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on Resource Economics |
| By: | Toman, Michael A. (Resources for the Future); Lohawala, Nafisa (Resources for the Future); Shih, Jhih-Shyang (Resources for the Future) |
| Abstract: | Sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) are widely viewed as essential in the near-to-medium term for significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the aviation sector. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has set a goal of net-zero aviation emissions by 2050, and several jurisdictions—including the European Union and United Kingdom—have adopted policies mandating increasing SAF use. The United States has several tax breaks available to SAF producers. See Lohawala et al. (2026) for an overview of SAF policy frameworks in the United States and other jurisdictions. Despite these policy signals, however, SAF production remains far below the scale required to meet ICAO’s longer-term emission-mitigation targets (ICAO 2025a).Several technological pathways exist for producing SAF. One emerging option is ethanol-to-jet (ETJ), which converts ethanol derived from biomass into jet fuel through a series of chemical processes. Because ethanol production is already well established—particularly in the United States—ETJ has attracted attention as a pathway that could expand SAF supply in the near-to-medium term. Companies such as LanzaJet (which began operating the first commercial-scale US ETJ facility in 2024), Gevo, and Summit Next Gen are pursuing ETJ.Lohawala (2026) examined the potential role of corn-based, or “first-generation, ” ETJ in SAF markets by comparing it with the hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) pathway—the most established SAF technology today—which converts lipid feedstocks, such as vegetable oils and animal fats, into jet fuel. That analysis identified several factors that have drawn interest to ETJ relative to HEFA. First, lipid feedstocks are limited and already face competing demand from renewable diesel and other markets, raising concerns about long-term availability. By contrast, US corn-based ethanol production occurs at large scale, supported by extensive agricultural supply chains and processing infrastructure, creating the possibility of expanding SAF production by leveraging an established industry. Such expansion may also become more relevant for ethanol producers if demand for ethanol in road transportation declines as electric vehicles gain market share. The analysis also noted that ETJ may be more cost-competitive, in part because corn feedstocks are typically less expensive than vegetable oils.However, the analysis highlighted an important challenge: the life-cycle carbon intensity (CI) of corn-based ETJ. CI is a central metric in SAF policy because many programs worldwide condition eligibility or credit values on the estimated CI of a fuel relative to fossil jet fuel. The CI for corn-based fuels can be substantial, reflecting emissions from fertilizer use, farm energy, ethanol processing, and potential land-use change in crop production. The potential role of corn-based ETJ as a low-carbon aviation fuel depends on the extent to which its CI can be reduced without sharply increasing production costs.We examine how this CI-reduction challenge could be addressed by focusing on emissions-reduction strategies that the literature identifies as having relatively large mitigation potential across the ETJ supply chain. Although these strategies can lower emissions, they also introduce additional costs and infrastructure requirements that create barriers for scaling up ETJ. |
| Date: | 2026–04–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rff:ibrief:ib-26-03 |
| By: | Donatella Baiardi (Department of Economics and Management, University of Parma); Fabio Landini (Department of Economics and Management, University of Parma); Mario Menegatti (Department of Economics and Management, University of Parma); Ugo Rizzo (Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Ferrara; Sustainability Environmental Economics and Dynamics Studies (SEEDS)); Luigi Tredicine (Department of Economics and Management, University of Parma) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of green-oriented university education on environmental quality, by developing a conceptual framework in which firm emissions depend on the joint use of green technologies and green-skilled labor. In complementarity between these inputs, an increase in the local supply of green-skilled labor induces firms to adopt more green technologies, thereby improving environmental quality. In addition, we show that this effect is stronger in more labor-intensive sectors. Guided by these theoretical insights, we perform an empirical analysis based on a novel measure of green higher education, constructed using administrative data on more than 90, 000 university course descriptions in Italy. We build an indicator of the green content of academic programs using natural language processing techniques and aggregate it at the provincial level to proxy the supply of green-skilled workers. Combining this measure with detailed data on environmental quality, proxied by different types of air emissions, including carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5). We find that a higher supply of graduates with more intensive green skills is associated with significantly lower emissions of key pollutants, including CO2, CO, PM10, and PM2.5. This relationship is robust to a wide set of controls and fixed effects. In line with our model, the association is stronger for service-related emissions than for industrial sources. In general, these findings highlight the role of higher education as a key driver of improved environmental quality through the provision of green skills. |
| Keywords: | Higher Education; Green Skills; University; Air Pollutants; Environmental Quality |
| JEL: | I23 Q51 Q53 Q55 |
| Date: | 2026–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:srt:wpaper:1026 |
| By: | Yashvant Premchand (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Peter Mulder (Utrecht University) |
| Abstract: | Where should we build new housing under growing climate hazards? This paper develops a framework that balances the economic benefits of density against the geographically varying costs of climate adaptation. We apply it to the Netherlands, where demand for new housing is high, but much of the land lies in floodplains or subsidence-prone areas. Agglomeration benefits are proxied by land values, while adaptation costs are derived from engineering estimates of flood protection and soil subsidence. Combining these data allows us to map spatial trade-offs and identify where development remains welfare-enhancing. Our findings show that dense cities continue to generate strong net welfare gains, even in places with high costs, while low-density settlements generate a welfare loss for new housing. We identify density thresholds above which housing development becomes feasible. Many medium-sized Dutch cities already exceed these thresholds, making densification more beneficial than peripheral expansion. Climate adaptation thus strengthens—rather than weakens—the case for urban densification. |
| Keywords: | Housing development, Climate adaptation, Agglomeration effects, Land values, Urban density |
| JEL: | Q54 R11 R14 R31 R58 |
| Date: | 2025–12–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250073 |
| By: | Erik Ansink (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Jelmer van 't Veer (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | Habitat connectivity is a prominent target of biodiversity policy, but it remains unclear which landscape margins matter most for conservation outcomes under scarce budgets. We study this question in the Dutch river area by comparing six connectivity metrics as predictors of occurrence for three red-listed species. Across species and specifications, habitat area shows the strongest and most consistent association with occurrence, while graph-based metrics add limited explanatory value. Because woody linear elements are especially prominent in current Dutch policy, we examine that margin more closely using an instrumental-variables strategy based on historical fragmentation and land-consolidation timing. The IV results provide no consistent evidence that woody linear elements improve species occurrence once endogeneity is addressed. An illustrative cost-effectiveness comparison further suggests that increasing habitat area dominates reducing isolation on the evaluated margin. Taken together, the results support prioritizing habitat expansion over stronger reliance on woody linear elements or more complex connectivity proxies in this setting. |
| Keywords: | Biodiversity conservation, habitat connectivity, cost-effectiveness |
| JEL: | C21 Q24 Q57 R14 |
| Date: | 2025–10–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20250060 |
| By: | Miro Mehic (Paderborn University) |
| Abstract: | Nudging has become a widely used policy instrument for promoting pro-environmental behavior. Although extensive evidence demonstrates that nudges are effective in the short term, far less is known about whether these effects persist over time. This study presents the first systematic literature review and meta-analysis focused explicitly on the long-term effects of environmental nudges. A total of 42 publications reporting 140 effect sizes (N = 613, 894) were synthesized using a three-level random-effects model. Across all studies, nudging interventions produced a small overall effect (d = 0.30, 95% CI [0.19, 0.41]). An analysis of the temporal dynamics based on 61 effect sizes showed that long-term effects remained positive and statistically significant, although smaller in magnitude than short-term effects. A continuous meta-regression revealed a significant decline in effectiveness over time (β = –0.0113), indicating gradual behavioral decay. Quartile analyses confirmed this pattern, with significant effects up to 60 days after intervention and increasing heterogeneity in effectiveness thereafter. Moderator analyses revealed substantial variation across nudge types. The findings provide systematic evidence that environmental nudges do lead to persistent behavior change, though with clear attenuation over time. These results offer important implications for policymakers and organizations designing long-term behavioral interventions and highlight the need for future research on mechanisms that enhance temporal stability. |
| Keywords: | Nudging, pro-environmental behavior, long-term effects |
| JEL: | Q5 D91 |
| Date: | 2026–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdn:dispap:178 |