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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Renaud Foucart; Grégoire Garsous |
| Keywords: | climate change; self-enforcing international agreements; threshold effects |
| JEL: | Q54 C72 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eca:wpaper:2013/150173&r=env |
| By: | Salas, Paula Cordero |
| Abstract: | This paper explains the major issues and lessons derived from the national forest management program and REDD+ initiatives in Tanzania. It finds that addressing the most important drivers of forest degradation and deforestation, in particular the country energy needs and landownership, is essential for success in reducing emissions regardless of the type of program implemented. It also finds that, through the national program, forest users have learned to maximize profit from the sustainable use of the forest; however, the program reports great variability in the success of forest conservation. REDD+ may complement the national program by adding funding and other resources to start projects at the local level while giving additional payments for the permanence of carbon stocks may help to improve the social outcomes of those villages practicing sustainable forest management. However, a careful characterization of the national projects is necessary to generalize how REDD+ can be effectively implemented so that additional economic and environmental benefits are generated over what the national program is already achieving. Addressing this issue is key for identifying the conditions under which REDD+ achieves environmental additionality in Tanzania. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases,Wildlife Resources,Forestry,Climate Change and Environment,Environmental Economics&Policies |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6815&r=env |
| By: | Hübler, Michael; Löschel, Andreas; Voigt, Sebastian |
| Abstract: | We assess recent Chinese climate policy proposals in a multi-region, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model with a Chinese carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS). When the emissions intensity per GDP in 2020 is required to be 45% lower than in 2005, the model simulations indicate that the climate policy- induced welfare loss in 2020, measured as the level of GDP and welfare in 2020 under climate policy relative to their level under business-as-usual (BAU) in the same year, is about 1%. The Chinese welfare loss in 2020 slightly increases in the Chinese rate of economic growth in 2020. When keeping the emissions target fixed at the 2020 level after 2020 in absolute terms, the welfare loss will reach about 2% in 2030. If China's annual economic growth rate is 0.5 percentage points higher (lower), the climate policy-induced welfare loss in 2030 will rise (decline) by about 0.5 percentage points. Full auctioning of carbon allowances results in very similar macroeconomic effects as free allocation, but full auctioning leads to higher reductions in output than free allocation for ETS sectors. Linking the Chinese to the European ETS and restricting the transfer volume to one third of the EU's reduction effort creates at best a small benefit for China, yet with smaller sectoral output reductions than auctioning. These results highlight the importance of designing the Chinese ETS wisely. -- |
| Keywords: | China,climate policy,ETS,linking,CGE |
| JEL: | C68 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:14020&r=env |
| By: | Ashenfelter, Orley; Storchmann, Karl |
| Abstract: | In this article we provide an overview of the extensive literature on the impact of weather and climate on grapes and wine with the goal of describing how climate change is likely to affect their production. We start by discussing the physical impact of weather on vine phenology, berry composition and yields, and then survey the economic literature measuring the effects of temperature on wine quality, prices, costs and profits and how climate change will affect these. We also describe what has been learned so far about possible adaptation strategies for grape growers that would allow them to mitigate the economic effects of climate change. We conclude that climate change is likely to produce winners and losers, with the winners being those closer to the North and South Poles. There are also likely to be some substantial short run costs as growers adapt to climate change. Nevertheless, wine making has survived through thousands of years of recorded history, a history that includes large climate changes. |
| Keywords: | wine, climate change, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aawewp:164854&r=env |
| By: | Gunnar Luderer (PIK - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research); Volker Krey (IIASA - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis - International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis); Katherine Calvin (Joint Global Change Research Institute - Joint Global Change Research Institute); James Merrick (EPRI - Electric Power Research Institute, - Electric Power Research Institute); Silvana Mima (PACTE - Politiques publiques, ACtion politique, TErritoires - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Grenoble - CNRS : UMR5194 - Université Pierre-Mendès-France - Grenoble II - Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I); Robert Pietzcker (PIK - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research - Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research); Jasper Van Vliet (PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency - PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency); Kenichi Wada (Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth - Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the EMF27 scenarios to explore the role of renewable energy (RE) in climate change mitigation. Currently RE supplies almost 20 % of global electricity demand. Almost all EMF27 mitigation scenarios show a strong increase in renewable power production, with a substantial ramp-up of wind and solar power deployment. In many scenarios, renewables are the most important long-term mitigation option for power supply. Wind energy is competitive even without climate policy, whereas the prospects of solar photovoltaics (PV) are highly contingent on the ambitiousness of climate policy. Bioenergy is an important and versatile energy carrier; however--with the exception of low temperature heat--there is less scope for renewables other than biomass for non-electric energy supply. Despite the important role of wind and solar power in climate change mitigation scenarios with full technology availability, limiting their deployment has a relatively small effect on mitigation costs, if nuclear and carbon capture and storage (CCS)--which can serve as substitutes in low-carbon power supply--are available. Limited bioenergy availability in combination with limited wind and solar power by contrast, results in a more substantial increase in mitigation costs. While a number of robust insights emerge, the results on renewable energy deployment levels vary considerably across the models. An in-depth analysis of a subset of EMF27 reveals substantial differences in modeling approaches and parameter assumptions. To a certain degree, differences in model results can be attributed to different assumptions about technology costs, resource potentials and systems integration. |
| Keywords: | renewable energy ; climate change ; scenario |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00961843&r=env |
| By: | Marie-Sophie Hervieux (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Université de Nantes : EA4272); Olivier Darné (LEMNA - Laboratoire d'économie et de management de Nantes Atlantique - Université de Nantes : EA4272) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we examine the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis using the Ecological Footprint (EF), a more comprehensive indicator of environmental degradation, for ve Latin American countries covering the 1971-2007 period. We test the EKC hypothesis using a traditional quadratic function from both the supply and consumption-side, adding several explicative variables: urbanization, petrol price and industrialization for supply-side; biocapacity, life expectancy and energy use for consumption-side. We perform an ARDL modeling in order to study both short and long-run periods. We nd that there is no stable relationship between environment and economic development in the long-run. For the short-run analysis, the EKC hypothesis is supported for no one, we rather nd an increasing relationship between growth and environment. Results for explicative variables are mixed: For production-side approach, industrialization appears to have a positive impact on EF for Chile. For consumption-side approach, we nd that energy use seems to have a positive impact on EF for Argentina and Colombia whereas biocapacity and life expectancy have a positive and negative impact, respectively, on EF for Paraguay. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Kuznets Curve; Ecological Footprint; ARDL model. |
| Date: | 2014–03–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00958692&r=env |
| By: | Natalie Slawinski (Memorial University of Newfoundland - Memorial University of Newfoundland); Jonatan Pinkse (MTS - Management Technologique et Strategique - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)); Timo Busch (University of Hamburg - University of Hamburg); Subhabrata Bobby Banerjeed (Cass Business School - Cass Business School) |
| Abstract: | Despite increasing pressure to deal with climate change, firms have been slow to respond with effective action. This paper derives a multi-level framework for a better understanding of why many firms are failing to reduce their absolute greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. To explain the phenomenon of organizational inaction on climate change, we draw on the related concepts of short-termism and uncertainty avoidance from research in psychology, sociology and organization theory. We argue that antecedents related to short-termism and uncertainty avoidance reinforce each other at three levels - individual, organizational and institutional - and result in organizational inaction on climate change. We discuss the implications of our framework for research on corporate sustainability. |
| Keywords: | Climate change; corporate sustainability; short-termism; uncertainty avoidance; multi-level theory. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:gemwpa:hal-00961226&r=env |
| By: | Philippe Le Goffe |
| Abstract: | [paper in French] Based on the INRA/CGSP report, we question the ecological and economic performance of conventional agriculture. “Double performance” is rejected for some agricultural practices or not proved for others. Economic literature shows that innovation is triggered by environmental regulation. We conclude that agroecology cannot develop itself on a voluntary basis. |
| Keywords: | Agroecology, agriculture, environment, economics, environmental policy, innovation, voluntary approaches |
| JEL: | Q18 Q28 Q58 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201403&r=env |
| By: | Maria Lorek (GREI/CLERSE) |
| Abstract: | Les innovations environnementales (techniques de capture et de stockage des polluants, énergies renouvelables, nouveaux matériaux, nouveaux carburants, etc.) disposent d’un potentiel économique considérable permettant d’impulser, de nourrir et enfin de préserver une croissance économique plus durable. Prenant l’exemple de la ville de Gdansk qui, depuis une longue période, est marquée par la présence de l’industrie lourde, nous allons nous concentrer sur la reconversion de son territoire après la crise de l’industrie lourde. L’émergence des activités de l’« économie verte » (ex. récupération, réutilisation des déchets) et le développement des innovations environnementales s’inscrivent dans le prolongement de cette reconversion. Environmental innovations (technical capture and storage of pollutants, renewable energy, new materials, new fuels, etc.) have considerable economic potential to enhance, to feed and to preserve more sustainable economic growth. Taking the example of the city of Gdansk, which has been influenced by the heavy industry since long years ago, we present the reconversion of its territory by focusing on the emergence of the activities inspired by “green economy” (eg, recovery, reusef waste), the development of environmental innovations and the creation of The Baltic Eco-Energy Cluster in 2007. All these transformations allow this high industrial concentration to transform into another dynamic state in order to make improvements by the amelioration of industrial processes and / or the performance of the products or services derived while contributing to reduce the environmental impact of industrial activities. |
| Keywords: | innovation environnementale, transition territoriale, territoire industriel et portuaire, Gdansk |
| JEL: | O31 L52 Q5 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rii:riidoc:273&r=env |
| By: | Antoine Bommier (Chair for Integrative Risk Management and Economics - ETH Zürich); Bruno Lanz (Center for International Environmental Studies - Graduate Institute Geneva); Stéphane Zuber (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne - Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We study the role of alternative intertemporal preference representations in a model of economic growth, stock pollutant and endogenous risk of catastrophic collapse. We contrast the traditional “discounted utility” model, which assumes risk neutrality with respect to intertemporal utility, with a multiplicative choice model that displays risk aversion in that dimension. First, we show that both representations of preferences can rationalize the same “business as usual” economy for a given interest rate and no pollution externality. Second, once we introduce a collapse risk whose hazard rate is a function of the pollution stock, multiplicative preferences recommend a much more stringent policy response. An illustration in the context of climate change indicates that switching to the multiplicative preference representation has a similar effect, in terms of policy recommendations, as scaling up the schedule of the hazard rate by a factor of 100. |
| Keywords: | Environmental policy, climate change, catastrophic risks, risk aversion, discounting. |
| JEL: | D63 D81 D99 Q53 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:14017&r=env |
| By: | Yingying Lu; David I. Stern |
| Abstract: | We explore how and by how much the values of elasticities of substitution affect estimates of the cost of emissions reduction policies in computable general equilibrium (CGE) models. We use G-Cubed, an intertemporal CGE model, to carry out a sensitivity and factor decomposition analysis. Average abatement cost rises non-linearly as elasticities are reduced. Changes in the substitution elasticities between capital, labor, energy, and materials have a greater impact on mitigation costs than do inter-fuel elasticities of substitution. The former has more effect on business as usual emissions and the latter on average abatement costs. As elasticities are reduced, business as usual emissions and GDP growth also decrease so that there is not much variation in the total costs of reaching a given target across the parameter space. Our results confirm that the cost of climate mitigation policy is at most a few percent of global GDP. |
| Keywords: | Elasticity of substitution, Mitigation policy, CGE models, G-Cubed, Sensitivity analysis, Decomposition analysis |
| JEL: | Q54 Q58 C68 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:camaaa:2014-28&r=env |
| By: | Hermeling, Claudia; Klement, Jan Henrik; Koesler, Simon; Köhler, Jonathan; Klement, Dorothee |
| Abstract: | On the basis of a joint economic and legal analysis, we evaluate the effects of a 'regional' (European) emission trading scheme aiming at reducing emissions of international shipping. The focus lies on the question which share of emissions from maritime transport activities to and from the EU can and should be included in such a system. Our findings suggest that the attempt to implement an EU maritime ETS runs into a dilemma. It is not possible to design a system that achieves emission reductions in a cost efficient manner and is compatible with international law. -- |
| Keywords: | emission trading,international shipping,maritime emissions,regional emission trading,international jurisdiction for emission trading schemes |
| JEL: | L91 Q58 R48 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:14021&r=env |
| By: | Dasgupta, Susmita; Kamal, Farhana Akhter; Khan, Zahirul Huque; Choudhury, Sharifuzzaman; Nishat, Ainun |
| Keywords: | Wetlands,Water Conservation,Water Supply and Systems,Common Property Resource Development,Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions |
| Date: | 2014–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:6817&r=env |
| By: | Zeting LIU (Lab.RII, ULCO/Clersé-UMR8019, Université Lille Nord de France, RRI) |
| Abstract: | En appuyant sur une analyse historique depuis la première prise en conscience de problème environnemental en Chine dans les années 1970 jusqu’à ce jour, cette étude montre que 1) la politique de la protection environnementale ne peut pas fonctionner quand elle est déconnectée des politiques publiques dans le domaine de l’économie. 2) Si la promotion de l’innovation verte en Chine est considérée comme une moyenne pour remédier le déséquilibre environnemental, elle est aussi un outil de réaliser son ambition de devenir leader mondial dans la révolution verte. By using a historical analysis from the first shot in conscience environmental problem in China in the 1970s until today, this study shows that 1) the policy of environmental protection won’t work if disconnected to public policy in the area of economy. 2) While the promotion of green innovation in China is considered a medium to address the environmental imbalance, it is also a tool to achieve its ambition to become a world leader in the green revolution. |
| Keywords: | politique industrielle et d’innovation, politique de la protection, environnementale, croissance vert, révolution verte, Chine, industrial and innovation policy, environmental protection, green growth, green revolution, China |
| JEL: | O31 O38 O33 P11 Q01 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rii:riidoc:280&r=env |
| By: | Shawkat Hammoudeh; Duc Khuong Nguyen; Ricardo M. Sousa |
| Abstract: | We use a quantile regression framework to investigate the impact of changes in crude oil pric- es, natural gas prices, coal prices, and electricity prices on the distribution of the CO2 emis- sion allowance prices in the United States. We find that: (i) an increase in the crude oil price generates a substantial drop in the carbon prices when the latter is very high; (ii) changes in the natural gas prices have a negative effect on the carbon prices when they are very low but have a positive effect when they are quite high; (iii) the impact of the changes in the electrici- ty prices on the carbon prices can be positive in the right tail of the distribution; and (iv) the coal prices exert a negative effect on the carbon prices. |
| Keywords: | CO2 allowance price, energy prices, quantile regression |
| JEL: | Q47 |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-185&r=env |
| By: | Bassem Kahouli; Anis Omri; Anissa Chaibi |
| Abstract: | Since the early 90s, after the implementation of various regulatory multinational agreements, |
| Keywords: | Environmental regulations, FDI, Trade, Gravity Equations, Simultaneous gravity equations. |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-189&r=env |
| By: | Anna Bartczak (Faculty of Economic Sciences, Warsaw Ecological Economics Center , University of Warsaw); Susan Chilton (Newcastle University Business School); Jürgen Meyerhoff (Technische Universität Berlin, Institute for Landscape and Environmental Planning) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how risk preferences and loss aversion affect choices over a risky environmental good, wildfire prevention in Poland. We collect data in a stated preference survey that allows us to calculate both risk aversion and loss aversion parameters from individual respondents in both the financial and environmental domains. In doing so, we are able to confirm that this behaviour is consistent with prospect theory and holds for the majority of respondents. Additionally, we find little evidence of domain specificity of risk: responses to the financial risk questions were good predictors of responses to the environmental risk questions. |
| Keywords: | risk preferences over financial and environmental domains, forest fires, loss aversion, probability weighting, prospect theory |
| JEL: | Q51 D03 D81 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2014-08&r=env |
| By: | Salvador Barrios (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Joint Research Centre, European Commission); J. Nicolás Ibañez Rivas (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Joint Research Centre, European Commission) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of climatic change on welfare in European regions using a hedonic travel-cost framework and focusing on tourism demand. Our hedonic price estimations combine detailed hotel price information with tourism-specific travel cost estimations for each pair of EU region. This approach allows us to estimate different valuations of climate amenities depending on time duration of holidays. In our analysis of adaptation to climate change we therefore consider holiday duration as variable of adaptation. Our findings suggest that the rise in temperature in preferred destination choices during the summer season (i.e. southern EU) is likely to yield significant welfare losses. As a result European tourists are more likely to spend shorter (and more frequent) holidays and to diversify their destination choices in order to mitigate these losses. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Hedonic Prices, Travel Cost, Tourism, Europe |
| JEL: | L8 Q5 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2014.20&r=env |
| By: | Salvador Barrios (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Joint Research Centre, European Commission); J. Nicolás Ibañez (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, Joint Research Centre, European Commission) |
| Abstract: | This study analyses the potential impact of climate change on EU tourism demand and provides long-term (2100) scenarios accounting for adaptation in terms of holiday duration. Our long-term projections for tourism demand are based on hedonic valuation of climatic conditions combining hotel price information and travel cost estimations. This approach allows us to analyse together the climatic aspect of recreational demand and its travel cost dimension and thus to draw alternative hypotheses regarding the time dimension of tourism demand. We derive alternative scenarios for adaptation of holiday in terms of holiday frequency and duration. We find that the climate dimension plays a significant (economically and statistically) role in explaining hedonic valuations of tourism services and, as a consequence, its variation in the long-term are likely to affect the relative attractiveness of EU regions for recreational demand. In certain cases, most notably the Southern EU Mediterranean countries climate condition in 2100 could under current economic conditions, lower tourism revenues for up to -0.45% of GDP per year. On the contrary, other areas of the EU, most notably Northern European countries would gain from altered climate conditions, although these gains would be relatively more modest, reaching up to 0.32% of GDP on an annual basis. Overall our results suggest that the change in holiday duration appears to be more beneficial than the change in the frequency of holidays in view of mitigating the cost of climate change for the tourism sector. These two time dimensions of adaptation are likely to be conditioned by broader societal and institutional factors, however. |
| Keywords: | Tourism demand, Climate change |
| JEL: | L8 Q5 |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2014.19&r=env |
| By: | Marin,Giovanni; Marzucchi,Alberto; Zoboli,Roberto |
| Abstract: | Eco-innovation is an explicit aim of major EU policy strategies. Many environmental policy de facto require firms to eco-innovate to comply with policy requirements, while the overlap between policy-driven and market-driven eco-innovation strategies is increasingly important for many firms. Barriers to eco-innovation can then emerge as a critical factor in either preventing or stimulating EU strategies, policy implementation, and 'green strategies' by firms. In this paper, we propose a taxonomy of EU SMEs in terms of barriers to eco-innovation. The aim is to discriminate among SMEs on how they differ in terms of perception of barriers and engagement in environmental innovation, thus highlighting the need to look at eco-innovation barriers in relation to firms' attitudes, technological and organizational capabilities, and strategies. We identify six clusters of SMEs. These clusters include firms facing 'Revealed barriers', 'Deterring barriers', 'Cost deterred' firms, 'Market deterred' firms, 'Non eco-innovators' and 'Green champions'. The clusters show substantial differences in terms of eco-innovation adoption. We show that our proposed taxonomy has little overlap with sector classifications. This diversity should be taken into account for successful environmental innovation policies. |
| Keywords: | eco-innovation, Barriers to innovation, firm behaviour |
| JEL: | O33 Q55 |
| Date: | 2014–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ing:wpaper:201404&r=env |
| By: | Bangzhu Zhu; Ping Wang; Julien Chevallier; Yiming Wei |
| Abstract: | Mastering the underlying characteristics of carbon price changes can help governments formulate correct policies to keep efficient operation of carbon markets, and investors take effective measures to evade their investment risks. Empirical mode decomposition (EMD), a self-adaption data analysis approach for nonlinear and non-stationary time series, can accurately explain the formation mechanism of carbon price by decomposing it into several intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) and one residue from different scales. In this study, we apply EMD to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) carbon price analysis. First, the carbon price is decomposed into eight IMFs and one residue. Moreover, these IMFs and residue are reconstructed into a high frequency component, a low frequency component and a trend component using hierarchical clustering method. The economic meanings of these three components are identified as short term market fluctuations, effects of significant trend breaks, and a long-term trend, respectively. Finally, some strategies are proposed for carbon price forecasting. |
| Keywords: | Carbon Price; Empirical Mode Decomposition; Multiscale Analysis; Forecasting; EU ETS |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-156&r=env |
| By: | San Martín Lizarralde, Marta; Barañano Mentxaka, Ilaski |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the macroeconomic effects of a permanent increase in foreign aid in a model that takes into account environmental quality. We develop a dynamic equilibrium model in which both public investment in infrastructure and environmental protection can be financed using domestic resources and international aid programs. The framework considers four scenarios for international aid: untied aid,aid fully tied to infrastructure, aid fully tied to abatement, and aid equally tied to both types of expenditures. We find that the effects of the transfers may depend on (i) the structural characteristics of the recipient country (the elasticity of substitution in production and its dependence on environment and natural resources) and on (ii) how recipient countries distribute their public expenditure. These results underscore the importance of these factors when deciding how and to what extent to tie aid to infrastructure and/or pollution abatement. |
| Keywords: | foreign aid, environment, infrastructures, endogenous growth |
| JEL: | F35 H54 O41 Q20 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehu:ikerla:11751&r=env |
| By: | Olivier Beaumais (EconomiX, CNRS – France and LISA, CNRS, France); Anne Briand (CREAM, University of Rouen, France); Katrin Millock (Paris School of Economics, CNRS, Centre d’Economie de la Sorbonne, France); Céline Nauges (The University of Queensland, Australia) |
| Abstract: | We estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for better quality of tap water on a unique cross-section sample from 10 OECD countries. On the pooled sample, households are willing to pay 7.5% of the median annual water bill to improve the tap water quality. The highest relative WTP for better tap water quality was found in the countries with the highest percentage of respondents being unsatisfied with tap water quality because of health concerns. The expected WTP increased with income, education, environmental concern, and health and taste concerns with the tap water. |
| Keywords: | Contingent Valuation, Household Data, Interval Model, Water Quality, Willingness to Pay |
| JEL: | C24 D12 Q25 Q51 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2014.24&r=env |
| By: | Gabriella Doci; Eleftheria Vasileiadou; Arthur Petersen |
| Abstract: | Although in the last decades a transition toward a sustainable energy system with renewables has been advocated by many, it is still uncertain where the support and required investments for renewables can come from. In this article we introduce and analyze a special type of investor group: renewable energy communities, which are grassroots initiatives that invest in 'clean energy' in order to meet consumption needs and environmental goals and thereby – even unwittingly – conduce to the spread of renewables. The aim of the present study is to explore the potential of renewable energy communities, as social niches, to contribute to transitions in the energy system. To do so, we propose three indicators for measuring the transition potential of social niches, based on proxies for technological innovations derived from the literature. In addition, we reinterpret the notion of niches and the way transition occurs by arguing that niches are complex systems in which both technological and social innovations develop simultaneously and that during transition entire niches link up with the regime. Furthermore, we make a distinction between internally and externally oriented niches based on their orientation and application focus. Our results show that renewable energy communities in the Netherlands are internally oriented social niches that have the potential for upscaling and contribute to sustainability transitions. We use a comparative case study analysis complemented by a systematic literature and documentary review to show that these communities are already changing the Dutch energy system, by connecting to regime actors. Their further advancement depends on strengthening their links to established actors, but also on providing a favorable regulatory framework. |
| Keywords: | crowd science, funding |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ein:tuecis:1406&r=env |
| By: | Guillem Achermann (GREI/CLERSE); Zeting LIU (GREI/CLERSE) |
| Abstract: | La Russie comme la Chine font partie des BRIC. Ces deux pays sont aussi parmi les plus grands pollueurs du monde. Depuis les années de transition, elles ont toutes les deux mis sur pied des politiques scientifiques industrielles pour encadrer leur croissance économique. Cependant, bien que chaque pays possède une politique dirigiste, celle-ci ne s’est pas construite sur les mêmes bases, que ce soit sur le plan technologique ou économique. En effet, ayant partagé un grand nombre de points communs en termes d’organisation administrative et économique, ces deux pays possèdent des transitions très distinctes. En analysant et comparant les politiques environnementales et industrielles de la Russie et de la Chine, cette étude s’interroge sur les effets des différentes transitions initiées et de leurs conséquences sur les trajectoires industrielles et plus particulièrement sur les dynamiques environnementales. Russia and China are part of the BRIC countries. They are also among those most pollutant countries in the world. Since the transition periods, they both have been carrying out scientific and industrial policies to monitor their economic growth. Although each of them has an interventionist policy, these policies are not built on the same technological and economic foundation. Indeed, while sharing a lot of common points in terms of administrative and economic organization, these two countries have gone through different transition modes. By analyzing and comparing the Russian and Chinese environmental and industrial policies, this study sheds light on the effects of their different transition modes and the consequences of their industrial process and in particular of their environmental dynamics. |
| Keywords: | transition, politique industrielle, politique d’innovation, protection environnementale, Russie, Chine, transition, industrial policy, innovation policy, environmental protection, Russia, China |
| JEL: | O13 O38 O57 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rii:riidoc:272&r=env |
| By: | Algieri, Bernardina |
| Abstract: | Biofuels production has experienced rapid growth worldwide as one of several strategies to promote green energy economies. Indeed, climate change mitigation and energy security have been frequent rationales behind biofuel policies, but biofuels production could generate negative impacts, such as additional demand for feedstocks, and therefore for land on which to grow them, with a consequent increase in food commodity price. In this context, this paper examines the effect of biofuels and other economic and financial factors on daily returns of a group of commodity futures prices using Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (GARCH) family models in univariate and multivariate settings. The results show that a complex of drivers are relevant in explaining commodity futures returns; more precisely, the Standard and Poor’s (S&P) 500 positively affects commodity markets, while the US/Euro exchange rate brings about a decline in commodity returns. It turns out, in addition, that energy market returns are significant in explaining commodity returns on a daily basis, while monetary liquidity does not. Finally, the GARCH model has shown that current variance is influenced more by its past values than by the previous day’s shocks, and there is high persistence, meaning that variance slowly decays and prompts a sluggish “revert to the mean.” The multivariate BEKK framework confirms the results of the univariate setting. |
| Keywords: | futures returns, biofuels, univariate and multivariate GARCH, Environmental Economics and Policy, Financial Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, C58, G15, Q14, Q43, |
| Date: | 2014–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ubzefd:164963&r=env |
| By: | Christine Bertram; Katrin Rehdanz |
| Abstract: | Most people in Europe live in urban environments. For these people, urban green space is an important element of well-being, but it is often in short supply. We use self-reported information on life satisfaction and different individual green space measures to explore how urban green space affects the well-being of the residents of Berlin, the capital city of Germany. We combine spatially explicit survey data with spatially highly disaggregated GIS data on urban green spaces. We observe a significant, inverted U-shaped effect of the amount of and distance to urban green space on life satisfaction. According to our results, the optimal amount of green space in a 1 km buffer is 36 ha, or 11.5% of the buffer area, and 75% of the respondents have less green space available. Our results are robust to a number of robustness checks |
| Keywords: | life satisfaction, urban ecosystem services, urban green space, well-being |
| JEL: | I31 Q51 Q57 R00 |
| Date: | 2014–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1911&r=env |
| By: | GAUDET, Gérard; LASSERRE, Pierre |
| Abstract: | We provide an analytical overview of the distortionary effects of some common forms of taxes faced by the nonrenewable resources sector of the economy. In the category of taxes meant specifically to capture the resource rent, we look at a specific severance tax, an ad valorem severance tax, a profit tax and a ‘lump-sum’ tax, with emphasis on their effects on the extraction decisions over time and on the initial reserves to be developed. In the category of taxes meant for all sectors of the economy, we look at the corporate income tax and its special provision for the resource sector in the form of a depletion allowance, with emphasis on the effects on the intra-industry resource extraction decisions and on the inter-industry allocation of investment. |
| Keywords: | Nonrenewable resources; taxation; neutrality; distortion; resource rent; capital allocation |
| JEL: | Q31 Q38 H21 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtl:montde:2013-10&r=env |
| By: | Claudio Vitari (MTS - Management Technologique et Strategique - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)) |
| Abstract: | Ecological sustainability and social equity are among the United Nations' Millennium Development. Goals - but, unfortunately, as the years pass, they are still far from being reached. But concern about these issues has made its way to industry and the IS community. IS play a central ro le in companies as they are cross - functional and have a strategic role in our current information society. We argue that it is our responsibility, as IS scholars, to dedicate some of our research efforts toward environmental sustainability and to social eq uity, and that our teaching, our journals and our associations should also address these two objectives. This article proposes Commoning and Common Information Systems as a possible tentative to facilitate the inclusion of both ecological sustainability an d social equity concerns within the IS discipline. We advance this new concept of Common Information Systems, which are IS where (1) the surrounding society is considered a human community, (2) the material and energy input into the IS are seen as common g oods, and the material and energy leaving the IS are viewed as common bads, (3) commoning (i.e. sharing) information output is preferred |
| Keywords: | Social Equity. Ecological Sustainability. Common IS. Commoning |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:gemwpa:hal-00961288&r=env |
| By: | Bangzhu Zhu; Shujiao Ma; Julien Chevallier; Yiming Wei |
| Abstract: | This article investigates the European carbon futures price dynamics by applying the Zipf analysis. The results show that: first, carbon price behaviour is asymmetric, and the long-term bearish probability is greater than the long-term bullish probability. Second, time-scales of investment and speculators’ expectations of returns have dual effects on carbon price behaviour. The longer time-scales of investment, the higher the bearish probability. The lower expectations of returns, the smaller the distortion of carbon price behaviour. Third, the differences in carbon market cognitions from non-greedy speculators with different expectations of returns mainly lie in the amplitudes and occasions of carbon price fluctuations, rather than carbon price fluctuations themselves. Fourth, speculators’ expectations of returns have critical points. Once the critical points are reached, they will no longer be able to distort carbon price behaviour. Finally, we discuss some investment advice for supports of the decision-makers. For non-greedy-type speculators, they will choose to hold negatively in the short term and buy and hold in the long term, while for greedy-type speculators they will sell their European Union Allowances (EUAs) in the short term, and buy and hold in the long term. The results are helpful to hedge against unwanted carbon price movements, and to understand the transactions between different types of agents. |
| Keywords: | EU ETS; carbon futures price; Zipf analysis; expectation of return; time-scale of investment |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-155&r=env |
| By: | Stephan Kampelmann |
| Abstract: | We summarise the literature on urban ecosystem (ranging from individual trees to extensive green spaces) and examine how urban ecosystems can be linked to the four main types of ecosystem goods and services. We then propose an empirical strategy for measuring urban ecosystem services in Brussels. We argue that a feasable approach consists in focusing on changes to urban ecosystems induced by neighbourhood revitalisation programmes. We conclude that there is sufficient empirical material allowing to assess, at least in a first approximation, the impact of neighbourhood revitalisation programmes on the provision of ecosystem services within the city of Brussels. |
| Date: | 2014–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dul:wpaper:2013/158692&r=env |
| By: | Hwang, In Chang |
| Abstract: | A recursive method for solving an integrated assessment model of climate and the economy is developed in this paper. The method approximates value function with a logarithmic basis function and searches for solutions on a set satisfying optimality conditions. These features make the method suitable for a highly nonlinear model with many state variables and various constraints, as usual in a climate-economy model. |
| Keywords: | Dynamic programming; recursive method; value function iteration; integrated assessment |
| JEL: | C61 C63 Q54 |
| Date: | 2014–03–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54782&r=env |
| By: | Christos Koulovatianos (CREA, Université de Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | We build a workable game of common-property resource extraction under rational Bayesian learning about the reproduction prospects of a resource. We focus on Markov-perfect strate- gies under truthful revelation of beliefs. For reasonable initial conditions, exogenously shif- ting the prior beliefs of one player towards more pressimism about the potential of natural resources to reproduce, can create anti-conservation incentives. The single player whose be- liefs have been shifted towards mor pessimism exhibits higher exploitation rate than before. In response, all other players reduce their exploitation rates in order to conserve the resource. However, the overall conservation incentive is weak, making the aggregate exploitation rate higher than before the pessimistic shift in beliefs of that single player. Due to this weakness in strategic conservation responses, if the number of players is relatively small, then in cases with common priors, jointly shifting all players' beliefs more pessimism exacerbates the commons problem. |
| Keywords: | renewable resources,resource exploitation, non-cooperative dynamic games, Bayesian learning, stochstic games, commons, rational learning, uncertainty, beliefs |
| JEL: | D83 D84 C72 C73 O13 Q20 Q50 L70 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:luc:wpaper:14-06&r=env |
| By: | Ariane Manuela AMIN (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Johanna Choumert (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Pascale Combes Motel (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Jean-Louis Combes (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Eric Nazindigouba KERE (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Jean Galbert ONGONO OLINGA (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I); Sonia Schwartz (CERDI - Centre d'études et de recherches sur le developpement international - CNRS : UMR6587 - Université d'Auvergne - Clermont-Ferrand I) |
| Abstract: | Protected areas are increasingly used as a tool to fight against deforestation. This paper presents new evidence on the spillover effects that occur in the decision to deforest and the creation of protected areas in local administrative entities in Brazilian Legal Amazon over the 2001-2011 period. We also highlight the interdependence between these two decisions. We proceed in two steps. First, we assumed that protected areas are created to stop the negative effects of deforestation on biodiversity. In order to control for the non-random location of protected areas, biodiversity indicators are used as excluded instruments. This model is estimated using a spatial model with instrumental variables. Second, a simultaneous system of spatially interrelated cross sectional equations is used to take into account the interdependence between the decision to deforest and the creation of protected areas. Our results show (i) that deforestation activities of neighboring municipalities are complements and that (ii) there is evidence of leakage in the sense that protected areas may shift deforestation to neighboring municipalities. The net effect of protected areas on deforestation remains however negative; it is moreover stable across two sub-periods. Our results confirm the important role of protected areas to curb deforestation and thereby biodiversity erosion. Moreover, they show that strategic interactions deserve attention in the effectiveness of conservation policies. |
| Keywords: | Protected areas; deforestation; spatial interactions; simultaneous equations; Brazil; Amazon |
| Date: | 2014–03–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00960476&r=env |
| By: | Karim, Azreen; Noy, Ilan |
| Abstract: | We conduct a meta-regression analysis of the existing literature on the impacts of disasters on households, focusing on the poor and on poverty measures. We find much heterogeneity in these impacts, but several general patterns, often observed in individual case-studies, emerge. Incomes are clearly impacted adversely, with the impact observed specifically in per-capita measures (so it is not due to the mortality caused by the observed disaster). Consumption is also reduced, but to a lesser extent than incomes. Importantly, poor households appear to smooth their food consumption by reducing the consumption of non-food items; the most significant items in this category are spending on housing, health, and education. This suggests potentially long-term adverse consequences as consumption of these services is often better viewed as long-term investment. We do not find consistent patterns in long-term impacts; it appears the limits of the meta-regression methodology prevent us from observing patterns in the relatively few heterogeneous research projects that examine these long-term effects. The importance of addressing risk within the context of sustainable development and poverty alleviation is clear. The impact of disasters on the poor may be increasingly worrying considering the climate variations we anticipate. |
| Keywords: | Disaster, Natural, Poverty, Natural disasters, |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vuw:vuwecf:3234&r=env |
| By: | Anis Omri; Anissa Chaibi |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the causal relationship among two types of energy consumption (nuclear energy and renewable energy) and economic growth using dynamic simultaneous-equation panel data models for 17 developed and developing countries. Our results indicate that there is a unidirectional causality running from nuclear consumption to economic growth in Belgium and Spain, while a unidirectional causality running from economic growth to nuclear consumption is supported in Bulgaria, Canada, Netherlands, and Sweden. A bidirectional relationship appears in Argentina, Brazil, France, Pakistan, and the USA, while no causality exists in Finland, Hungary, India Japan, Switzerland, and the U.K. Second, the results for the second nexus among renewable energy and economic growth show that there is a unidirectional causality running from renewable consumption to economic growth in Hungary, India, Japan, Netherlands, and Sweden, while there exist a unidirectional running from economic growth to renewable consumption in Argentina, Spain, and Switzerland. A bidirectional relationship is supported in Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Pakistan, and the USA, while no causality exists in Brazil, Finland, and Switzerland . Third, we find the existence of a bidirectional causality between nuclear consumption and economic; and a unidirectional causality running from economic growth to renewable energy consumption for the global panel. |
| Keywords: | Nuclear energy, Renewable energy, Economic growth, Dynamic simultaneous-equation models. |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-188&r=env |
| By: | Michelsen , Carl Christian (E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)); Madlener, Reinhard (E.ON Energy Research Center, Future Energy Consumer Needs and Behavior (FCN)) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates key drivers and barriers behind homeowners’ decisions to switch from a fossil fuel (i.e. oil or gas boiler) to a renewable residential heating system (RHS). For this purpose, we draw on data from a 2010 questionnaire survey among owners of existing 1-family or 2-family homes in Germany that had received a financial grant for installing an (at least partly) renewable RHS (i.e. heat pump or wood pellet boiler). We analyze the data by means of logistic regression techniques. First, our results show that the motivation to deal with external threats (i.e. environmental protection and reduction of dependence on fossil fuels) and a higher degree of RHS-related knowledge are key drivers for switching to a renewable RHS. Second, we identify the different barriers that prevent homeowners from adopting a specific RHS. In particular, for the adoption of fossil fuel RHS, the perceived strong reliance on pricey oil or natural gas is found to be a major hurdle. For the heat pump, we find that the perceived difficulty of getting used to the system and a misunderstanding of its principal functioning are important obstacles. Finally, for the wood pellet boiler, our results imply that non-adopters perceive the low usability, the labor-intensive operation, and the systems’ high fault liability to be important barriers. We conclude that homeowners often fear major changes to their current status quo (e.g. replacement of the existing heating system infrastructure) and, thus, tend to opt for minor and thus quick adjustments to their RHS (e.g. replacing only the boiler). Likewise, a higher replacement rate of fossil fuel by renewable RHS requires the homeowners’ willingness to relinquish old habits and perceptions of how an RHS works and operates. |
| Keywords: | Residential heating systems; Private households; Technology replacement; Adoption barriers; Consumer choice |
| JEL: | C25 D12 O33 Q41 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:fcnwpa:2013_014&r=env |
| By: | Ndebele, Tom; Forgie, Vicky; Vu, Huong |
| Abstract: | Decades of failure to evaluate the ecosystem services provided by Pekapeka Swamp in New Zealand led to decisions that allowed prolonged degradation of the swamp, resulting in the loss of potential economic value. In 1998 a long term management plan was adopted to restore and preserve the swamp without evaluating the potential welfare benefits of the plan. This study contributes to literature by providing the first estimation of total economic value (TEV) of the restoration and preservation of Pekapeka Swamp. Using the contingent valuation method, this study shows that estimated TEV ranges from NZ$1.64 million to NZ$ 3.78 million per year and the net present value ranges between NZ$5.05 million and NZ$16.39 million. These results imply that the restoration and preservation of Pekapeka Swamp is an important investment. |
| Keywords: | Contingent valuation method; wetland; dichotomous choice; willingness to pay; New Zealand |
| JEL: | Q5 Q57 |
| Date: | 2014–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:54730&r=env |
| By: | Sophie BOUTILLIER (Université du Littoral / Lille Nord de France, SITE/Clersé, UMR 8019); Patrick MATAGNE (Université de Poitiers, Laboratoire RURALITE, EA 2252) |
| Abstract: | La naissance de l’économie politique est communément liée à la publication en 1776 de « La richesse des nations » par A. Smith, le fondateur de l’école classique. Le principal objet de l’école classique est la production de richesses. Selon Smith, la richesse est le produit du travail et du commerce international. L’écologie devient également une discipline scientifique un siècle plus tard avec notamment les travaux d’E. Haeckel et d’E. Warming. Notre objectif est de revenir sur l’histoire de l’économie en tant que discipline scientifique, et d’étudier son développement en parallèle avec celui de l’écologie – à travers l’écart chronologique d’un siècle entre les deux disciplines. La pollution a pourtant toujours existé, sous des formes différentes. Par exemple, Engels (1883) explique comment des civilisations anciennes (Grèce, Mésopotamie, etc.) ont disparu en raison d’un déséquilibre entre ressources naturelles et besoins humains. Les « passeurs » sont des économistes ou des naturalistes qui ont construit des ponts entre les deux disciplines scientifiques depuis le 19ème siècle. The birth of political economics is commonly linked with the publication in 1776 of “the Wealth of nations” by A. Smith, the founder of the classical School. The main issue of classical economics is the production of wealth. According to Smith, wealth is the result of labour and international trade. Ecology became a scientific discipline too a century later, at the end of the 19th century, especially thanks to the works of E. Haeckel and E. Warming. Our goal is to go back to the basics of political economics as a scientific discipline, and to study the way it developed in parallel with ecology – though there is a chronological gap between both disciplines. Nevertheless, pollution has always existed but it has taken various shapes. For example, Engels (1883) explains how ancient civilizations (Greece, Mesopotamia, and so on) have been partly destroyed because of an imbalance between physical resources and human needs. The “boatmen” are economists or naturalists who have built bridges between the two scientific disciplines since the 19th century. |
| Keywords: | histoire économique, histoire de la théorie économique, histoire des sciences, écologie, economic history, history of the economic thought, history of sciences, ecology |
| JEL: | B1 N |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rii:rridoc:37&r=env |
| By: | André Boyer; Marie José Scotto; Hervé Tiffon |
| Abstract: | The rise of the concept of CSR can be understood as an answer to the evolution of our societies towards weakened social bonds and lack of trust. The implementation of a CSR policy is strongly linked with HR practices. The HR function plays a major role in the new understanding of HR fundamentals. What we suggest is a “re-discovery” of HR practices. Small and Middle enterprises (SME) might constitute an appropriate framework for new experiences in relation to a renewed Human Resource perspective. The outcome is a social, an organizational and an economic efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Sustainable Development, Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Resources Management, Values, Social-organizational-economic efficiency. |
| Date: | 2014–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-164&r=env |