abstract: | We construct firm-level measures of nature dependence, capturing the extent to which a firm's business activities rely on different ecosystem services. The measures cover 26, 595 listed firms from 115 countries between 2010 and 2022. Nature dependence is positively correlated with a firm's impact on biodiversity but shows little correlation with exposure to physical climate risk. Nature dependence is neither related to nature-related corporate actions disclosed in the CDP survey nor reflected in firms' corporate disclosures. Interestingly, a firm's nature dependence is positively associated with measures of downside risk. These risk effects stem from high dependences on certain ecosystem services, rather than from low or moderate dependences on a greater number of ecosystem services. Nature dependence also predicts the likelihood of being targeted by BlackRock's biodiversity engagements. Overall, investors start paying attention to nature dependence, while corporate action and disclosure remain limited. |
| Keywords: | Nature risk, biodiversity risk, nature dependence, physical risk, shareholder engagement |
| JEL: | G12 G30 Q57 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2544 |
| By: | Fabio Alessandrini (University of Lausanne; Banque Cantonale Vaudoise); Eric Jondeau (University of Lausanne - Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC Lausanne); Swiss Finance Institute); Lou-Salomé Vallée (University of Lausanne - Faculty of Business and Economics (HEC Lausanne)) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the integration of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) into the construction of net-zero (NZ) portfolios of sovereign bonds. Based on both backward-looking (2015-2021) and forward-looking (2021-2030) analyses, we compare the effectiveness of scenarios using constant greenhouse gas (GHG) intensities and NDC-based trajectories in reducing the portfolio's GHG intensity while minimizing the tracking error relative to the business-as-usual benchmark. The backward-looking exercise reveals that NDC-based portfolios achieve similar GHG intensity reductions with lower tracking errors compared to constant-intensity scenarios, demonstrating their efficacy in building an NZ portfolio. Conversely, constant-intensity strategies require more aggressive rebalancing, leading to higher tracking errors and uneven allocations. In the forward-looking exercise, the more ambitious second round of NDCs announced before COP26 enables substantial GHG intensity reductions at a marginal financial cost. Overall, our results highlight the potential of NDCs as a forward-looking tool to align sovereign bond portfolios with climate objectives while maintaining financial performance. However, imposing weight restrictions by country or region, to ensure more equitable investment between advanced and emerging economies, significantly limits the ability to meet reduction targets and increases tracking errors. |
| Keywords: | Net-zero investment, Sovereign bond portfolio, Portfolio carbon footprint, Climate change, Nationally determined contributions |
| JEL: | G11 Q56 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2522 |
| By: | Liesebach, Mirko (Ed); Tröber, Ute (Ed) |
| Abstract: | The 8th meeting of the “Section Forest Genetics / Forest Tree Breeding”, the German Dendrology Society (DDG) and the Forest Research institute Baden-Württemberg (FVA) took place in Freiburg im Breisgau / Baden-Württemberg from September 11–13, 2024. The focus of the three-day lecture event was on " Forests of the Future - Contribution of Forest Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding". There were more than enough reason for the conference. Climate change is becoming more and more obvious. The effects of the excessively dry and warm years in large parts of Germany pose challenges for forest owners and managers. With the meeting we tried to answer some of the questions. At the conference, 51 presentations were given, which were assigned to 10 blocks: drought stress tolerance, biotic stress, alternative tree species, forest reproductive material, new seed sources, genetic analyses, red oak I and II, adaptation and innovative approaches... |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Land Economics/Use |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:jhimwo:356623 |
| By: | Alejandra Martínez-Martínez (University of Valencia and INTECO Research Group); Rafael Llorca-Vivero (University of Valencia and INTECO Research Group) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyse the extent to which the increase in global temperatures affects both the level of citizens' discomfort and energy consumption. We use countries' yearly average temperatures, the summation of cooling and heating degree-days, and primary energy consumption as the variables of interest on a sample of 67 countries over the period 1986-2016. The descriptive analysis reveals that the increase in global temperatures is widespread but shows distinct geographical patterns. Specifically, the increase is most pronounced in Europe and least significant in the Americas, while Africa and Asia hold an intermediate position, albeit experiencing the highest levels of heat stress. Our findings reveal that higher temperatures primarily reduce discomfort levels in cooler regions, such as European countries and North America, while they predominantly increase discomfort in warmer areas of the Americas, Africa, and Asia. This phenomenon has consequences for energy consumption efficiency, generally improving for the former and worsening for the latter. From this perspective, there are winners and losers from climate change. |
| Keywords: | Climate change; cooling and heating degree-days; discomfort; energy consumption |
| JEL: | Q54 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eec:wpaper:2507 |
| By: | Sarah Chung; Claudia Persico; Jing Liu |
| Abstract: | Recent empirical research shows that air pollution harms student test scores and attendance and increases office discipline referrals. However, the mechanism by which air pollution operates within schools to negatively affect student and teacher outcomes remains largely opaque. The existing literature has primarily focused on the effects of prolonged exposure to pollution on end-of-year test scores or total absence counts. We examine how ambient air pollution influences student-by-day and teacher-by-day outcomes, including absences and office discipline referrals, using daily administrative data from a large urban school district in California between 2003 and 2020. Using wind direction as an instrument for daily pollution exposure, we find that a 10 μg/m3 increase in daily PM2.5 causes a 5.7% increase in full-day student absences and a 28% increase in office referrals in a three-day window. Importantly, the effects are driven by low-income, Black, Hispanic, and younger students. In addition, over three days, a 10 μg/m3 increase in daily PM2.5 causes a 13.1% increase in teacher absences due to illness. Our research indicates that decreasing air pollution in urban areas could enhance both student and teacher attendance, and minimize disruptive behavior in educational settings. |
| JEL: | I14 I24 Q53 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33549 |
| By: | Qiaoyi Chen; Nicholas Ryan; Daniel Xu |
| Abstract: | We study carbon offsets sold by firms in China under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). We find that offset-selling firms, meant to cut carbon emissions, instead increase them by 49% after starting an offset project. In a model of firm investment decisions and offset review, we estimate that CDM firms increase emissions due to both the selection of higher-growth firms into projects (35 pp) and because offset projects themselves boost firm growth and therefore emissions (14 pp). The CDM reduces global surplus by causing damages from increased emissions four times greater than private gains from trade in the offset market. |
| JEL: | L51 O13 Q54 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33636 |
| By: | Giorgia Trasciani (LEST - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Sociologie du Travail - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Carolina de Nicolò; Maryline Filippi (SADAPT - Sciences pour l'Action et le Développement : Activités, Produits, Territoires - AgroParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | This chapter examines the potential for local initiatives to challenge the dominant linear production model in fashion by embedding sustainability and artistic innovation within their operational frameworks. It highlights how organizations rooted in their territorial contexts can foster economic, social, and environmental benefits, promoting circular supply chains. Facilitating trust and transparency among consumers, suppliers, and stakeholders, paving the way for alternative forms of economic integration beyond market exchange they also strength community ties |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05028076 |
| By: | Völker, Richard (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg); Hirschauer, Norbert; Lind, Fabienne; Gruener, Sven |
| Abstract: | Agricultural and environmental economists frequently use content analyses of textual data to gain a deeper understanding of public discourses that reflect the conflicting interests and attitudes of various stakeholders on agricultural issues. These discourses encompass topics such as nitrogen leaching, climate change, biodiversity loss, and animal welfare. However, the procedural standards of content analysis established in communication science are rarely fully adhered to due to a lack of interdisciplinary communication. This paper provides applied agricultural economists with the conceptual background of systematic search term validation that facilitates the transparent generation of high-quality databases for the content analysis of large datasets. |
| Date: | 2025–03–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:v68r7_v2 |
| By: | Lutz Sager |
| Abstract: | In 2013, China introduced the ambitious Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan (APPCAP) targeting ambient fine particle (PM2.5) pollution. Using panel data covering 239 countries and territories worldwide, from 2000 to 2019, I provide quasi-experimental estimates of nationwide reductions in PM2.5 exposure achieved since 2013. I find that the APPCAP lowered PM2.5 exposure of the average Chinese resident in 2019 by over 20%, reducing PM2.5-related deaths by between 220 and 280 thousand depending on estimation strategy. Monetizing the mortality reductions with recent values of statistical life suggests total benefits of up to 1 trillion Renminbi or 1% of Gross Domestic Output. |
| Keywords: | air pollution, health, mortality, regulation. |
| JEL: | I18 Q52 Q53 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11826 |
| By: | Eliseo Curcio |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates ethanol blending as a practical near-term strategy for significant transportation decarbonization in the United States. Despite rapid growth in electric vehicle adoption, gasoline is projected to remain dominant, with annual demand around 135 billion gallons by 2035, necessitating immediate complementary solutions. Analysis indicates ethanol use will notably expand, driven by regulatory incentives such as RFS Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and IRA tax credits (45V), leading to potential market penetration of E15 at about 25% and E85 also expanding substantially. Ethanol derived from waste achieves notably lower carbon intensity at approximately 58.34 gCO2e/MJ, substantially better than conventional gasoline (~92 gCO2e/MJ), providing clear environmental advantages. Economic assessments show robust investor returns and local economic growth driven by policy incentives, including Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) and IRA tax credits (45V). Infrastructure analysis confirms manageable costs and feasible adjustments for widespread adoption of higher ethanol blends. |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2504.06278 |
| By: | Isaksen, Elisabeth T.; Johansen, Bjørn G. |
| Abstract: | Decarbonizing transportation requires a shift from conventional to zero-emission vehicles. We examine whether congestion pricing with electric vehicle (EV) exemptions accelerates this transition by encouraging a shift toward cleaner cars. To identify causal effects, we combine administrative data on car ownership with a triple-differences design that exploits household-level variation in policy exposure across metropolitan areas and work commutes. We find that higher rush hour charges for conventional vehicles significantly increase EV adoption, primarily through replacement rather than fleet expansion. However, responses vary by socioeconomic characteristics, with higher-income and well-educated households more likely to adopt EVs. Beyond car ownership, we document behavioral adjustments, including relocation to avoid tolls, re-routing around the cordon, and shifting travel timing. Overall, congestion pricing reduced traffic volumes and improved air quality. Our findings offer insights for designing equitable and effective transportation policies. |
| Keywords: | congestion pricing; electric vehicles; car ownership; transportation policy; traffic; air polution |
| JEL: | H23 R41 R48 Q58 Q52 Q55 |
| Date: | 2025–05–31 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:127836 |
| By: | Ficarra, Matteo (Geneva Graduate Institute); Mari, Rebecca (Bank of England) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of floods on economic output and prices at the sectoral level for local authorities in England using highly granular climate and economic data. We use precipitation z-scores as an instrument for floods to deal with endogeneity stemming from adaptation capital and we obtain dynamic impulse responses to the shock on GDP and inflation with a local projection approach (LP-IV). We find significant heterogeneities across sectors in terms of size, timing and sign, with sectoral output (prices) declining (increasing) up to 20% (250 basis points) following an increase in the number of floods. This evidence explains well the response of aggregate GDP and inflation found in the literature. Our estimates suggest that reduced investment can only partially explain the decline in output, and only in manufacturing. The response of the number and value of real estate market transactions is instead consistent with a wealth effect that is line with the demand side behaviour in wholesale and retail trade. To shed more light on the interaction among sectors, we use input-output tables and show that flood shocks propagate through the production network. Finally, using local authority expenditure on flood defences and a proxy for adaptation capital, we find that investments in adaptation strongly reduce the likelihood of flooding, but are less effective at mitigating economic damages once a flood hits. Our analysis highlights the importance of disentangling the economic impact of climate change at the sectoral level and the need for adaptation investments. |
| Keywords: | Climate change; natural disasters; flooding; inflation |
| JEL: | Q54 R11 R53 |
| Date: | 2025–02–28 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:boe:boeewp:1120 |
| By: | Perez, Rolando Cruz; Flores, Nkwi; Astolfi, Maria; Espinoza, Ulises J.; Zimring, Teal Brown; Fox, Keolu |
| Abstract: | New fungal biotechnologies are advancing applied and conservation mycology to support global regenerative outcomes for natural and human systems. Fungi can support planetary health, “the health of human civilization and the state of the natural systems it depends on, ” through the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF). The KM-GBF is humanity's best effort at reconciling the sustainable development of all societies and biodiversity loss while respecting Indigenous Peoplesʻ (IP) rights. Target 17 of the KM-GBF calls for sharing biotechnology benefits and sustainable use of biotechnology for biodiversity conservation. It complements Article 19 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which calls for biotechnology access and benefit sharing (ABS). Fungal biotechnologies are uniquely positioned to address Article 19 and the KM-GBF Targets. Fungi can help grow our material world sustainably, and conserving them is best done by preserving the ecosystems they inhabit, so-called “conservation of abundance.” Through capacity building and Indigenous Data Sovereignty (IDSov), all 23 KM-GBF Targets can be addressed. In this opinion paper, we apply indigenous futures thinking to explore how advancements in fungal biotechnology and digital technologies enable the Kara & Kichwa Nation, people indigenous to Ecuador and the Andes Mountains, to practice and govern applied and conservation mycology. We propose a framework that extends efforts by the mycology community, further decentralizing applied and conservation mycology. Our framework centers fungal biotechnological innovation by Indigenous Peoples, and their participation in the global bioeconomy in service of planetary health and all 23 KM-GBF Targets. Specifically, we advocate for Global North governments and organizations to commit to the Targets and for Kara and Kichwa Nations to advance their fungal biotechnologies. We offer a starting point for envisioning future fungal technologies made possible by the design, development, and implementation of applied fungal biotechnologies by Indigenous Peoples. |
| Date: | 2025–03–17 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:qg2nk_v1 |
| By: | Karl Dunkle Werner; Arik Levinson |
| Abstract: | Many governments and businesses would like to minimize or eliminate the greenhouse gases that result from their purchases of power from electricity grids. Because electricity flows cannot be traced from purchasers back to specific generators, some regulators and users have proposed an approximation. Purchasers would be credited with using clean power if they contract for electricity generated by particular zero-carbon suppliers to the grid or purchase certificates accompanying that zero-carbon generation, so long as those arrangements meet three conditions, or “pillars”: The associated clean power must be generated (1) nearby, (2) during the same hour, and (3) from newly constructed power plants. Whether or not the three pillars are followed, existing or planned electricity generation meeting all three conditions is expected to account for 10 percent of US power in 2030. We show that the qualifying power would be cleaner than average, but not zero-carbon. Electricity purchases meeting the restrictions will have incremental emissions per megawatt hour 30 to 43 percent below unrestricted average emissions per megawatt hour. The three pillars could have additional climate benefits if demand for clean power exceeds the restricted supply, resulting in less total electricity demand or encouraging construction of new clean electricity capacity. |
| JEL: | Q42 Q47 Q48 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33546 |
| By: | Schenuit, Felix; Treß, Domenik |
| Abstract: | Die Rolle von Technologien zur dauerhaften Entnahme von Kohlendioxid (CO2) aus der Atmosphäre (Carbon Dioxide Removal, CDR) wird im Rahmen der Erarbeitung eines neuen EU-Emissionsreduktionsziels für 2040 und einer deutschen Langfriststrategie Negativemissionen intensiv diskutiert. Ergänzend zu diesen Langfriststrategien bedarf es einer Kurzfriststrategie, damit die Skalierung von Technologien für industrielles CDR gelingt. Bislang liegt der Fokus häufig auf einer konzeptionellen Diskussion darüber, welche Mengen an CDR im Netto-Null-Jahr benötigt werden. Zu wenig Beachtung findet die Frage, wie und mit welchem Vorlauf die ersten großskaligen CDR-Projekte überhaupt entstehen können. Einige Länder haben bereits kurzfristige Instrumente entwickelt, um einen ersten Investitionsschub in Technologien für industrielles CDR auszulösen. Eine vergleichende Bewertung dieser Ansätze zeigt mehrere umsetzbare Politikoptionen für eine gezielte CDR-Skalierung in der EU und Deutschland auf. |
| Keywords: | CO2-Entnahme, permanente CO2-Entnahme, Carbon Dioxide Removal, CDR, Carbon Management, industrielles CDR, CDR-Technologien, CDR-Skalierung, CDR-Hochlauf, CDR-Politik, CCS, CCU, LULUCF, Langfriststrategie Negativemissionen, LNe, Netto-Null-Ziele |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpakt:315514 |
| By: | Voorintholt, Lieke (University of Groningen); van den Berg, Gerard J. (University of Groningen); Soetevent, Adriaan R. (University of Groningen) |
| Abstract: | Concerns about offspring’s life quality are often cited as a motivation for caring about climate change. This paper investigates the hypothesized causal effect of grandparenthood on climate change worries, using panel data surveys among British families. Specifically, we study whether becoming a grandparent increases these worries. We employ two different study designs to deal with endogeneity of grandparenthood. The assumptions required to identify causal effects differ and are non-nested. However, results based on the two approaches are remarkably congruent. We find no empirical support for a relationship between grandparental status and concerns about climate change. |
| Keywords: | offspring, intergenerational altruism, global warming, anticipation, future climate |
| JEL: | D64 J13 Q51 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17795 |
| By: | Romulo Alves (SKEMA Business School); Philipp Krueger (University of Geneva - Geneva Finance Research Institute (GFRI); Swiss Finance Institute; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); University of Geneva - Geneva School of Economics and Management); Mathijs A. van Dijk (Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR)) |
| Abstract: | We provide the most comprehensive analysis to date of the relation between ESG ratings and stock returns, using 16, 000+ stocks in 48 countries and seven different ESG rating providers. We find very little evidence that ESG ratings are related to global stock returns between 2001 and 2020. This finding obtains across different regions, time periods, ESG (sub)ratings, ESG momentum, ESG downgrades and upgrades, and best-in-class strategies. We further find little empirical support for prominent hypotheses from the literature on the role of ESG uncertainty and of country-level ESG social norms, ESG disclosure standards, and ESG regulations in shaping the relation between ESG and global stock returns. Overall, our results suggest that ESG investing did not systematically affect investment performance during the past two decades. |
| Keywords: | ESG investing, Environmental, Social & Governance, Global stock returns, ESG uncertainty, Country characteristics |
| JEL: | G11 G12 G15 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2541 |
| By: | Könneke, Jule; Adolphsen, Ole |
| Abstract: | Auf der 29. Weltklimakonferenz (COP29) vom 11. bis 24. November 2024 wurde deutlich, dass sich die Kräfteverhältnisse in der internationalen Klimapolitik nach den Wahlen in den USA verschieben. China spielte bei den Verhandlungen zu internationaler Klimafinanzierung eine konstruktive Rolle. Vulnerable Länder waren dennoch zu schmerzhaften Kompromissen bei der Klimafinanzierung gezwungen. Saudi-Arabien und andere Schwellenländer blockierten den Themenkomplex Emissionsminderung stärker denn zuvor. Die Kritik mittlerer Mächte an Klimaschutzmaßnahmen der EU wuchs. Um eine fortschreitende Isolation der EU und negative Implikationen für ihre klima- und wettbewerbspolitische Agenda zu verhindern, muss die neue Europäische Kommission ihre klimadiplomatischen Anstrengungen anders ausrichten. |
| Keywords: | New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), COP29, Weltklimakonferenz, USA, China, EU, New Collective Quantified Goal, NCQG, Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, CBAM, Global Gateway |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpakt:315499 |
| By: | Dorsch, John (Ludwig Maximilian University); Goddu, Mariel Kathryn (Harvard University); Nave, Kathryn; Vierkant, Tillmann; Coeckelbergh, Mark; Gürtler, Paula; Urban, Petr; Spang, Friderike; Moll, Maximilian |
| Abstract: | In this Comment, we critique the growing “AI welfare” movement and propose the Precarity Guideline to determine care entitlement. In contrast to approaches that emphasize potential for suffering, the Precarity Guideline is grounded in objectively observable features. The severity of current planetwide biodiversity loss and climate change provide additional reasons to prioritize the needs of living beings. |
| Date: | 2025–03–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:h57pw_v1 |
| By: | Angie Andrikogiannopoulou (King’s College London); Philipp Krueger (University of Geneva - Geneva Finance Research Institute (GFRI); Swiss Finance Institute; European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI); University of Geneva - Geneva School of Economics and Management); Shema Frédéric Mitali (SKEMA Business School); Filippos Papakonstantinou (King’s College London) |
| Abstract: | We construct novel measures of mutual funds’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) commitment by analyzing the discretionary investment-strategy descriptions of their prospectuses. We find that fund flows respond strongly to such text-based ESG measures. Using discrepancies between text- and fundamentals-based ESG measures, we identify greenwashing. We find that greenwashing is more prevalent since ESG issues have started attracting mainstream attention and among funds with lower past flows and weaker oversight. Furthermore, greenwashers attract similar flows but have worse performance than genuinely-green funds, suggesting that investors cannot distinguish them and suffer welfare losses. Our methodology could help regulators combat ESG-related misconduct. |
| Keywords: | ESG, Prospectus, Greenwashing, Text Analysis, Mutual Funds, Fund Flows, Fund Performance |
| JEL: | G11 G23 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2543 |
| By: | Johan Gars; Daniel Spiro; Gustav Engström; Steven J. Lade |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a tractable integrated assessment model of the two-way interaction between biodiversity and the economy. To capture the main causes of biodiversity loss and the economic harm from it, we focus on agriculture and its expansion at the expense of forest land. We answer the question: What are the effects of pricing policies for land use on biodiversity and agricultural output? We show that there exist multiple economic-ecological equilibria and that a single ”bad” policy maker can cause virtually irreversible harm – a ratchet effect of land-use change. We further find that a brown paradox may emerge in which, in anticipation of a future lenient policy maker, farmers halt current land-use change. We characterize the optimal mix and level of land-clearing fines and land-use taxes. Fines only have the effect of slowing down land-use change but cannot be used to restore biodiversity. For that land-use taxes, or other policies such as restoration subsidies, are necessary. |
| Keywords: | biodiversity, policy, land-use, agriculture. |
| JEL: | H23 O13 Q12 Q15 Q57 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11814 |
| By: | Könneke, Jule |
| Abstract: | Kernziele der neuen EU-Kommission sind es, die geoökonomische Widerstandsfähigkeit zu erhöhen, die Dekarbonisierung voranzutreiben und die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit zu steigern. Dafür ist die EU auf Schwellenländer wie Brasilien angewiesen. Doch während China sein Engagement in Brasilien ausgeweitet hat, verliert die EU an Einfluss, weil sie keine langfristige Strategie besitzt und nicht in der Lage ist, der selbstbewussten Position Brasiliens in einer zunehmend multipolaren Welt angemessen zu begegnen. Ihre strategische Agenda gerät dadurch immer mehr in Gefahr. |
| Keywords: | EU, Brasilien, Klima-Geopolitik, Dekarbonisierung, Wettbewerb, China, European Green Deal, EGD, Net Zero Industry Act, Critical Raw Materials Act, Global Gateway, BRICS, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, CBAM, EU-Regulation on Deforestation-free Products, EUDR, Mercosur |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpakt:315496 |
| By: | Kevin Andrew (Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions); Jevan Cherniwchan (McMaster University); Mamoon Kader (Department of Economics, Carleton University); Hashmat Khan (Department of Economics, Carleton University) |
| Abstract: | The technique effect – the reduction in aggregate pollution emissions due to reductions in the pollution intensity of individual industries – is often interpreted as evidence that countries are getting cleaner because of improvements in how goods and services are produced. We extend the standard decomposition used in previous research to show the technique effect may also capture changes in the geography of economic activity. An empirical application to Canada suggests such changes may be economically important. While the technique effect decreased aggregate Canadian pollution intensity by 18.0% between 2009-2021, if the pollution intensity of production had remained fixed, within-industry shifts in production across Canada would have increased aggregate pollution intensity by over 11%. The technique effect decreased Canadian pollution intensity because these within-industry shifts were accompanied by reductions in pollution intensity that were greatest in provinces that received the largest within-industry reallocation of economic activity. |
| Keywords: | Pollution Decomposition, Technique Effect |
| JEL: | Q56 R11 |
| Date: | 2024–10–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:car:carecp:24-03 |
| By: | Cirilo Mendoza, Elibeth (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | The use of traditional biomass fuels such as wood and dung for cooking is a prevalent practice in low-income countries, leading to significant indoor air pollution and adverse health outcomes. Previous studies have found that the promotion of subsidized Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) had a negative impact on health outcomes in Peru. This study revisits this evidence by leveraging the national FISE program, which provided discounted LPG to low-income households. Using a staggered difference-in-differences approach combined with district-level data from the Peruvian DHS from 2005 to 2020, this study evaluates the effects of the FISE program on infant mortality and respiratory health outcomes. The findings reveal that the program increased LPG adoption as a primary cooking fuel by 8% (or 2.8 pp). However, the evidence on the program’s impact on reducing infant mortality and acute respiratory infections remains inconclusive, highlighting the complexity of measuring health impacts in the context of energy transitions. JEL classifications: I15 ; O13 ; Q53 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:wrkesp:83 |
| By: | Zhang, Shaojun (Ohio State U); Shi, Zhan (Tsinghua U) |
| Abstract: | An influential view attributes the “greenium†—the cost-of-capital gap between carbon-intensive and greener firms—to climate risks and investor preferences. We challenge this by showing that oil shocks are pivotal: rising prices, driven by foreign supply or sector-specific demand shocks, reduce energy firms’ cost of capital by enhancing their growth opportunities, creating a divergence from other brown firms. This energy specific component explains 20% of greenium fluctuations, peaking at 50%. Reassessing events like the Paris Agreement suggests the impact of investor discipline weakens when oil’s role is considered. Overall, markets price climate risks less effectively than a |
| JEL: | G10 G12 G15 Q51 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:ohidic:2024-24 |
| By: | Maya Papineau (Department of Economics, Carleton University); Nicholas Rivers (Department of Economics, University of Ottawa); Kareman Yassin (Hitotsubashi Institute for Advanced Study) |
| Abstract: | Maintaining household welfare in the transition to a net zero economy is critical to the public acceptance of climate policy. A challenge in meeting this goal is our incomplete understanding of the distribution of household-level benefits from policies designed to reduce greenhouse gases in residential buildings. We provide new insights on key variables that contribute to household and social welfare by quantifying both the level and distribution of energy savings, bill savings, and rebates disbursed from Canada’s national energy efficiency retrofit program. Using a unique dataset consisting of electricity and natural gas consumption from all single-family homes in a Canadian city, we find that adopted retrofits reduce natural gas consumption for up to 10 years in the average participating house by about 20% and whole-envelope retrofits reduce natural gas consumption by 35%. However, these savings represent only about half of pre-retrofit predicted savings, and several recommended retrofits save zero energy. While energy bill savings exhibit a modest peak among some lower wealth properties, retrofit rebates were disbursed equally across the house wealth distribution. |
| Keywords: | Energy efficiency; Deep Retrofits; EnerGuide for Homes; Distributional Effects |
| Date: | 2024–10–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:car:carecp:24-01 |
| By: | Saeid Vaghefi (University of Zurich amd WMO); Aymane Hachcham (University of Zurich); Veronica Grasso (WMO); Jiska Manicus (WMO); Nakiete Msemo (WMO); Chiara Colesanti Senni (University of Zurich - Department of Finance); Markus Leippold (University of Zurich; Swiss Finance Institute) |
| Abstract: | Tracking financial investments in climate adaptation is a complex and expertise-intensive task, particularly for Early Warning Systems (EWS), which lack standardized financial reporting across multilateral development banks (MDBs) and funds. To address this challenge, we introduce an LLM-based agentic AI system that integrates contextual retrieval, fine-tuning, and multi-step reasoning to extract relevant financial data, classify investments, and ensure compliance with funding guidelines. Our study focuses on a real-world application: tracking EWS investments in the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Fund. We analyze 25 MDB project documents and evaluate multiple AI-driven classification methods, including zero-shot and few-shot learning, fine-tuned transformer-based classifiers, chain-of-thought (CoT) prompting, and an agent-based retrievalaugmented generation (RAG) approach. Our results show that the agent-based RAG approach significantly outperforms other methods, achieving 87% accuracy, 89% precision, and 83% recall. Additionally, we contribute a benchmark dataset and expert-annotated corpus, providing a valuable resource for future research in AI-driven financial tracking and climate finance transparency. 1 * Equal Contributions. 1 We will open-source all code, LLM generations, and human annotations. |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2546 |
| By: | Dirk Leffrang (Paderborn University); Oliver Müller (Paderborn University) |
| Abstract: | Despite the impressive capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI), concerns about its environmental impact continue to grow. However, organizations rarely implement sustainable AI practices in real-world settings. Prior research has predominantly focused on promoting sustainability-related information for non-AI products or exploring technical approaches for AI applications. This paper identifies performance uncertainty as a key factor distinguishing AI from prior technologies. Drawing on goal-setting theory, we investigate the impact of sustainability information and an unmet performance goal on AI retraining decisions. We conducted three incentivized online between-subjects experiments with 343 individuals with data science experience. Our results indicate that visualizing sustainability information increases the likelihood of sustainable AI choices. However, presenting an unmet performance goal decreases the likelihood and offsets the beneficial impact of sustainability information. These findings support sustainability initiatives, AI evaluations, and future research by emphasizing that while sustainability matters, achieving it requires appropriate performance goals for AI. |
| Keywords: | sustainability, artificial intelligence, goal-setting, laboratory experiment |
| JEL: | Q01 D91 Q55 C91 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdn:dispap:135 |
| By: | Dugle, Gordon (Simon Diedong Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (SDD UBIDS)); Kutina, Cyril; Dawdi, Abdul-Aziz |
| Abstract: | Background: Sustainable procurement (SP) has emerged as an integral part of national and global efforts to address sustainable development challenges and the growing impact of climate change on human health, especially in resource-constrained health systems like sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We are conducting a scoping review to explore empirical studies on sustainable procurement practices in SSA health systems, identify evidence gaps and inform future research directions. Methods: The review will follow the JBI methodology and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) reporting guidelines for conducting scoping reviews. The following electronic databases will be searched for evidence: Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct. The search will be limited to peer-reviewed empirical studies published in the English language with no restrictions on publication date and study design. We will include only empirical studies, i.e., original research studies offering firsthand insights into SP practices in healthcare. Two reviewers will independently screen titles/abstracts and full texts based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the review. Disagreements will be resolved through a discussion among the review team. Study characteristics will be summarised in tabular format along with a thematic analysis and narrative summary of the key SP practices reported in the empirical literature. Discussion: The proposed review will provide valuable practical insights that can enhance policy-makers’ and healthcare practitioners’ understanding of emerging SP practices and initiatives. It will also provide directions for future research, thus guiding scholars towards areas of priority research attention. |
| Date: | 2025–03–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:4caqg_v1 |
| By: | LOMINE, LOYKIE |
| Abstract: | The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education is generating considerable debate, including in business schools. Drawing insights from recent publications (both academic and journalistic) and from examples of business schools around the world, this paper explores the potential of AI as a catalyst for sustainable education. It is structured around the alignment of AI's educational benefits with four of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Key findings suggest that AI's capabilities in offering personalized learning experiences, fostering innovation, promoting responsible consumption and bolstering sustainable partnerships position IA as an essential tool for business schools. This paper ultimately advocates for the deliberate and strategic integration of AI to further the mission of sustainability education of business schools worldwide. |
| Date: | 2025–03–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:64y38_v2 |
| By: | Angelos Alamanos; Russell M. Wise; Stefanos Xenarios; George Papaioannou; Vassiliki Markogianni; George Varlas; Angelos Plataniotis; Anastasios Papadopoulos; Elias Dimitriou; Phoebe Koundouri |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to addressing the escalating challenge of post-wildfire flood hazards - a growing threat to people and nature under climate change - by integrating advanced flood modelling within a governance framework to support proactive flood-protection planning. The coastal community of Kineta, in Greece, is used as a case study to demonstrate the combined application of the multi-disciplinary modelling approach and the governance assessment framework. The modelling approach analyses post-wildfire floods, and guides the design of post-wildfire erosion and flood protection treatments (PEFTs). It combines remote sensing analyses, atmospheric and hydraulic simulation models like WRF-ARW and HEC-RAS, and the geospatial application of targeted PEFTs, such as log-erosion barriers and wooden check dams. The need to bring such model-driven insights into policies implementing PEFTs, led us to augment the modelling approach with a governance framework followed in Australia, which has many similar hazard and governance characteristics to those of Greece. The governance framework is based on the values-rules-knowledge (VRK) model of decision-making contexts, and identifies key barriers that lead to insufficient flood protection. Robust insights are generated from this process about how to effectively apply integrated modelling approaches within decision-making contexts for knowledge and policy co-production to address institutional, behavioral and knowledge barriers impeding timely investments in flood risk mitigation. The proposed framework is suggested as a comprehensive science-to-policy approach that can support more proactive post-wildfire flood risk management. |
| Keywords: | Post-wildfire floods, Flash-floods modelling, Protection works design, Values, Rules, Knowledge, Governance, Greece, Australia |
| Date: | 2025–05–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aue:wpaper:2532 |
| By: | Krebs, Tom (University of Mannheim); Weber, Isabella (University of Massachusetts Amherst) |
| Abstract: | The structural theory of green transformation acknowledges the complexity of the transformation process and suggests a state-led approach with green industrial policy at its core. In contrast, the market-fundamentalist approach to the transformation problem relies on carbon pricing and the assumption of smooth adjustment to rising market prices. We argue that the recent energy crisis in Germany provides a test of market fundamentalism. We show that the behavior of key macroeconomic variables contradicts the market-fundamentalist theory of green transformation. We also detail how mainstream economists and the policy establishment held on to their belief in self-regulating markets despite the empirical failure of market fundamentalism, which led to policy mistakes with large economic and political costs. Policy making based on market fundamentalism caused substantial damage to Germany’s economy and helped the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) double its political support. |
| Keywords: | inflation, energy crisis, market fundamentalism, green industrial policy, green transformation, fiscal austerity, price controls. |
| JEL: | E12 E32 E64 L50 L60 Q43 Q48 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17834 |
| By: | Sitzmann, Amelie (Energiewirtschaftliches Institut an der Universitaet zu Koeln (EWI)) |
| Abstract: | The expansion of heat pumps drives the electrification of the heating sector which is important to achieve Germany’s ambitious climate targets. This paper examines the impact of heat pumps in combination with thermal storage on the flexibility of the German electricity system in 2030, focusing on its market and grid impacts. A timely and spatially detailed electricity market and transmission grid model evaluates the impact of thermal storage. The results show that, overall, unlocking the flexibility of thermal storage consistently reduces total supply costs. However, while the flexibility provided by thermal storage supports the integration of RES and reduces supply costs in the dispatch, the use of flexibility increases grid violations and hence, redispatch measures. By further studying a model setup with locational marginal prices (LMPs), the analysis highlights regional differences in the value of flexibility, which is particularly high in northern Germany, where proximity to wind generation enhances the benefits of thermal storage. |
| Keywords: | Market Design; Electricity Markets; Nodal Pricing; Energy System Modeling; Renewable Energies; Heat Pumps; Thermal Storage; Flexibility |
| JEL: | C61 D47 D61 Q40 |
| Date: | 2025–04–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:ewikln:2025_003 |
| By: | Nelli, Linnea (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Virgillito, Maria Enrica (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore); Vivarelli, Marco (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to understand whether what has been labelled as “twin transition”, at first as a policy flagship, endogenously emerges as a new technological trajectory stemming by the convergence of the green and digital technologies. Embracing an evolutionary approach to technology, we first identify the set of relevant technologies defined as “green”, analyse their evolution in terms of dominant blocks within the green technologies and concurrences with digital technologies, drawing on 560, 720 granted patents by the US Patent Office from 1976 to 2024. Three dominant blocks emerge as relevant in defining the direction of innovative efforts, namely energy, transport and production processes. We assess the technological concentration of the dominant blocks and construct counterfactual scenarios. We hardly find evidence of patterns of actual endogenous convergence of green and digital technologies in the period under analysis. On the whole, for the time being, the “twin transition” appears to be just a policy flagship, rather than an actual endogenous technological trajectory driving structural change. |
| Keywords: | technological trajectories, policy flagship, twin transition |
| JEL: | O33 Q55 Q58 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17779 |
| By: | Ted To |
| Abstract: | Many of the world's renewable resources are in decline. Optimal harvests with smooth recruitment is well studied but in recent years, ecologists have concluded that tipping points in recruitment are common. Recruitment with a tipping point has low-fecundity below the tipping point and high-fecundity above. When the incremental value of high-fecundity is sufficiently high, there is a high-fecundity steady-state. This steady-state is stable but in some cases, small perturbations may result in large, temporary reductions in recruitment and harvests. Below the tipping point, a low-fecundity steady-state need not exist. When a low-fecundity steady-state does exist, there is an endogenous tipping (Skiba) point: below, harvests converge to the low-fecundity steady-state and above, an austere harvest policy transitions the renewable resource to high-fecundity recruitment. If there is hysteresis in recruitment, the high steady-state may not be stable. Moreover, if the high-/low-fecundity differential is large then following a downward perturbation, fecundity optimally remains low. |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2504.03766 |
| By: | Darin Christensen; Tamma Carleton; Esther Rolf; Cullen Molitor; Shopnavo Biswas; Karena Yan; Graeme Blair |
| Abstract: | Artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) supplies livelihoods and critical minerals but has been linked to conflict and environmental degradation. We enable monitoring of this largely informal sector by creating high-resolution maps of ASM's footprint in Africa using machine learning models that integrate geographic features and satellite imagery. We find ASM is more extensive than documented: in five countries with on-the-ground surveys, we predict over 231, 000 1-km2 grid cells [±2 standard errors: 170, 153-297, 710] contain ASM activity – over 40 times that recorded by surveyors. Adapting methods for spatial domain adaptation, we map ASM across 20 total countries, estimating that 4% [2-8%] of territory and 17% [10-30%] of the population are impacted by ASM, which encroaches on a larger share of settlements and ecosystems than previously understood. |
| JEL: | Q32 Q49 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33646 |
| By: | Kyungbo Han (University of Bath) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effectiveness of forest protected areas (PAs) in a dynamic setting. I investigate whether the establishment of PAs in the Brazilian Amazon immediately accelerates deforestation in the neighborhoods, and logging activities gradually shift back to PAs over time. This dynamic displacement stems from the fact that trees in the Amazon are treated as a nonrenewable resource. Exploiting variations in the proximity to PA boundaries and in the timing of PA establishment, I identify the dynamic effects of new PAs on deforestation in non-protected areas (NPAs) and PAs, respectively. The establishment of PAs dramatically increases the size of newly deforested areas in the neighborhoods for the first 6 years, while the incremental effect suddenly disappears or the deforestation rate even decreases 7-10 years after the establishment. In the interior of PAs close to their boundaries, the rate of deforestation gradually increases from the beginning of the establishment. Deforestation is particularly severe inside PAs in the second phase of deforestation in NPAs (i.e., 7-10 years after the establishment). This phenomenon suggests that logging activities repeatedly shift in response to the dynamics of logging costs in NPAs and PAs. |
| Date: | 2024–07–29 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eid:wpaper:58187 |
| By: | Morshed, Monzur |
| Abstract: | Bangladesh is one of the world’s most disaster-prone countries has experienced frequent cyclones and flooding as well as climate shocks that endanger the livelihood of millions. The Government has launched a range of social protection programs in partnership with international agencies and NGOs, which have proven to be a valuable investment in the prevention of vulnerabilities, disaster preparedness and resilience building among the vulnerable. This paper contributes to assessing the effectiveness of disaster response and long-term recovery by analyzing the historical evolution of mechanisms from 1971–2020. The paper evaluates targeted assistance and employment programs, cash transfers, and food security interventions by extracting case studies on Cyclone Sidr (2007), the 2017 floods, and Cyclone Amphan (2020) and examine which ones were beneficial for affected populations in recovery. There has been good progress and promising practice around the integration of disaster risk reduction within the scope of social protection though coverage and funding gaps and operational bottlenecks exist. The findings highlight the need for adaptive, shock-responsive social safety nets, and make a series of suggestions for policy improvements to make Bangladesh better prepared for climate-induced disasters in the future. |
| Date: | 2025–03–13 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:ukcy6_v1 |
| By: | Gualtieri, Giovanni (National Research Council, Italy); Nicolini, Marcella (University of Pavia); Sabatini, Fabio (Sapienza University of Rome); Ventura, Marco (Sapienza University of Rome) |
| Abstract: | We study the electoral repercussions of the L'Aquila earthquake in 2009, one of Italy's most catastrophic post-WWII seismic events. We construct a unique municipality-level dataset, combining high-resolution data on the ground acceleration recorded during the earthquake with European election results and social capital metrics. Our findings indicate that the intensity of the shock positively influenced support for the incumbent national government but provided no electoral advantage to local incumbents. Analyzing potential transmission mechanisms, we find that relief measures did not automatically translate into political rewards. Instead, social capital played a pivotal role in shaping post--disaster electoral outcomes. The national government's electoral gains were concentrated in municipalities with a low density of civic organizations, where citizens relied predominantly on political institutions for assistance. Individual level evidence from survey data further supports our findings. Nonetheless, the impact of the earthquake was not enduring. In the subsequent elections, the incumbent government experienced a decline in support in the very municipalities where it had initially gained favor following the disaster. |
| Keywords: | elections, relief spending, redistribution, social capital, natural disasters, Italy, Silvio Berlusconi |
| JEL: | D72 H10 H12 Q54 Z1 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17758 |
| By: | Rosa Van Den Ende (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Universität Bielefeld); Dylan Laplace Mermoud (ENSTA, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers) |
| Abstract: | Responsibility in complex networks extends beyond direct actions: players should also bear responsibility for the indirect effects within their supply chains or network. We introduce a novel framework to allocate responsibility for indirect environmental, social, and economic impacts across a dynamic network. Unlike static approaches, our framework accounts for the evolving structure of supply chains, financial systems, and other interconnected systems, where relationships change over time. We use the time-dependent Laplacian matrix to capture how responsibility propagates through the network, revealing a diffusion process that aligns with key axioms of fairness: linearity, efficiency, symmetry, and the independent player property. We show that approximating the responsibility measure preserves these properties, supporting the use of our framework as a rigorous and practical method to allocate responsibility in real-world networks |
| Keywords: | Dynamic networks; Laplacian matrix; allocation of responsibility; diffusion; climate policy |
| JEL: | D85 Q5 |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:25008 |
| By: | Credit, Kevin |
| Abstract: | As per capita on-road CO2 emissions continue to rise in the US, a better understanding of the emissions-reduction benefits of building a new transit system is needed. Employing a novel quasi-experimental event study methodology, the results of this paper indicate that after 8 years of operation, construction of a light rail system has led to a small but significant reduction in regional on-road CO2 per capita of 8.4% - 12.9%. These results are robust to selection of control group and are larger than the estimated impact of light rail construction on population density (1.0%), evaluated in a comparative quasi-“placebo” study. |
| Date: | 2025–03–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:euyj6_v2 |
| By: | Credit, Kevin |
| Abstract: | As per capita on-road CO2 emissions continue to rise in the US, a better understanding of the emissions-reduction benefits of building a new transit system is needed. Employing a novel quasi-experimental event study methodology, the results of this paper indicate that after 8 years of operation, construction of a light rail system has led to a small but significant reduction in regional on-road CO2 per capita of 8.4% - 12.9%. These results are robust to selection of control group and are larger than the estimated impact of light rail construction on population density (1.0%), evaluated in a comparative quasi-“placebo” study. |
| Date: | 2025–03–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:euyj6_v1 |
| By: | Rafik Abdesselam (ERIC - Entrepôts, Représentation et Ingénierie des Connaissances - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 - Université de Lyon, COACTIS - COnception de l'ACTIon en Situation - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne); Malia Kedjar (LARSH - Laboratoire de Recherche Sociétés & Humanités - UPHF - Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France - INSA Hauts-De-France - INSA Institut National des Sciences Appliquées Hauts-de-France - INSA - Institut National des Sciences Appliquées); Patricia Renou-Maissant (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to identify the drivers of eco-innovation in start-ups. Firstly, a discriminant analysis (DA) is applied to study what is distinctive about eco-innovative start-ups as compared to non-eco-innovative start-ups. Secondly, a typology of eco-innovative start-ups is developed using a hierarchical ascendant clustering (HAC). Analyses are carried out using original data from a survey of 120 eco-innovative and non-ecoinnovative French start-ups.Discriminant analyses reveal that the founders of eco-innovative start-ups are differentiated by characteristics related to their environmental education and professional experience. Furthermore, eco-innovative start-ups are distinguished from the non-eco-innovative start-ups by voluntary environmental practices, such as the adoption of corporate social responsibility policies. Finally, we show that there is a diversity of profiles of eco-innovators. In fact, firms cluster into five main profiles and exhibit different eco-innovation drivers. We highlight that the different types of eco-innovators do not face the same difficulties in accessing funds. These findings have important implications for the implementation of public policy designed to promote eco-innovative activity, and they highlight the need to design policies that take into account the distinctive character of each profile. |
| Keywords: | Eco-innovation Start-ups typology Data analysis methods |
| Date: | 2024–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05019865 |
| By: | Adolphsen, Ole; Könneke, Jule; Schenuit, Felix |
| Abstract: | Mit dem Green Deal hat die EU in den vergangenen Jahren nicht nur eine deutliche Ambitionssteigerung ihrer Klimapolitik vollzogen, sondern die europäische Klimainnenpolitik um eine internationale Dimension erweitert. Tatsächlich betreffen zahlreiche Rechtsakte der EU direkt oder indirekt auch internationale Partner. Dennoch werden interne und externe Dimension der Klimapolitik in der neuen EU-Kommission nicht systematisch zusammengeführt, eine strategische diplomatische Flankierung der Maßnahmen ist nicht gegeben. Gerade mit Blick auf die erhöhte Bedeutung von Wettbewerbsfähigkeit und geopolitischen Konstellationen eröffnet sich die Chance für einen neuen Strategieprozess. Dieser könnte dazu beitragen, dass EU-Institutionen und Mitgliedstaaten die externe Dimension koordinieren und eine sinnvolle Weiterentwicklung der europäischen Klimapolitik erreichen. |
| Keywords: | EU-Klimapolitik, European Green Deal, Klimainnen- und -außenpolitik, EU-Rechtsakte, EU-Kommission, Kommissionspräsidentin Ursula von der Leyen, Wettbewerbsfähigkeit |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:swpakt:315501 |
| By: | Fritz, Manuela; Luck, Nathalie; Sawhney, Udit |
| Abstract: | Social norms and perceptions within farming networks can influence the adoption of new agricultural practices. In Indonesian rice farming communities, norms around the desired level of rice plant greenness are widespread, with some farmers valuing deep green plants. Since greenness levels depend on the content of chlorophyll in the plants, which in turn depends on nitrogen fertilizer inputs, these norms can lead to high usage of chemical fertilizer. This study uses a mixed-method approach to examine whether social norms, personal beliefs, and perceptions about peers’ opinions influence rice farmers’ fertilizer input decisions. We combine quantitative regression analyses with qualitative content analysis to explore these dynamics. Our findings show that farmers who are unaware of a saturation point for fertilizer application tend to use more chemical nitrogen and less organic fertilizer. These farmers are also less willing to experiment with new farming practices that might reduce plant greenness but improve soil health. However, second-order perceptions – beliefs about whether lower greenness levels lead to talking within the farming community – do not significantly affect fertilizer use or farmers’ willingness to try new methods. A survey experiment further confirms that increasing the salience of potential talking has little effect on farmers’ willingness to experiment with new practices. Dyadic regressions reveal that actual fertilizer adoption behaviors of neighboring farmers are more predictive of fertilizer input decisions than neighbors’ greenness norms. This suggests that while social norms around plant appearance exist, farmers’ decisions are more strongly influenced by their own knowledge and the observable actions of their peers. |
| Date: | 2025–03–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:qxndc_v1 |