|
on Environmental Economics |
|
Issue of 2016‒10‒02
thirty-six papers chosen by Francisco S. Ramos Universidade Federal de Pernambuco |
| By: | Desbureaux Sébastien (University of Auvergne); Eric Kéré Nazindigouba (African Development Bank); Combes Motel Pascale (University of Auvergne) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes deforestation leakages from natural rainforests to anthropized habitats following the creation of Protected Areas in Madagascar. A simple theoretical framework highlights that a conservation constraint does not necessarily create deforestation leakages on secondary forests. An original dataset is built combining fine scale vegetation cover images and spatialized census data over the period 2000 to 2012. Cover images allow us to distinguish a mosaic of landscapes. Multilevel panel regressions and matching techniques indicate a causal effect of Protected Areas on deforestation leakages. Though Protected Areas reduce deforestation in protected natural forests, forest clearing is mostly reported on other types of anthropized forests. Our results demonstrate the limitations of Porter-like mechanism in agricultural innovation. They also support the hypothesis of a conservation dilemma: protecting biodiversity may come at the expense of the welfare of locals who rely on local (provisioning) ecosystem services. |
| Date: | 2016–08–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:adb:adbwps:2341&r=env |
| By: | Nathalie Berta (REGARDS - URCA - Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Emmanuelle Gautherat (LS-CREST - ENSAE ParisTech - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Economique, REGARDS - URCA - Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne); Ozgur Gun (REGARDS - URCA - Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne) |
| Abstract: | The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is supposed to help regulated installations to cover their CO2 emissions by trading in allowances. In practice, the EU ETS is mainly a financial market used for hedging and speculation. This financial feature is regarded as a solution (hedging and liquidity) to a problem (the price risk and volatility imposed on installations) which the market has actually created itself. This paper provides an estimation of the real underpinning of the scheme, i.e. the needs of installations for allowances transfers to achieve compliance in the two first exchange periods. This estimation, which was singularly lacking in the literature, shows that compliance transactions become more and more marginal as market activity grows and that they are drowned in a whirlpool of speculation. This challenges the role of the carbon price whose financial and self-referential evaluation can obviously not reveal installations' marginal abatement costs, the condition of cost-effectiveness expected from carbon trading. |
| Abstract: | Le marché du carbone européen est créé en 2005 pour aider les installations assujetties à couvrir leurs émissions de CO2 à travers l'échange de quotas. En pratique, c'est essentiellement un marché financier dédié à l'échange de dérivés à des fins de couverture de risque et de spéculation. Cette dimension financière bien connue est présentée comme une solution (couverture de risque et liquidité) à un problème que le marché a lui-même créé (risque de prix et volatilité imposés par l'instrument, par opposition à un système de taxe). Ce papier établit une estimation du véritable sous-jacent du marché, i.e. des besoins de transferts de permis des installations à des fins de conformité. Cette estimation – singulièrement absente de la littérature – montre que les transactions à des fins de conformité sont de plus en plus marginales à mesure que l'activité sur le marché augmente, activité presque uniquement tirée par la spéculation. Se joue alors la capacité du prix du carbone à révéler les coûts marginaux des entreprises, principale condition d'efficacité attendue en théorie de ce type d'instrument. |
| Keywords: | European Union Emissions Trading Scheme,carbon market,CO2 allowance,carbon finance,marché de permis négociables,finance carbone,marché de carbone européen |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01224552&r=env |
| By: | Hogan, William W. (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule that defines a broad and complicated set of standards for controlling carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from affected electricity generating units. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2015b) The proposed national average reduction by 2030 is 32% from the 2005 level of emissions, about half of which has already occurred. (Environmental Protection Agency, 2015j) The rules for new power plants are relatively straightforward and imply little more than reinforcing the current economic choice of natural gas over coal fired generation, given current projections for the price of natural gas. The Clean Power Plan rules for existing power plants arise under a different section of the Clean Air Act and present a more complicated picture. The result has implications for the nature and degree of future limitations on carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity sector. In addition, some versions of the possible implementation plans could have material implications for the operations of Regional Transmission Organizations under the regulations of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The purpose here is to highlight some of the possible directions for relevant policies of electricity system operators. |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:15-059&r=env |
| By: | Michel Damian (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes) |
| Abstract: | This article responds to Jean Tirole, winner of the Nobel prize for economics in 2014 and the signatories of the international appeal launched by Toulouse School of Economics and the Climate Economics Chair at Paris Dauphine University who propose setting a universal carbon price and establishing a transcontinental emissions trading system. We hold that the Paris Agreement, which disregarded such recommendations, represents a paradigm shift. The new political economy of climate change departs from the standard approach with regard to its economic instruments (emissions prices and quotas), returning to a classical political economy approach in terms of production economics. It confers a strategic role on methods and techniques for cutting emissions, as part of a long-term vision of energy and industrial transition. It is underpinned by the concerted action of States and multiple actors operating on various scales. There can be no magic wand to swiftly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while disregarding the real conditions of States, which all differ in terms of their relative development, technological capacity and political and social situation, not to mention the diversity of their values and priorities. |
| Keywords: | Paris Agreement,climate change,carbon price,carbon trading,political economy,regulation,decarbonization |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01334773&r=env |
| By: | Steinkraus, Arne |
| Abstract: | This paper shifts the perspective of the recent green paradox literature towards the demand side. Based on a simple model, I show that a subsidy on input factors in a Cobb-Douglas production function may contribute substantially to postponing resource extraction into the future and, thereby, to limit the future costs of climate change. Specifically, indirect subsidies on human capital, such as investments in education, are plausible policy options to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions because it is robust to short-sighted incentives on the part of politicians and resource owners. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change,Green Paradox,Subsidy,Demand-Side |
| JEL: | Q38 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tbswps:17&r=env |
| By: | Jian-Lei Mo (Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Institute of Policy and Management - Chinese Academy of Sciences); Joachim Schleich (Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research - Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [Blacksburg], MTS - Management Technologique et Strategique - Grenoble École de Management (GEM)); Lei Zhu (University of Toronto); Ying Fan (School of Economics & Management - Beihang University) |
| Abstract: | Relying on real options theory, we employ a multistage decision model to analyze the effect of delaying the introduction of emission trading systems (ETS) on power plant investments in carbon capture and storage (CCS) retrofits, on plant operation, and on carbon dioxide (CO2) abatement. Unlike previous studies, we assume that the investment decision is made before the ETS is in place, and we allow CCS operating flexibility for new power plant investments. Thus, the plant may be run in CCS-off mode if carbon prices are low. We employ Monte Carlo simulation methods to account for uncertainties in the prices of CO2 certificates, other inputs, and output prices, relying on a realistic parameterization for a supercritical pulverized coal plant in China. We find that CCS operating flexibility lowers the critical carbon price needed to support CCS investment because it renders CCS investment less irreversible. For a low carbon price path, operating flexibility also implies that delaying the introduction of an ETS hardly affects plant CO2 abatement since the plant operator is better off purchasing emission certificates rather than operating the plant in CCS mode. Interestingly, for low carbon prices we find a U-shaped relation between the length of the delay and the economic value of the plant. Thus, delaying the introduction of an ETS may make investors worse off. |
| Keywords: | power plant investment, regulatory uncertainty, multistage decision, operating flexibility, real options theory, emissions trading, CCS, China |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01265934&r=env |
| By: | Freeman, Mark C. (Loughborough University); Groom, Ben (London School of Economics and Political Science); Zeckhauser, Richard (Harvard Univesrity) |
| Abstract: | The initial hope for climate science was that an improved understanding of what the future might bring would lead to appropriate public policies and effective international climate agreements. Even if that hope is not realized, as now seems likely, scientific advances leading to a more refined assessment of the uncertainties surrounding the future impacts of climate change would facilitate more appropriate adaptation measures. Such measures might involve shifting modes or locales of production, for example. This article focuses on two broader tools: consumption smoothing in anticipation of future losses, and physical adaptation measures to reduce damages. It shows that informative signals on climate-change effects lead to better decisions in the use of each tool. |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:15-051&r=env |
| By: | Hans, Wiesmeth; Weber, Shlomo |
| Abstract: | The extent of provision of a public good often relies on social awareness and public support for it. This applies, in particular, to global reduction of greenhouse gases and its relevance for mitigating climate change. We examine the concept of "public awareness" by introducing a formal model that analyzes efforts to mitigate climate change in a setting with heterogeneous countries. In the theoretical part we examine the Nash equilibrium of the contribution game. The effects of awareness and economic parameters on mitigation efforts can be disentangled, raising the possibility of linking awareness of climate change with economic wealth. The second part provides some empirical observations and offers the rankings of countries regarding awareness for climate change, as well as an empirical relationship between awareness and economic wealth. |
| Keywords: | diversity; Environmental awareness; Kyoto protocol; Public Goods; regional economics |
| JEL: | C72 D74 H41 H87 Q42 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:11525&r=env |
| By: | Glenn Sheriff |
| Abstract: | Two decades after creation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), parties have reached a general political consensus in support of reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions, but debate continues over how to share equitably the burden of mitigation across countries. As part of the December 2015 Paris Agreement, countries submitted Nationally Determined Contributions(NDCs) for GHG mitigation. I analyze these mitigation targets to evaluate the degree to which they resemble any specific burden-sharing proposals. Results could have several applications as the UNFCCC process continues, including simulating how mitigation commitments may evolve as countries become wealthier and considering how increased ambition might be allocated while maintaining the current implicit burden-sharing allocation. |
| Keywords: | greenhouse gas mitigation, climate policy, distribution, international environmental agreements |
| JEL: | F53 Q52 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nev:wpaper:wp201604&r=env |
| By: | Tanya O'Garra; Susana Mourato |
| Abstract: | Climate change adaptation is gaining traction as a necessary policy alongside mitigation, particularly for developing countries, many of which lack the resources to adapt. However, funding for developing country adaptation remains woefully inadequate. This paper identifies the burden of responsibility that individuals in the UK are willing to incur in support of adaptation projects in developing countries. Results from a nationally representative survey indicate that UK residents are willing to contribute £27 per year (or a median of £6 per year) towards developing country adaptation (US$30 and $7 using the World Bank's purchasing power conversion factors). This represents less than one-third of the back-of-the-envelope $100–$140 per capita per year that the authors estimate would be needed to raise the $70–$100 bn/yr recommended by the World Bank to fund developing country adaptation. Regressions indicate that willingness to pay is driven mostly by a combination of beliefs and perceptions about one's own knowledge levels, rather than actual knowledge of climate change. We conclude that, to engage the many different audiences that make up the ‘public’, communication efforts must move beyond the simple provision of information and instead, connect with people's existing values and beliefs. |
| Keywords: | climate change adaptation; contingent valuation; developing country; environmental economics; development aid/assistance |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:64688&r=env |
| By: | duPont, Carolyn M. (Harvard University); Levitt, James N. (Harvard University); Bilmes, Linda J. (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | "Green Bonds" emerged as a new form of environmental financing in 2007. While most investors still view them as a niche product in the overall fixed income market, green bonds have grown rapidly to nearly $37 billion in issuance in 2014, with issuers from the World Bank to the State of Massachusetts. This paper examines the current and potential future use of green bonds for financing sustainable land use and conservation projects around the world. The paper draws on interviews with land conservation practitioners, bond issuers, investors, and financial analysts, as well as analysis of two case studies in China and Massachusetts. The paper summarizes the key insights from this community of experts, and lays out a series of steps that will be required before green bonds can develop into a significant and reliable tool in the conservation finance toolkit. The authors find that projects linked to water and storm water management may be investment "sweet spots" for green bonds and land conservation. |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:15-072&r=env |
| By: | Ruth Kattumuri; Darshini Ravindranath; Tashina Esteves |
| Abstract: | Rural people in India, particularly farmers, are exposed to climate variability and risk, which is likely to increase due to climate change. This study assessed current adaptation strategies adopted by rural households in two dryland villages of Bagepalli Block, Chikballapur district, Karnataka, in southern India. The adequacy of adaptation strategies was also assessed. The study showed that rural households, and farmers in particular, adopted several practices to cope with current climate risks which include irrigation provisioning (depending on groundwater), shifting cropping pattern (to more resilient but low economically valued crops and varieties), mixed cropping, agroforestry (as a long-term strategy), diversified livestock holdings, and reliance on government development programmes. The adaptation measures also included leaving croplands fallow, sale of assets such as livestock and trees, and migration. Current climate-related responses to agricultural distress are not adequate to cope with even existing climate risks. This further indicates that rural households may not be able to cope with increasing climate variability and climate change. Thus, there is an urgent need to better understand current adaptation strategies and to enhance resilience, and to develop structured adaptation strategies to cope with the risks associated with current and long-term climate change. |
| Keywords: | adaptation; climate resilience; climate variability; dryland agriculture; India |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:64057&r=env |
| By: | Sascha Kollenberg; Luca Taschini |
| Abstract: | Emissions Trading Systems (ETSs) with fixed caps lack provisions to address systematic imbalances in the supply and demand of permits due to changes in the state of the regulated economy. We propose a mechanism which adjusts the allocation of permits based on the current bank of permits. The mechanism spans the spectrum between a pure quantity instrument and a pure price instrument. We solve the firms' emissions control problem and obtain an explicit dependency between the key policy stringency parameter – the adjustment rate – and the firms' abatement and trading strategies. We present an analytical tool for selecting the optimal adjustment rate under both risk-neutrality and risk-aversion, which provides an analytical basis for the regulator's choice of a responsive ETS policy. |
| Keywords: | EU ETS reform; dynamic allocation; policy design; responsiveness; resilience; supply management |
| JEL: | E63 H23 Q52 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:67774&r=env |
| By: | Miguel Cárdenas Rodríguez; Ivan Haščič; Martin Souchier |
| Abstract: | This paper further refines the OECD framework for measuring the environmentally adjusted multifactor productivity growth that seeks to incorporate environmental services in productivity analysis. Compared to standard productivity measurement, this framework allows accounting also for the use of natural capital (currently including 14 types of fossil fuels and minerals) and the emission of pollutants as negative by-products (currently including 8 types of greenhouse gases and air pollutants). An updated series of the indicator is presented, with a geographic coverage extended to all OECD and G20 countries for the 1990-2013 time period. The indicators presented here allow the sources of economic growth to be better identified, and growth prospects in the long run to be better assessed. Le présent rapport affine le cadre de mesure de la croissance de la productivité multifactorielle corrigée des incidences environnementales utilisé par l’OCDE pour incorporer les services environnementaux dans l’analyse de la productivité. Comparé à la mesure classique de la productivité, ce cadre permet également de tenir compte de l’utilisation du capital naturel (actuellement 14 types de combustibles fossiles et minéraux) et des émissions de polluants en tant que sous-produits négatifs (actuellement 8 types de gaz à effet de serre et polluants atmosphériques). Une série actualisée de cet indicateur, dont la couverture géographique s’étend à tous les pays de l’OCDE et du G20, est présentée pour la période 1990-2013. Ces indicateurs permettent de mieux identifier les sources de croissance économique et de mieux évaluer les perspectives de croissance sur le long terme. |
| Keywords: | multifactor productivity, air pollution, total factor productivity, green productivity, productivity measurement, emission shadow prices, productivité multifactorielle, productivité verte, mesure de la productivité, productivité totale des facteurs, pollution atmosphérique |
| JEL: | D24 O44 O47 Q3 Q52 Q53 Q56 |
| Date: | 2016–09–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envddd:2016/4-en&r=env |
| By: | Jan Fagerberg (University of Oslo - TIK - Senteret); Staffan Laestadius (Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)); Ben Martin (Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, UK) |
| Abstract: | Europe is confronted by an intimidating triple challenge – economic stagnation, climate change, and a governance crisis. This paper demonstrates how the three challenges are closely inter-related, and discusses how they can be dealt with more effectively in order to arrive at a more economically secure, environmentally sustainable and well governed Europe. In particular, a return to economic growth cannot come at the expense of greater risk of irreversible climate change. Instead, what is required is a fundamental transformation of the economy to a new ‘green’ trajectory based on rapidly diminishing emission of greenhouse gases. This entails much greater emphasis on innovation in all its forms (not just technological). Following this path would mean turning Europe into a veritable laboratory for sustainable growth, environmentally as well as socially. The paper is based on a forthcoming book: Fagerberg, J., S. Laestadius and B. R. Martin eds. (2015) The Triple Challenge for Europe: Economic Development, Climate Change and Governance, Oxford University Press. |
| Keywords: | Europe; European Union; triple challenge; economic stagnation; climate change; governance crisis; innovation policy; transformation process |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sru:ssewps:2016-18&r=env |
| By: | Kaliappa Kalirajan; Yichang Liu |
| Abstract: | Though the availability of cost effective and potentially efficient renewable energy technologies is a necessary condition for the promotion of green growth nationally and internationally, it is the intended nationally determined contributions (INDC) to make use of such technologies is crucial. International trade in low carbon renewable energy goods provides an effective way of achieving INDCs nationally, even when individual countries may not have sufficient infrastructure readily available to them to fulfill INDCs. It is in this context, examination of whether renewable energy goods exports have been flowing without constraints in the Asian region and whether the RCEP regional cooperation mooted by the ASEAN can potentially facilitate minimizing those constraints at the regional level. The short answers to those questions are no and yes respectively. The answer is no mainly due to the existing institutional rigidities of which the major one is the non-tariff measures. The answer is yes mainly due to the possibility of improving the technical cooperation in producing renewable energy goods and consultations in removing non-tariff barriers through the effective functioning of RCEP.. |
| Keywords: | paddy/rice value chain, profit margins of paddy/tice, market structure, Sri Lanka |
| JEL: | F14 F18 Q27 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:asarcc:2016-05&r=env |
| By: | Heather Cooley; Michael Cohen; Rapichan Phurisamban; Guillaume Gruère |
| Abstract: | This report analyses trends in agriculture for the US Southwest region, one of the most water stressed and productive agricultural regions in the world expected to face further water shortages in the future due to climate change and continued growth. It examines projected water risks by mid-century without additional policy action, and discusses the expected implications for the agriculture sector, based on a review of existing data and available publications. The region will likely continue to be a major agricultural producer by mid-century but will be affected by more variable and uncertain water supplies and increased water demand. Irrigated area is likely to decline, with lower value, water-intensive field and forage crops experiencing the greatest losses. Livestock and dairy are also especially vulnerable to water shortages and climate change. Trade and employment may be affected, although projections remain uncertain. Policy options can help mitigate these projected water risks, such as agricultural and urban water efficiency improvements, refined groundwater management, investment in water banks and recycled wastewater systems, and well-defined water transfers. |
| Keywords: | climate change, water competition, drought, California, Colorado River Basin, US Southwest, Agriculture and water risks |
| JEL: | Q15 Q25 Q28 Q54 |
| Date: | 2016–09–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:96-en&r=env |
| By: | Anupama Sen; Rabindra Nepal; Tooraj Jamasb |
| Abstract: | The OECD or ‘standard’ model of electricity sector reforms has been widely adopted in non-OECD Asian countries since the 1990s. However, despite two decades of attempts at reforms, no notable progress has been made towards the original objectives of reform. Whilst in OECD countries, reforms were implemented against excess capacity and stable institutions, in developing non-OECD Asian countries they were implemented against chronic electricity shortages, fiscal constraints, weak institutions, and complex political factors. In recent years the debate also focuses on the suitability of electricity market reforms originally designed around fossil fuels in delivering low carbon electricity systems. With electricity demand set to double over the next two decades, reforms in non-OECD Asian countries have important economic as well as environmental implications in terms of global energy use and emissions. This chapter assesses the application of the OECD model of electricity reform in Asia. We analyse the experience of three South Asian countries – India, Nepal and Bhutan, to illustrate the economic and environmental conflicts in electricity market reform against the context of cross-border regional electricity trade. |
| Keywords: | market liberalisation; electricity restructuring; environment |
| JEL: | L94 Q58 R58 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:asarcc:2016-06&r=env |
| By: | Anupama Sen (Oxford Institute for Energy Studies); Rabindra Nepal (OCDU Business School, Charles Darwin University); Tooraj Jamasb (Durham Business School) |
| Abstract: | The OECD or ‘standard’ model of electricity sector reforms has been widely adopted in non-OECD Asian countries since the 1990s. However, despite two decades of attempts at reforms, no notable progress has been made towards the original objectives of reform. Whilst in OECD countries, reforms were implemented against excess capacity and stable institutions, in developing non-OECD Asian countries they were implemented against chronic electricity shortages, fiscal constraints, weak institutions, and complex political factors. In recent years the debate also focuses on the suitability of electricity market reforms originally designed around fossil fuels in delivering low carbon electricity systems. With electricity demand set to double over the next two decades, reforms in non-OECD Asian countries have important economic as well as environmental implications in terms of global energy use and emissions. This chapter assesses the application of the OECD model of electricity reform in Asia. We analyse the experience of three South Asian countries – India, Nepal and Bhutan, to illustrate the economic and environmental conflicts in electricity market reform against the context of cross-border regional electricity trade. |
| Keywords: | market liberalisation; electricity restructuring; environment |
| JEL: | L94 Q58 R58 |
| Date: | 2016–09–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qld:uq2004:572&r=env |
| By: | Alistair Munro (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies) |
| Abstract: | When the set of possible messages depends on the actual state of the world, optimal incentive schemes to control environmental problems may not always satisfy the revelation principle. As a result, in equilibrium some agents may send false messages, particularly when the information rents in the truth- telling scheme are high. I characterise optimal pollution regulation schemes and produce some numerical examples to show mechanisms which allow some dishonesty in equilibrium may frequently outperform truth-telling schemes. |
| Date: | 2016–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ngi:dpaper:16-16&r=env |
| By: | Olivier Boucher (Met Office Hadley Centre - Met Office); Valentin Bellassen (CESAER - Centre d'Economie et Sociologie appliquées à l'Agriculture et aux Espaces Ruraux - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement); Hélène Benveniste (Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Philippe Ciais (Joint Unit, LSCE - Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives); Patrick Criqui (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Celine Guivarch (CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - CIRAD - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Hervé Le Treut (LMD - Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique - UPMC - Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - Polytechnique - X - INSU - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Sandrine Mathy (GAEL - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée de Grenoble - Grenoble INP - Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes); Roland Séférian (CNRM - Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques - Aucune) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze research gaps and identify new directions of research in relation to a number of facets of the Paris Agreement, including the new 1.5 °C objective, the articulation between near-term and long-term mitigation pathways, negative emissions, verification, climate finance, non-Parties stakeholders, and adaptation. |
| Keywords: | Paris agreement,COP21,research gaps,interdisciplinary climate research |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01342710&r=env |
| By: | John C. Whitehead; Tim Haab; James Sherry Larkin; John Loomis; Sergio Alvarez; Andrew Ropicki |
| Abstract: | The lost recreational use values from the BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico were estimated from cancelled recreational trips to Northwest Florida. The impacts were calculated using the travel cost method for a single site with primary data collected from an online survey conducted after the spill. The data were collected in August and September 2011 with respondents residing in U.S. states that constitute the primary market for coastal tourism to Northwest Florida. The survey gathered information from respondents on their recreational visits to Northwest Florida, including detailed information on their past trips and the number of trips cancelled to the study region due to the oil spill. The empirical analysis involves the estimation of random parameters negative binomial count data demand functions. Using these models we find significant preference heterogeneity surrounding the effects of the oil spill. Aggregate damages are estimated to be $207 million. Key Words: BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill,travel cost method,cancelled trips |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apl:wpaper:16-16&r=env |
| By: | John C. Whitehead; O. Ashton Morgan; William L. Huth |
| Abstract: | In this study we compare willingness to pay for a seafood traceability system form contingent behavior demand and contingent valuation referendum vote models using data from a survey of Gulf of Mexico oyster consumers following the BP oil spill in 2010. We estimate a fixed effects model of oyster demand using contingent behavior data and find that a traceability program increases demand and consumer surplus. We estimate a referendum model for the seafood traceability program using contingent valuation data. We find that welfare estimates from the contingent behavior and contingent valuation methods are convergent valid under certain conditions. Key Words: |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apl:wpaper:16-15&r=env |
| By: | VARGA, ATTILA; HAU-HORVÁTH, ORSOLYA; SZABÓ, NORBERT; JÁROSI, PÉTER |
| Abstract: | This study introduces and applies a modelling system that is suitable for the impact assessment of environmental innovations referred to as “Blue Economy” innovations. The paper’s contribution to the literature is threefold. First, the building of a multi-sector computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, which provides the theoretical framework for studying the economic impacts of using waste as a production input. Second, the creation of an empirical methodology through which new Blue Economy technologies can be concretely accounted for in regional input-output tables. Since Blue Economy innovations are mostly built on local inputs, their effects are primarily local. Third, given that interregional spillovers of local impacts might also be significant, through interregional trade or migration, a modelling approach that can follow complex spatial processes is applied. The broader model framework chosen is the GMR-Europe model. |
| Keywords: | GMR model, Blue Economy, computable general equilibrium models, TFP, innovation. |
| JEL: | C5 O3 O30 Q5 R1 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:73953&r=env |
| By: | Clark, William C. (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | In this paper I sketch key episodes in the two thousand year history of interactions between society and environment that have shaped the City of London and its hinterlands. My purpose in writing it has been to provide an empirical puzzle for use in teaching and theorizing about the long term coevolution of social-environmental systems and the potential role of policy interventions in guiding that coevolution toward sustainability. I undertook it because while a lively body of theory has begun to emerge seeking to explain such coevolution, rich descriptive characterizations of how specific social-environmental systems have in fact changed over the long time periods (multi-decade to multi-century) relevant to sustainable development remain relatively rare. One result is that the field of sustainability science lacks a sufficient number of the rich empirical puzzles that any field of science needs to challenge its theorizing, modeling and predictions. This paper reflects the beginning of an effort to provide one such characterization on a topic central to sustainability: The long term development of cities and their hinterlands. |
| Date: | 2015–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:15-047&r=env |
| By: | Tracy Snoddon |
| Keywords: | Energy and Natural Resources |
| JEL: | H23 Q5 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdh:ebrief:247&r=env |
| By: | Aldy, Joseph E. (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | The emerging pledge and review approach to international climate policy provides countries with substantial discretion in how they craft their intended emission mitigation contributions. The resulting heterogeneity in mitigation pledges creates a significant demand for a well-functioning transparency and review mechanism. In particular, the specific forms of intended contributions necessitate economic analysis in order to estimate the aggregate effects of these contributions, as well as to permit "apples-to-apples" comparisons of mitigation efforts. This paper discusses the tools that can inform such analyses, as well as the institutional framework needed to support climate transparency. In light of the negotiating challenges with respect to transparency, the paper describes the potential for countries to implement Living Mitigation Plans that include regular updating of domestic mitigation programs with data and analyses on their outcomes. Such Living Mitigation Plans can serve as the foundation for independent, expert review of domestic mitigation programs. Moreover, they can include the inputs necessary to assess the mitigation value of domestic mitigation efforts. Such assessments could inform the linkage of domestic mitigation policies, especially among disparately designed mitigation policies. |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:15-068&r=env |
| By: | Clark, William C. (Harvard University); van Kerkhoff, Lorrae (Australian National University); Lebel, Louis (Chiang Mai University); Gallopin, Gilberto (?) |
| Abstract: | This paper distills core lessons about how researchers (scientists, engineers, planners, etc.) interested in promoting sustainable development can increase the likelihood of producing usable knowledge. We draw the lessons from both practical experience in diverse contexts around the world, and from scholarly advances in understanding the relationships between science and society. Many of these lessons will be familiar to those with experience in crafting knowledge to support action for sustainable development. But few are included in the formal training of researchers. As a result, when scientists and engineers first venture out of the lab or library with the goal of linking their knowledge to action, the outcome has often been ineffectiveness and disillusionment. We therefore articulate here a core set of lessons that we believe should become part of the basic training for researchers interested in crafting usable knowledge for sustainable development. These lessons entail at least four things researchers should know, and four things they should do. The "knowing" lessons involve understanding the coproduction relationships through which knowledge making and decision making shape one another in social-environmental systems. We highlight the lessons that emerge from examining those coproduction relationships through the 'ICAP' lens, viewing them from the perspectives of Innovation systems, Complex systems, Adaptive systems, and Political systems. The "doing" lessons involve improving the capacity of the research community to put its understanding of such systems into practice. We highlight steps though which researchers can help build capacities for stakeholder collaboration, social learning, knowledge governance, and researcher training. |
| Date: | 2016–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:16-005&r=env |
| By: | Soliman, Ibrahim |
| Abstract: | 158th EAAE, SSESSION 4D DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE 9-10TH OF Sept., 2016 MAICH, CHANIA, GREECE |
| Keywords: | Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2016–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:zudacp:244970&r=env |
| By: | Wineman, Ayala; Mason, Nicole M.; Ochieng, Justus; Kirimi, Lilian |
| Abstract: | Households in rural Kenya are sensitive to weather shocks through their reliance on rain-fed agriculture and livestock. Yet the extent of vulnerability is poorly understood, particularly in reference to extreme weather. This paper uses temporally and spatially disaggregated weather data and three waves of household panel survey data to understand the impact of weather extremes –including periods of high and low rainfall, heat, and wind– on household welfare. Particular attention is paid to heterogeneous effects across agro-ecological regions. We find that all types of extreme weather affect household well-being, although effects sometimes differ for income and calorie estimates. |
| Keywords: | Food Security and Poverty, |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:midcwp:245109&r=env |
| By: | K Hervé Dakpo; Laure Latruffe |
| Abstract: | In this article we assess the impact of agri-environmental subsidies on farms’ technical efficiency, when the latter is measured with and without accounting for greenhouse gases (GHGs). The application is to a sample of beef cattle farms located in grassland areas in France during the 1993-2013 period. In a first stage we calculate robust technical efficiency accounting for both good output (meat) and bad output (GHGs). In a second stage we regress the different technical efficiency scores on a set of explanatory variables including agri-environmental subsidies as an amount received by the farmer related per livestock unit. The results indicate that these subsidies had a positive impact on farms’ technical efficiency among the farmers that have adopted agri-environmental measures. This is the first work on the effect of subsidies on technical efficiency including environmental outputs, and it does not confirm the negative effect generally found in existing studies based on classic technical efficiency. |
| Keywords: | by-production, GHG emissions, agri-environmental subsidies, livestock |
| JEL: | D24 O47 Q10 Q50 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201607&r=env |
| By: | Rana Roy |
| Abstract: | This paper is a first attempt at calculating the cost of air pollution in Africa. More precisely, it is a calculation of the major part of this cost: namely, the cost of premature deaths attributable to air pollution. It draws on the epidemiological evidence base assembled in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013, in order to detail results for the health impacts of air pollution – in absolute terms and relative to selected other major risk factors, per country and for Africa as a whole. And it draws on the economic analyses developed by the present author, among others, in recent OECD work on the value of statistical life, in order to establish results for the economic cost of the health impacts of air pollution. In the period from 1990 to the present, and at each succeeding five-year interval in between, the death toll from air pollution in Africa has risen in tandem with the uninterrupted growth in the size of the urban population of Africa over this period. The total of annual deaths from ambient particulate matter pollution across the African continent increased by 36% from 1990 to 2013, from a then relatively low base of ≈ 180 000 in 1990 to ≈ 250 000 in 2013. Over this period, deaths from household air pollution also continued to increase, by 18%, from an already high base of ≈ 400 000 in 1990 to well over 450 000 in 2013. For Africa as a whole, as at 2013, the estimated economic cost of premature deaths from ambient particulate matter pollution was ≈ USD 215 billion. The estimated economic cost of premature deaths from household air pollution was ≈ USD 232 billion. Ce document est une première tentative d’estimer le coût de la pollution atmosphérique en Afrique. Plus précisément : une tentative de calculer la partie la plus importante de ce « coût », à savoir le coût lié aux décès prématurés dus à la pollution de l'air. Il se fonde sur des éléments de données épidémiologiques recueillis par le « Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 », qui publie des résultats détaillés sur les effets de la pollution atmosphérique sur la santé – tant en termes absolus que par rapport aux autres principaux facteurs à risque –, par pays et pour l'Afrique dans son ensemble. Par ailleurs, il se fonde sur les analyses économiques développées par l'auteur, notamment les travaux récents de l'OCDE sur la « valeur d’une vie statistique », pour estimer le coût économique des effets de la pollution de l'air sur la santé. Dans la période allant de 1990 à nos jours, et à chaque intervalle quinquennal, le nombre de décès dus à la pollution atmosphérique en Afrique a augmenté au même rythme que l’accroissement de la population urbaine pendant cette même période. Le nombre de décès annuels dus à la pollution de l’air par les particules ambiantes sur le continent a augmenté de 36 % entre 1990 et 2013, à partir d’un niveau peu élevé ≈ 180 000 en 1990 à ≈ 250 000 en 2013. Au cours de cette période, les décès dus à la pollution de l’air domestique ont continué d'augmenter de 18 %, à partir d'un niveau déjà élevé de ≈ 400 000 en 1990 à plus de 450 000 en 2013. En 2013, sur le continent africain, le coût économique estimé des décès prématurés dus à la pollution de l’air par les particules ambiantes était d’environ 215 milliards de dollars. Le coût économique estimé des décès prématurés dus à la pollution de l'air domestique était d’environ 232 milliards de dollars. |
| Keywords: | air pollution, value of statistical life, Africa, Afrique, valeur statistique d’une vie, pollution de l’air |
| JEL: | Q51 Q53 Q55 |
| Date: | 2016–09–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:devaaa:333-en&r=env |
| By: | K Hervé Dakpo |
| Abstract: | We contribute to the literature on undesirable-output technology modeling by first discussing the limits of the recently proposed by-production approach of Murty et al. (2012) (hereafter we will refer to these authors as MRL) and second by proposing some possible extensions. We identify two theoretical limits and two practical drawbacks when using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with this approach. Theoretically, MRL’s by-production model is based on estimating two sub-technologies, one representing good outputs and the other one representing undesirable outputs. However, MRL assume independence of the sub-frontiers. In our paper, by contrast, we discuss the importance and implications of considering that all production processes are interconnected and should not be considered separately. Among the three extensions proposed, we argue that the introduction of some dependence constraints that link the two sub-technologies considered in this framework is very powerful. The two by-production approaches, MRL’s and ours, are discussed under the restrictive assumption of fixed levels of inputs and under the flexible case of free choice of polluting input quantities. An application to a sample of 112 countries reveals that MRL model gives higher inefficiency scores compared to our extension with dependence constraints. |
| Keywords: | by-production, cost disposability, factor bands, product couplings, dependence constraints, data envelopment analysis |
| JEL: | C61 D24 Q50 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201606&r=env |
| By: | Diaz Anadon, Laura (Harvard University and University College London); Chan, Gabriel (University of MN); Harley, Alicia (Harvard University); Matus, Kira (University College London); Moon, Suerie (Harvard University); Murthy, Sharmila L. (Suffolk University); Clark, William C. (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | Sustainable development requires harnessing technological innovation to improve human well-being in current and future generations. However, poor, marginalized, and unborn populations too often lack the economic or political power to shape innovation processes to meet their needs. Issues arise at all stages of innovation, from invention of a technology through its selection, production, adaptation, adoption, and retirement. Three insights should inform efforts to intervene in innovation systems for sustainable development. First, innovation is not a linear process but rather a complex adaptive system involving many actors and institutions operating simultaneously from local to global levels; interventions must take this complexity into account. Second, there has been significant experimentation in mobilizing technology for sustainable development in the health, energy, and agriculture sectors, among others, but learning from past experience requires structured cross-sectoral comparisons and recognition of the socio-technical nature of innovation. Third, the current constellation of rules, norms, and incentives shaping innovation is not always aligned towards sustainable development. Past experience demonstrates that it is possible to reform these institutions, and the imperative of harnessing innovation for sustainable development makes it necessary to do so. Many actors have the power to re-orient innovation systems towards sustainable development through research, advocacy, training, convening, policymaking, and financing. We offer three proposals to begin: mobilizing global financing to invest in inventing suitable and affordable technologies to meet sustainable development objectives; developing measures to engage marginalized populations systematically through all stages of the innovation process; and establishing channels for regularized learning across domains of practice. |
| Date: | 2015–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:15-079&r=env |
| By: | Sandrine Berger-Douce (COACTIS - COACTIS - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne - Université Lumière - Lyon II : EA4161, EPICE-ENSMSE - Département Etudes sur la performance, l'Innovation et le Changement en Entreprise - Mines Saint-Étienne MSE - École des Mines de Saint-Étienne - Institut Mines-Télécom - Institut Henri Fayol); Natacha Gondran (PIESO-ENSMSE - Département Performance Industrielle et Environnementale des Systèmes et des Organisations - Mines Saint-Étienne MSE - École des Mines de Saint-Étienne - Institut Mines-Télécom - Institut Henri Fayol, EVS - UMR 5600 Environnement Ville Société - ENS Lyon - École normale supérieure - Lyon - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - Université Jean Moulin - Lyon III - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne - École Nationale des Travaux Publics de l'État [ENTPE] - Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Etienne - ENSAL - École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Lyon - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Florent Breuil (COACTIS - COACTIS - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Etienne - Université Lumière - Lyon II : EA4161, EPICE-ENSMSE - Département Etudes sur la performance, l'Innovation et le Changement en Entreprise - Mines Saint-Étienne MSE - École des Mines de Saint-Étienne - Institut Mines-Télécom - Institut Henri Fayol) |
| Abstract: | Le RIODD a tenu son 11ème congrès annuel du mercredi 6 au vendredi 8 juillet 2016 à St-Etienne. Il s'est déroulé à l'Ecole des Mines de Saint-Étienne. L’organisation de ce 11ème congrès annuel du RIODD était portée par l’Institut Henri Fayol de l’Ecole des Mines de St-Etienne. Cette manifestation scientifique à caractère pluridisciplinaire et de dimension internationale s’est inscrite dans le cadre du Bicentenaire de l’Ecole des Mines de St-Etienne en 2016. |
| Keywords: | Energie, environnement, mutations sociales, RSE, développement durable |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:emse-01351025&r=env |
| By: | Nadia Doytch (Brooklyn College and Graduate Center, CUNY); Merih Uctum (Brooklyn College and Graduate Center, CUNY) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the environmental impact of capital inflows and investigate the halo effect (FDI improves the environment). We control for the type of FDI inflows, the EKC (Environmental Kuznets Curve) effect and country income level, and find (i) a differential industry effect: while total foreign investment in aggregate has a negative effect on all countries, this can be traced in particular to capital flows to manufacturing and nonfinancial services sectors.; (ii) an income inequality effect: foreign investment flowing into poorer countries has harmful effects on environment consistent with the race-to-the bottom argument, while capital flowing to richer countries has a beneficial effect and supports the halo effect; (iii) the EKC effect depends on the sector absorbing the FDI and again income level of the country. We show that studies relying only on firm level or aggregate data, miss the sectoral spillovers, and thus may lead to misleading conclusions. |
| Keywords: | Sectoral FDI, environmental spillovers, dynamic panel |
| JEL: | F21 Q5 |
| Date: | 2016–08–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgc:wpaper:012&r=env |