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on Environmental Economics |
| By: | Christoper Moore; Jasmine Fuller |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the first comprehensive review and synthesis of studies that forecast economic impacts of ocean acidification. The changes in seawater chemistry resulting from increased carbon dioxide emissions, collectively known as ocean acidification, will have detrimental impacts to marine ecosystem services. Those services include wild capture fisheries, aquaculture, recreation, shoreline protection, and others. The current literature valuing expected impacts to those services is rather thin and tends to focus on mollusk harvesting and aquaculture. Despite the paucity of studies, we divide all relevant estimates into seven additively separable economic sectors to provide the first aggregate estimate of economic damages from ocean acidification at the end of this century. We perform non-parametric bootstrap to characterize the distribution of estimates within each sector and the aggregation across sectors. We also perform meta-regressions to explore whether estimates provided by these studies are generally consistent with expectations based on ocean chemistry and economic theory. We find a global average of per capita annual losses in the year 2100 between $47 and $58 and we find strong evidence that estimates are consistent with expectations given future emissions and socio-economic scenarios that underlie the original studies. |
| Keywords: | Ocean acidification, climate change, meta-analysis, marine ecosystem services |
| JEL: | Q51 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nev:wpaper:wp202002&r=all |
| By: | Hao, Zhengzheng; Sturm, Astrid; Wätzold, Frank |
| Abstract: | Agricultural intensification is a key driver of water pollution in many parts of the world. A frequent policy response is to implement agri-environment schemes (AES) which compensate farmers for land use measures that are beneficial to the environment but costly for them. We develop a hydro-economic modelling procedure which is able to design cost-effective AES to mitigate water pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus from cropland. Our procedure goes beyond existing research as it considers spatial heterogeneity of both mitigation impacts and costs of cropland management measures and takes into account the decision of farmers to participate in an AES. We demonstrate how the procedure works by applying it to the Baishahe watershed in Shanxi Province, China. |
| Keywords: | payments for environmental services; integrated modelling; non-point source water pollution; SWAT; agri-economic costs; spatial heterogeneity; cropland; China |
| JEL: | Q19 Q52 Q53 Q57 |
| Date: | 2020–09–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:102860&r=all |
| By: | Ben Henderson (OECD); Clara Frezal (OECD); Eimear Flynn (OECD) |
| Abstract: | In light of the urgency for policy action to address climate change, this report provides the first detailed global catalogue of targets and policies for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in the Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) sector. It covers 20 countries which collectively account for nearly half of the world’s AFOLU emissions. Most of these countries have recently set targets within their AFOLU sector as part of national climate mitigation strategies and commitments, although these targets are only legally-binding for two countries. However, policies to incentivise emission reductions and achieve these targets still need to be developed. Consequently, policy efforts will need to intensify for the AFOLU sector to contribute effectively to limiting global temperature increases to well below 2°C, and especially to meet the more ambitious 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, LULUCF, NDCs, Paris Agreement |
| JEL: | Q15 Q18 Q54 Q58 |
| Date: | 2020–10–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:agraaa:145-en&r=all |
| By: | Pablo Campos; Alejandro Caparrós; José L. Oviedo; Paola Ovando; Alejandro Álvarez; Bruno Mesa |
| Abstract: | This study’s objective is to estimate and compare spatially explicit measures of ecosystem services and total environmental incomes for individual activities which occur in 248,015 hectares of cork oak open woodlands in Andalusia, Spain. The activities include timber, cork, firewood, nuts, grazing, conservation forestry, residential accommodation, private amenity, fire services, water supply, mushroom, carbon, free access recreation, landscape conservation and threatened wild biodiversity preservation. Ecosystem service is an economic indicator that informs of nature’s contribution to the period’s human product consumption, but with an uncertain meaning of ecological sustainability. We show that environmental income is the maximum period consumption of sustainable ecosystem services with both ecological and economic significance only if the benefits and costs involved in sustainable silvicultural management scenarios are accounted for. For measuring environmental incomes, we model sustainable silvicultural management scenarios, considering all the management practices required to maintain cork oak woodlands in perpetuity. Micro farm data is needed to estimate voluntary land and livestock owners’ opportunity cost by individual activity as well as for their subsequent transfer to be able to estimate individual’s environmental incomes values at social price. We define, for each individual activity, the social price as the basic price plus the voluntary unitary opportunity cost incurred by farmers in the scheduled management. Economic ecosystems indicators are measured using refined standard national accounts and extended environmental-economic accounts. The cork oak open woodlands’ ecosystem services and environmental incomes measured by extended accounts at basic prices in 2010 are 1.1 and 1.2 times higher than those estimated at social prices, respectively. The refined standard accounts’ ecosystem services and environmental incomes measured at basic prices are, respectively, 0.3 and 0.2 times those estimated by the extended accounts at social prices. |
| Keywords: | Ecosystem services; own intermediate consumption; game grazing; change of environmental net worth; environmental assets |
| Date: | 2019–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipp:wpaper:1904&r=all |
| By: | Christoph Boehringer (University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics); Carolyn Fischer |
| Abstract: | Several EU member states are exploring options for setting minimum domestic carbon prices within the EU Emission Trading System (ETS). First, a “TAX” policy would introduce a carbon tax equal to the difference between the prevailing ETS price and the targeted minimum price. Second, a national auction reserve price would “KILL” allowances by invalidating them until the ETS price equalled the national minimum price. Third, a government could require domestic overcompliance and “BILL” covered entities for extra allowances per ton of emissions, thereby increasing demand for allowances and pulling up the ETS price. We explore the implications of these policy options on national and ETS-wide carbon prices, revenues from emissions allowances, emissions, and economic welfare. We find that a national government’s preferred unilateral policy will depend on the extent to which it values the fiscal benefits of revenues, which favor TAX or to a lesser degree BILL, versus climate benefits, which favor KILL and also BILL, particularly for jurisdictions with more emissions to leverage for overcompliance. Our analysis can be generalized to other multilateral cap-and-trade systems where participants pursue more stringent internal emission pricing through unilateral policies. |
| Keywords: | CO2 price floor, emissions trading, carbon tax |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:old:dpaper:432&r=all |
| By: | Pablo Campos; José L. Oviedo; Paola Ovando; Alejandro Álvarez; Bruno Mesa; Alejandro Caparrós |
| Abstract: | The brief description of the sequence of accounts for the products in the SNA and SEEA-EEA guidelines compared does not allow for a detailed discussion on what might be the future development of the satellite standard system of accounts. The ultimate environmental-economic aim of the application of the Agroforestry Accounting System (AAS) to holm oak open woodlands (HOW) in Andalusia-Spain is to test the hypothesis that the valuations of ecosystem services and changes in individual environmental assets of products consumed in the period and those expected to be consumed in the future require the prior measurement of the total income of the products valued at social price in order to carry out estimates, since the environmental component of the total income of an individual product is a residual value subjected to the priorities of remuneration for labor services and manufactured capital. We show that it is possible to coherently estimate the total income from products of a silvopastoral landscape by applying the AAS and the refined System of National Accounts (rSNA) as both embrace the privately-owned farmer activities of timber, cork, firewood, nuts, grazing (by game species and livestock), conservation forestry, landowner residential services and private amenity, as well as public activities by government of fire services, water supply, mushrooms, carbon, free- access recreation, landscape conservation and threatened wild biodiversity preservation. The comparisons of the results, at producer prices in the rSNA and at the social price in the ASS, reveal that the rSNA values the total ES and GVA of the HOW at 28% and 37% respectively of the AAS valuations. |
| Keywords: | Total income; ecosystem accounting; ecosystem services; environmental asset; national accounts; private amenity |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipp:wpaper:1906&r=all |
| By: | Sandra Cortés Acosta (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Arthur Grimes (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Catherine Leining (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | In June 2020, the New Zealand Government passed the Climate Change Response (Emissions Trading Reform) Amendment Act 2020 (ETR Act) to reform the architecture of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS). As a result of the ETR Act, from 1 January 2023, post-1989 forest land will be classified either as standard post-1989 forest (stock change), standard post-1989 forest (averaging) or permanent post-1989 forest. This paper collates information for obtaining New Zealand Units from these three forestry activities via the NZ ETS and summarises the most recent decisions regarding forestry-related accounting methods and operational changes to the NZ ETS. |
| Keywords: | Forestry, emissions trading scheme, climate change, environment, New Zealand, indigenous forest, exotic forest |
| JEL: | H23 Q54 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:20_11&r=all |
| By: | Pablo Campos; Alejandro Álvarez; Bruno Mesa; José L. Oviedo; Paola Ovando; Alejandro Caparrós |
| Abstract: | The ultimate goal of scholars and governmental institutions is to demonstrate nature in standard statistics, leading government agendas to the development of environmental-economic accounts which uncover hidden actual ecosystem services embedded in goods and services consumed by humans. In regards to physical and economic sustainable natural resource use, which lies beyond actual ecosystem services estimation, the potential sustainable ecosystem services indicator is a useful tool for nature conservation´s design and implementation. This indicator is defined as the environmental-economic reference for sustainable natural resource use. This research proposes that the potential sustainable ecosystem service indicator is the environmental income as measured by the extended accounts in this research. Our objective here is to compare the extended and the refined standard accounting frameworks’ estimates ecosystem services and environmental incomes, applying producer, basic and social prices. The accounting frameworks are applied in case studies of sixteen large dehesas of holm oak woodlands in Andalusia, Spain. We measure seven farmers and six government dehesas’ individual ecosystem services and environmental incomes. The dehesas’ refined standard accounts ecosystem services and environmental incomes results at basic prices are, respectively, 0.4 and 0.1 times of those of the values measured by the extended accounts at social prices. |
| Keywords: | Intermediate services; total income; net value added; environmental asset; change of environmental net worth; standard national accounts |
| Date: | 2019–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipp:wpaper:1903&r=all |
| By: | Alvim, Augusto; Sanguinet, Eduardo |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the impacts of reducing GHG emissions on the Meat and Dairy sectors. For this purpose, the Brazilian targets for the reduction of GHG emissions ratified in the Paris Agreement in 2015 are considered as starting points. To achieve this goal, General Equilibrium Model (GTAP) is used, which allows the inclusion of carbon taxes and the construction of alternative scenarios using GWP and GTP as GHG emissions measures. Four scenarios are analyzed. Scenario 1 applies carbon taxes upon Meat & Dairy sector and no carbon taxes on the other Brazilian sectors. Scenario 2 simulates only carbon taxes upon the Energy sector and Scenario 3 equal carbon taxes on all sectors (20$, 40$ and 60$ per tons of CO2). Scenario 4 considers the application of carbon taxes to the Meat & Dairy, Grains & Crops lower than to the Energy and Industry & Services sectors. For all scenarios is analyzed the main effects on sector emissions but also on production, trade and the Brazilian GPD. In general terms, the results show that: the Scenario 3 may be the most appropriate when we use the GTP measures to estimate GHG emissions. In this case, the reduction in GDP are not as intense as when are used GWP, though the exportation of the Beef and Dairy are also expected to drop. The fourth Scenario seems to be the most adequate in terms of cost distribution among the various economic sectors in Brazil, only when the GWP is considered. |
| Keywords: | Meat and dairy, Carbon taxes, GHG emissions, GTAP. |
| JEL: | F1 F13 Q1 Q17 |
| Date: | 2020–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:102997&r=all |
| By: | Rossana Scita (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Pier Paolo Raimondi (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei); Michel Noussan (Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei) |
| Abstract: | Hydrogen is currently enjoying a renewed and widespread momentum in the energy market. In the last years, demand for hydrogen has substantially increased worldwide, with several countries developing hydrogen national strategies, and private companies investing in the development of hydrogen related projects. Green hydrogen’s environmental sustainability and versatility contribute to its representation as the holy grail of decarbonisation. This working paper challenges this definition, by analysing the historical process which contributed to hydrogen’s rise, showing the current uses of hydrogen and the major obstacles to the implementation of a green hydrogen economy, and assessing the geopolitical implications of a future hydrogen society. Particularly, the paper shows that the hydrogen economy is still far from becoming reality. Even though investments in green hydrogen technologies and projects have increased over the last decade, there still remains a high number of unresolved issues, relating to technical challenges and geopolitical implications. Nonetheless, a clean hydrogen economy offers promising opportunities not only to fight climate change, but also to redraw geopolitical relations between states. The energy transition is already taking place, with renewable energies gradually eroding the global energy system based on fossil fuels. A global transformation, set in motion by the need to decarbonise the energy system, will have the potential to redraw international alliances and conflicts. In this context, hydrogen may play a crucial role. By 2050, hydrogen could indeed meet up to 24% of the world’s energy needs, thus highly influencing the geopolitical landscape. In this regard, the choice over which pathway to take for the creation of hydrogen value chains will have a huge geopolitical impact, resulting in new dependencies and rivalries between states. Conclusively, if national governments are willing to spur the emergence of a green hydrogen economy, they should heavily invest in research and development, encourage the development of a clean hydrogen value chain, and promote common international standards. Moreover, they should also take into account hydrogen’s geopolitical implications. If the hydrogen economy is well-managed, it could indeed increase energy security, diversify the economy, and strengthen partnerships with third countries. |
| Keywords: | Green Hydrogen, Decarbonization, Energy, Energy Policy |
| JEL: | Q4 Q42 O14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2020.13&r=all |
| By: | Mohajan, Haradhan |
| Abstract: | Since start of the Industrial Revolution about 260 years ago, the negative effects from the traditional linear economy (LE) become threat to the stability of the economies and natural ecosystems. Strength of climate change, reduction of environment pollution and integrity of ecosystems are essential issues for survival of the global humanity. According to LE resources for production are easily available and unlimited, and after use wastes are disposable. The circular economy (CE) is an alternative to the LE where the resources may be used for as long as possible. It tries to capture the value of existing products and materials, and decreases the use of primary materials in industries. The CE is a part of environmental economics and beneficial to the society. It keeps products, components, and materials at their highest utility and maximum value at all times. At present CE is one of the most focused terms among environmental economic scientists. The aim of this study is the implementation of the sustainable development strategies and the transition from LE towards CE. |
| Keywords: | Circular economy, Economic growth, Recycling, Reuse, Reduction, Sustainable development, SWOT analysis |
| JEL: | D6 D61 E1 |
| Date: | 2020–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:103272&r=all |
| By: | Abraham Londono Pineda; Tatiana Arias Naranjo; Jose Alejandro Cano Arenas |
| Abstract: | This study analyzes the factors affecting the configuration and consolidation of green ports in Colombia. For this purpose a case stady of maritime cargo ports of Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta is performed addressing semiestructured interviews to identify the factors contributing to the consolidation of green ports and the factors guiding the sustainability management in the ports that have not yet been certified as green ports. The results show that environmental regulations are atarting point not the key factor to consolidate asgreen ports. As a conclusions, the conversion of Colombian to green ports should not be limited to the attaiment of certifications, such as Ecoport certification, but should ensure the contribution to sustainable development through economic, social and environmental dimensions and the achievement of the SDGs |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2009.10834&r=all |
| By: | Weninger, Quinn |
| Abstract: | Ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) seeks to integrate the full complexity of real-world marine ecosystems into the design of fisheries management policies and regulations. EBFM is practiced currently with the help of complex ecosystem process models that track and simulate numerous ecosystem elements/organisms across space and time. For simplicity and to maintain tractability, the fishing sector component of process models maintain restrictive assumptions for harvesting technologies, fishing behavior, regulations, and fishing sector response to changing stock conditions. Predictions of fishing sector-ecosystem interaction obtained under these assumptions can grossly misinform EBFM policy design. An alternative rational fishing model is presented and applied to the Gulf of Mexico commercial reef fish fishery. The model relaxes the restrictive assumptions currently in use highlighting stark differences in ecological and external validity across modeling approaches. While models of rational fishing are data and computationally demanding, results show that improved validity they deliver may be essential to further advance the EBFM paradigm. |
| Date: | 2019–05–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201905100700001072&r=all |
| By: | Pablo Campos; Alejandro Caparrós; José L. Oviedo; Paola Ovando; Alejandro Álvarez; Bruno Mesa |
| Abstract: | The scientific debate on how to make visible the linkages between the standard System of National Accounts (SNA) and its ongoing satellite System of Environmental Economic Accounting-Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) is a challenge which is still pending. In previous publications we measured selected ecosystem accounting variables associated with Mediterranean forests and woodlands at market prices and simulated exchange prices in terms of ordinary net value added (NVA), ecosystem services (ES), environmental asset (EA), changes in environmental asset (CEA) and environmental income (EI) based on the experimental Agroforestry Accounting System (AAS). In this study, we applied ‘own refined SNA’ (rSNA) and SEEA-EEA (rSEEA-EEA) and a simplified AAS (sAAS) to measure the aforementioned environmental variables at basic and social prices for 15 economic activities considered in 1,408 thousand hectares of the predominantly mixed Holm oak open woodlands (HOW) in Andalusia-Spain. We incorporate the government institutional sector and environmental income in the rSNA and rSEEA-EEA. The government is perceived as the collective owner of public economic activities. Our objectives are to measure and discuss consistencies in total environmental incomes accruing from the results of the ecosystem accounting frameworks applied to HOW. The discrepancies in government institutional sector ecosystem services between rSEEA-EEA and sAAS are due to the omission in the former ecosystem accounting approach of the public farmer voluntary opportunity cost and government manufactured costs incurred in the supply of public final products enjoyed free by the consumers. The most relevant findings of this study are, firstly, that the EI of individual products for the period valued at social prices corresponds with the sustainable economic ecosystem services (except for private amenity), and according to the HOW scheduled modeling of future resource management, the EI also shows physical sustainability of individual natural base products. The ES and the EI of individual market products have the same values, whichever the ecosystem accounting framework applied. This is not the case with the ecosystem services of public products without market prices, due to the fact that rSNA estimates these products at production cost and rSEEA-EEA do not consider the total manufactured costs of the free final public products consumption. |
| Keywords: | Ordinary environmental net operating margin; ecosystem services; changes in environmental asset; environmental net worth: environmental income |
| Date: | 2019–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipp:wpaper:1907&r=all |
| By: | Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel; Driha, Oana M.; Bekun, Festus; Sinha, Avik; Fatai Adedoyin, Festus |
| Abstract: | The main contribution of the present study to the energy literature is linked to the interaction between economic growth and pollution emission amidst globalization. In contrast to the existing studies, this research explores the effects of economic and social isolation as dimensions of globalization. This allows underpinning the effects on the Chinese economic development of the isolation phenomenon as a consequence of coronavirus (COVID-19). To this end, annual time frequency data is used to achieve the hypothesized claims. The study resolutions include (i) The existence of a long-run association between the outlined variables (ii) The long-run estimates suggest that the Chinese economy over the investigated period, is inelastic to pollutant-driven economic growth as reported by the dynamic ordinary least squares, fully modified ordinary least squares and canonical regressions with a magnitude of 0.09%. (iii) The Chinese isolation is less responsive to its economic growth while the country political willpower is elastic as demonstrated by current government commitment to dampen the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is marked by the aggressive response by the government officials resolute by flattening the exponential impact of the pandemic. Based on these robust results some far-reaching policy implication(s) are underlined in the concluding remark section. |
| Keywords: | Economic growth; COVID-19; CO2 emissions; Isolation; Globalization; China |
| JEL: | Q5 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:102894&r=all |
| By: | Paul Zakkour; Wolfgang Heidug (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center) |
| Abstract: | This paper considers the potential for supply-side climate policy to increase climate action, with a focus on crude oil producers and exporting countries. To date, supply-side policies have not been widely used in efforts to tackle climate change, and the emerging dialogue on the topic tends to focus solely on measures that can curtail and ultimately end fossil fuel production. These strategies, in combination with comprehensive and sustained demand-side climate policy actions, pose a threat to the value of fossil fuel resource endowments held by countries and companies alike. |
| Keywords: | Climate mitigation, CO2 emissions, Energy diversification, |
| Date: | 2020–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:prc:dpaper:ks--2020-dp19&r=all |
| By: | Fabian Thomas (University of Osnabrueck); Estelle Midler (Ministère de l'Agriculture, du Développement Rural et de la Pêche); Marianne Lefebvre (GRANEM - Groupe de Recherche Angevin en Economie et Management - UA - Université d'Angers - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - Institut National de l'Horticulture et du Paysage); Stefanie Engel (University of Osnabrueck) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the behavioral economic underpinnings of current policy approaches to integrate environmental objectives into the Common Agricultural Policy. We conduct an economic lab-in-the-field experiment with farmers in Germany. We analyze the impact of the following policy design features on farmers' decisions to adopt sustainable agricultural practices: (i) framing of the policy: whether farmers perceive themselves as being part of the problem or the solution, (ii) degree of control: mandatory vs. voluntary policy (iii) framing of incentives as either losses or gains. All policy designs tested result in a significant increase in hectares conserved compared to a baseline scenario without policy. Also behavioral factors do significantly affect farmers' behavior at the individual level. Only framing is found to significantly affect policy effectiveness. |
| Keywords: | Common Agricultural Policy,Agri-Environment Measures,Greening,Lab-in-the-Field Ex- periment JEL Classifications: C93,D91,H20,Q00,Q18,Q58 |
| Date: | 2019–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02519104&r=all |
| By: | Behrang Shirizadeh (CIRED / TOTAL S.A.) |
| Abstract: | Many studies have analyzed the energy mix at national and continental scales, suggesting different low-carbon mixes for future energy systems. While there is abundant literature on the energy mix for different sectors, fewer studies deal with achieving the goal of deep decarbonization using sector-coupling. Moreover, they suffer from limited representation of emerging low-carbon options and incomplete coverage of the main energy sectors. We develop an integrated optimization of dispatch and investment model for the whole energy sector, enabling full sector-coupling and applying this model to the French energy system we study the synergies of sector-coupling among different energy vectors, as well as the role of each low-carbon energy supply technology and the impact of the social cost of carbon in reaching an optimal carbon-neutral or negative CO2-emitting energy mix of France in 2050. Our results suggest that a social cost of carbon of €200/tCO2 will achieve carbon-neutrality, and accounting for unfavorable future conditions, €300/tCO2 can assure this target. In the presence of the social cost of carbon renewables become the main source of the primary energy supply (up to more than 80% of the primary energy supply). Exclusion of nuclear energy from the energy supply side has a minor impact on both emission reduction and cost-optimality. A fully electrified heat sector and a highly gas-dependent transport sector fueled with renewable gas help reaching carbon-neutrality at the lowest cost. |
| Keywords: | Energy systems modelling, Social cost of carbon, Sector-coupling, Renewables, Large-scale renewable integration |
| JEL: | Q47 Q48 Q41 C61 H23 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2020.19&r=all |
| By: | Benjamin Ouvrard (TSE - Toulouse School of Economics - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Raphaële Préget (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010 - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Arnaud Reynaud (TSE - Toulouse School of Economics - UT1 - Université Toulouse 1 Capitole - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Laetitia Tuffery (CEE-M - Centre d'Economie de l'Environnement - Montpellier - FRE2010 - UM - Université de Montpellier - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - Montpellier SupAgro - Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | In a global context of increasing water scarcity, reducing water use in the agricultural sector is one of the spearheads of sustainable agricultural and environmental policies. New technologies such as smart water meters are promising tools for addressing this issue, but their voluntary adoption by farmers has been limited. Conducting a discrete choice experiment with randomized treatments, we test two policy instruments designed to foster the voluntary adoption of smart water meters: a conditional subsidy and green nudges. The conditional subsidy is offered to farmers who adopt a smart meter only if the rate of adoption in their geographic area is sufficiently high (25%, 50% or 75%). In addition, we implement informational nudges by providing farmers specific messages regarding water scarcity and water management. With the responses of 1,272 French farmers, we show that both policy instruments are effective tools for fostering smart water meter adoption. Surprisingly, our results show that the willingness to pay for the conditional subsidy does not depend on the collective adoption threshold. We also demonstrate that farmers who receive an informational nudge are more likely to opt for a smart water meter. This result calls for a careful joint design of these two policy instruments.. |
| Keywords: | Behavioural economics,Choice experiment,Nudges,French farmers,Smart water meters,Social norms. |
| Date: | 2020–10–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpceem:hal-02958784&r=all |
| By: | Alexander Golub (American University); Kristina Govorukha (Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg); Philip Mayer (Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg); Dirk Rübbelke (Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg) |
| Abstract: | The effects of extreme weather events, such as heat waves and droughts are taken into account in both global and European policies. Accordingly, the protection of critical infrastructures and in particular, the resilience of the energy sector was the subject of intense research. There are regional differences in the degree of exposure to extreme events. In Northern Europe, their intensity has increased dramatically within a decade. In our analysis we identify emerging risks of extreme weather events, in particular, droughts and high temperatures, for the German power sector. Furthermore, we consider how European policy addressed these severe risks. Our analysis is based on extensive datasets covering temperature and drought data for the last 40 years. We find evidence of a higher frequency of power plants outages as a consequence of droughts and high temperatures. We investigate increases in the wholesale electricity price and price volatility and develop a capacity-adjusted drought index. The results are used to assess the monetary loss of power plant outages due to heatwaves and droughts. We stress that increasing frequencies of such extreme weather events will aggravate the observed problem, especially with respect to the transition of the power sector. |
| Keywords: | Electricity, Energy, Energy Utilities, Gas, Hydrocarbons, Climate, Climate Change, Desertification, Drought, Global Warming, Weather |
| JEL: | Q4 Q54 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2020.12&r=all |
| By: | Kevin J. Stiroh |
| Abstract: | Remarks on the panel "New regulatory and policy landscape for sustainable finance," 2020 IIF Annual Membership Meeting (delivered via videoconference). |
| Keywords: | risks; financial stability; climate change; Climate-related Financial Risks (TFCR); framework; initiatives; Basel Committee |
| Date: | 2020–10–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fednsp:88880&r=all |
| By: | Keiser, David A.; Shapiro, Joseph S. |
| Abstract: | In the half century since the founding of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. has spent nearly $5 trillion ($2017) to provide cleaner rivers, lakes, and drinking water, or annual spending of 0.8 percent of U.S. GDP in most years. Yet over half of rivers and substantial shares of drinking water systems violate standards, and polls for decades have listed water pollution as Americans’ number one environmental concern. We assess the history, effectiveness, and efficiency of the Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act, and obtain four main conclusions. First, water pollution has fallen since these laws, in part due to their interventions. Second, investments made under these laws could be more costeffective. Third, most recent studies estimate benefits of cleaning up pollution in rivers and lakes which are much less than their costs. Either these analyses systematically understate the value of these investments or these investments are inefficient. Analysis finds more positive net benefits of drinking water quality investments. Fourth, economic research and teaching on water pollution is surprisingly uncommon, as measured by samples of publications, conference presentations, or textbooks. |
| Date: | 2018–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201812010800001061&r=all |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | The city of Bonn, Germany, has a long-standing commitment towards sustainable development. The city has gone through a comprehensive process to link the city’s 2030 Sustainability Strategy to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Strategy seeks to address the main challenges faced by the city in terms of providing affordable housing, expanding and maintaining green spaces, shifting to clean forms of transport and energy, and providing employment opportunities for all, especially for low-skilled workers. The SDGs can also help to institutionalise Bonn’s Sustainability Strategy and allocate adequate resources to its implementation. They also provide a holistic framework to manage trade-offs between climate, sustainable mobility and affordable housing goals, while striving to reduce inequalities. |
| Date: | 2020–10–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:govaab:2020/07-en&r=all |
| By: | Greaves, Gerry |
| Abstract: | Climate-economy integrated assessment models are often used to assess the interaction between climate change effects and the economy. A simple but powerful model, DICE (Dynamic Integrated Climate-Economy) model, was developed at Yale. This is an easily accessible model that allows exploration of various parameters that affect long-term (years 2000-2300) climate change. The global economic model estimates the future growth of economic output tempered by abatement costs and climate change damages. It uses an optimization scheme to determine the CO2eq price over time that maximizes discounted utility of consumption. However, there are a few areas that may be improved. This paper addresses those areas. First, a model of renewable energy that explicitly accounts for the capital required for the transition is added. This has the effect of smoothing the beginning of the transition, and shows that we can afford the transition. Second, a modified damage function is used that shows a greater penalty for business as usual. Third, the growth model used in DICE results in a level of economic growth too high to be supported by historical data. A modified growth model is proposed based primarily on historical data from the Penn World Table that results in lower growth and a more rapid decline in growth rate. |
| Keywords: | economic growth, energy, climate |
| JEL: | Q43 Q54 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:103243&r=all |
| By: | Santeramo, Fabio Gaetano; Di Gioia, Leonardo; Lamonaca, Emilia |
| Abstract: | Vegetable oil market is becoming of increasing interest in the global biofuel industry. This phenomenon has also interested the European Union (EU), where the growing expansion of biofuel production is affected by political interventions promoting fuel security and environmental goals. Yet, empirical evidence on the impacts that changes in price of one commodity may have on the supply of another commodity are rather scant. We investigate these dynamics for the major sources of biodiesel in the EU and conclude on cross-commodity linkages for palm, rapeseed, soy, and sunflower oils. We also examine the acreage response of domestically produced feedstocks to changes in prices of vegetable oils. Our findings suggest strong and diversified path dependencies among vegetable oils that should be considered in planning sustainable biofuel policies. In particular, the empirical analysis reveals the great relevance of sunflower and soy oils, which show a high price responsiveness, and the high competition in end uses of domestically produced vegetable oils (i.e. rapeseed, soy, and sunflower oils), that tend to be net substitutes in supply. In terms of land use effects, we find that an increase in the price of imported palm oil results in a displacement effect in land devoted to rapeseed cultivation, whereas a surge in the price of sunflower oil decreases the use of land for rapeseed. Land use effects would be relevant in northern EU countries where the production of rapeseed is the most intense. A policy measure in the EU, incentivising the production of renewable and environmental-friendly fuel from sustainable feedstocks, would be positive for the domestic market to the extent that it stimulates the production of vegetable oils (soy and sunflower oils) with the highest direct and indirect emissions saving. However, the expansion of oil palm plantations in extra-EU producing countries and of imports to the EU would determine important impacts in terms of indirect land use change emissions and direct emissions due to increased transports. |
| Keywords: | Biofuel; Land Use Change; Price elasticity; Vegetable oils |
| JEL: | O13 P28 Q21 Q42 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:103199&r=all |
| By: | Nour Wehbe (UMR ART-Dev - Acteurs, Ressources et Territoires dans le Développement - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UM - Université de Montpellier - UM3 - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 - UPVD - Université de Perpignan Via Domitia - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the findings of our study on forecasting the levelized cost of electricity of different electricity generation technologies including renewable energy (solar PV, hydropower, biomass and wind) until 2030. Usually, the cost of electrical generation from renewable and conventional sources are compared by using the LCOE method (Levelized Cost Of Energy). In general, the LCOE is calculated based on the assumptions for each technology. In this paper, we evaluate the LCOE of the various electricity generation techniques for the case of Lebanon. The study predicts future evolution of these costs in Lebanon until 2030 according to specic assumptions related to each technology and taking into account the triple aspects : technical, economic and environmental. The generation costs don't depend only on investment, maintenance and fuel costs, but also on the cost of carbon emitted by each technology per unit of the electricity produced. We focus our analysis on these assumptions and the impact of their variability on the cost by using sensitivity analysis. Our study shows that by 2030, renewable generation technologies will remain more expensive than fossil-fueled technologies. However, within certain measures taken by the State, as integration of a carbon price, renewable energy resources could emerge strongly in the electricity generation investment planning and become much competitive. |
| Abstract: | Cet article présente des prévisions du coût moyen de production de cinq technologies qui pourraient contribuer d'une manière significative à la production d'électricité au Liban : les centrales à gaz (cycle ouvert et cycle combiné), les centrales solaires (technologie photovoltaïque), les parcs éoliens, les centrqles hydroélectriques et les centrales à déchets. Habituellement, la comparaison du coût des sources renouvelables et conventionnelles se fait en utilisant la méthode du LCOE (Levelized Cost Of Energy). Dans cet article, nous estimons l'évolution future de ces coûts au Liban jusqu'en 2030 selon des hypothèses spécifiques liées à chaque technologie et en tenant compte du triple aspect: technique, économique et environnemental. Les coûts de production ne dépendent pas seulement des coûts d'investissement, d'entretien et de carburant, mais aussi du coût du carbone émis par unité d'électricité produite. Nous nous focalisons ainsi dans notre analyse sur l'impact de leur variabilité sur le coût en utilisant des analyses de sensibilité. Les principaux résultats montrent que d'ici 2030, les technologies de production renouvelable resteront plus chères que les technologies à combustibles fossiles. Cependant, dans le cadre de certaines mesures prises par l'État, les énergies renouvelables pourraient émerger fortement dans la planification des investissements et devenir très compétitives dans le contexte libanais. |
| Keywords: | Electricity of Lebanon,Renewable Energy Market,Levelized Cost Of Electricity,Cost Analysis |
| Date: | 2021–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02951669&r=all |
| By: | Bård Harstad |
| Abstract: | Free trade can often lead to resource depletion, such as deforestation in the tropics. This paper first presents a dynamic model whereby the South (S) depletes to export the extracted units (timber) or the produce (beef) from land available after depletion. Because of the damages, the North benefits from trade liberalization only if the remaining stock is, in any case, diminished. For that reason, S speeds up exploitation. The negative results are reversed if the parties can negotiate a dynamic trade agreement, whereby the allocation of gains from trade, and thus the location on the Pareto frontier, is sensitive to the size of the remaining stock. In equilibrium, S conserves to maintain its favorable terms of trade, S conserves more than in autarky, and more when the gains from trade are large. The parties cannot commit to future policies, but they obtain the same outcome as if they could. |
| Keywords: | exhaustible resources, deforestation, international trade, trade agreements, environmental conservation, renegotiation |
| JEL: | F18 F13 F55 Q56 Q37 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8569&r=all |
| By: | Noha Elboghdadly (University of Bath, UK and Alexandria University, Egypt); Michael Finus (University of Graz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | Non-cooperative production-based carbon taxes might be set inefficiently low due to the concern of governments about carbon leakage and the loss of competitiveness of their industries. In a strategic trade model, we study the effect of a gradual shift from bilateral production- to unilateral or bilateral consumption-based carbon taxes, considering various forms of border carbon adjustments (BCAs). We analyse the optimal response of two countries in a non-cooperative policy game. We show that if the environmentally more concerned government shifts unilaterally to a consumption-based policy, BCAs on imports create a new incentive for the optimal tax structure. Although profit-shifting and carbon leakage distortions are gradually reduced or even eliminated by combining carbon tariffs with export rebates, the optimal tax may still be below individual marginal damages in strategic setting. In contrast, a bilateral consumption-based tax, could be set equal to or even above individual marginal damages. In equilibrium, all forms of BCAs could allow both governments to set higher carbon taxes than under a bilateral production-based tax regime. However, BCA-regimes which add export rebates to import tariffs should be chosen carefully, as they may actually increase global emissions. |
| Keywords: | Carbon Taxes; Border Carbon Adjustments; Carbon Leakage-shifting Effect; Profit-shifting Effect; Consumer Effect; Tariffs and Export Rebate Income Effect. |
| JEL: | C72 F12 F18 H23 Q58 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grz:wpaper:2020-16&r=all |
| By: | Jay Fuhrman (Department of Engineering Systems and Environment, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA); Andres F. Clarens (Department of Engineering Systems and Environment, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA); Haewon McJeon (Joint Global Change Research Institute, University of Maryland and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, College Park, Maryland, USA); Pralit Patel (Joint Global Change Research Institute, University of Maryland and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, College Park, Maryland, USA); Scott C. Doney (Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA); William M. Shobe (Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA); Shreekar Pradhan (Department of Engineering Systems and Environment, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA) |
| Abstract: | China's pledge to reach carbon neutrality by 2060 is ambitious and could provide the world with much-needed leadership on how to achieve a +1.5 degC warming target above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. But the pathways that would achieve net zero by 2060 are still unclear including the dependence on negative emissions technologies. Here, we use the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM 5.3), a dynamic-recursive, technology-rich integrated assessment model, to simulate how negative emissions technologies, in general, and direct air capture (DAC), in particular, will contribute to China's meeting this target. Our results show that, for China to be net-zero in 2060, it would need to deploy negative emissions technologies (NETs) at very large scales, on the order of 2.5 GtCO2 negative emissions per year with up to 1.5 GtCO2 per year of that coming from DAC. DAC, like other forms of negative emissions, such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage and afforestation is an emerging technology that has not been demonstrated at a commercial scale. Deploying NETs at this scale will have widespread impacts on financial systems and resources availability such as water, land, and energy in China and beyond. |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2010.06723&r=all |
| By: | Alexander Golub; Kristina Govorukha; Philip Mayer; Dirk Rübbelke |
| Abstract: | The effects of extreme weather events, such as heat waves and droughts, are taken into account in both global and European policies. Accordingly, the protection of critical infrastructures and in particular, the resilience of the energy sector was the subject of intense research. There are regional differences in the degree to which extreme events affect the energy sector. In Northern Europe, their intensity has increased dramatically within a decade. In our analysis, we identify emerging risks of extreme weather events, in particular, droughts and high temperatures, for the German power sector. Our analysis is based on extensive datasets comprising temperature and drought data for the last 40 years. We find evidence of a higher frequency of power plants outages as a consequence of droughts and high temperatures. We investigate increases in the wholesale electricity price and price volatility and develop a capacity-adjusted drought index. The results are used to assess the monetary loss of power plant outages due to heat waves and droughts. We stress that increasing frequencies of such extreme weather events will aggravate the observed problem, especially with respect to the transition of the power sector. |
| Keywords: | electricity, utilities, thermal generation, climate change, droughts, weather extremes |
| JEL: | Q40 Q41 Q54 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8613&r=all |
| By: | Simplice A. Asongu (Yaounde, Cameroon); Nicholas M. Odhiambo (Pretoria, South Africa) |
| Abstract: | This research focuses on assessing how improving openness influences CO2 emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is based on 49 countries in SSA for the period 2000-2018 divided into: (i) 44 countries in SSA for the period 2000-2012; and (ii) 49 countries for the period 2006-2018. Openness is measured in terms of trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows. The empirical evidence is based on the Generalised Method of Moments. The following main findings are established. First, enhancing trade openness has a net positive impact on CO2 emissions, while increasing FDI has a net negative impact. Second, the relationship between CO2 emissions and trade is a Kuznets shape, while the nexus between CO2 emissions and FDI inflows is a U-shape. Third, a minimum trade openness (imports plus exports) threshold of 100 (% of GDP) and 200 (% of GDP) is beneficial in promoting a green economy for the first and second sample, respectively. Fourth, FDI is beneficial for the green economy below critical masses of 28.571 of Net FDI inflows (% of GDP) and 33.333 of net FDI inflows (% of GDP) for first and second samples, respectively. It follows from findings that while FDI can be effectively managed to reduce CO2 emissions, this may not be the case with trade openness because the corresponding thresholds for trade openness are closer to the maximum limit. This study complements the extant literature by providing critical masses of Trade and FDI that are relevant in promoting the green economy in Sub-Saharan Africa. |
| Keywords: | CO2 emissions; Economic development; Africa; Sustainable development |
| JEL: | C52 O38 O40 O55 P37 |
| Date: | 2020–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:exs:wpaper:20/072&r=all |
| By: | Pablo Campos; José L. Oviedo; Alejandro Álvarez; Paola Ovando; Bruno Mesa; Alejandro Caparrós |
| Abstract: | Corporations and governments face the challenge of dealing with new demands from social actors to make visible their individual economic activity environmental incomes that they accrue from ecosystem service (ES) and changes in adjusted environmental net worth (CNWead). The System of National Accounts (SNA), the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting-Experimental Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EEA) and the experimental Agroforestry Accounting System (AAS) frameworks are the basis of their comparative refined applications in this research. Our objectives are to measure and aggregate, in a consistent way, the farmer and government individual activity ecosystem services, incomes and environmental assets measured in the same individual dehesa (farm) territorial units. We compare the results of the above three accounting frameworks in 16 large mixed holm oak dehesas (HODs) which are privately-owned by non-industrial landowners (famers) in Andalusia, Spain, and where farmers manage twelve economic activities and the Andalusian regional government manages seven economic activities. In these HODs the economic activities are valued at basic prices by the refined SNA and at social prices by the refined SEEA-EEA and the simplified AAS. Social price in this study is estimated by adding the farmer voluntary unitary opportunity cost twofold, as intermediate product and own intermediate consumption, to the individual activities valued at basic prices. |
| Keywords: | total product consumption; farmer voluntary opportunity cost; ecosystem services; changes in environmental asset; adjusted environmental net worth |
| Date: | 2019–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipp:wpaper:1905&r=all |
| By: | Wes Austin; Stefano Carattini; John Gomez Mahecha; Michael Pesko |
| Abstract: | We examine the relationship between contemporaneous fine particulate matter exposure and COVID-19 morbidity and mortality using an instrumental variable approach based on wind direction. Harnessing daily changes in county-level wind direction, we show that arguably exogenous fluctuations in local air quality impact the rate of confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19. In our preferred high dimensional fixed effects specification with state-level policy and social distancing controls, we find that a one μg/m3 increase in PM 2.5 increases the number of confirmed cases by roughly 2% from the mean case rate in a county. These effects tend to increase in magnitude over longer time horizons, being twice as large over a 3-day period. Meanwhile, a one μg/m3 increase in PM 2.5 increases the same-day death rate by 3% from the mean. Our estimates are robust to a host of sensitivity tests. These results suggest that air pollution plays an important role in mediating the severity of respiratory syndromes such as COVID-19, for which progressive respiratory failure is the primary cause of death, and that policy levers to improve air quality may lead to improvements in COVID-19 outcomes. |
| Keywords: | pollution, air quality, PM 2.5, COVID-19, health, mortality |
| JEL: | D62 I10 Q53 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8609&r=all |
| By: | Ozili, Peterson K |
| Abstract: | Climate change is emerging as an important issue, and has been a cause for increasing uncertainty in the business sector. It is important to understand the effects of climate change events on financial institutions and the financial system. This study analyzes the effect of climate change on financial institutions and the financial system, and show that climate change has serious consequences on the stability of financial institutions through its effect on the counterparties and clients of financial institutions. Climate change also has serious consequences on the stability of the financial system through its effect on financial institutions. |
| Keywords: | Climate change, financial institutions, banks, financial system, financial sector |
| JEL: | G18 G21 G22 G28 Q54 Q56 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:103317&r=all |
| By: | Hasan, Syed M.; Zhang, Wendong |
| Abstract: | This study provides the first empirical estimates of household energy use and carbon emissions from 2005 to 2014 for all Pakistani rural and urban districts, using four rounds of nationwide household survey data. This is significant, because Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world and has the highest population growth rate and urbanization level of all South Asian countries. Following Glaeser and Kahn (2010), we estimate and predict carbon emissions every 2 years during 2005-2014 for each district in Pakistan using household-level survey data on energy consumption. We then rank all districts based on the predicted carbon emissions for representative median households, rating districts with less per capita carbon emissions as greener, and finally explain the changes in the district’s “greenness†rank over time. We find, first, that Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, has the higher per capita emissions, at 1 ton per year in 2013-14, and emission hotspots tend to cluster around urban centers and remote rural areas with heavy reliance on firewood use. Although Pakistan’s major cities’ household carbon emissions are still drastically lower than in the U.S., they are comparable to, and sometimes even higher than, cities in India and China. Second, our results demonstrate the importance of accounting for carbon emissions over time using multiple rounds of surveys—as opposed to focusing on a single year—because 52% of Pakistani districts experienced changes in their greenness rankings over the past decade. Finally, we show that while electricity, gasoline, and natural gas consumption drive carbon emissions in urban districts in Pakistan, firewood accounts for half of all carbon emissions in rural areas in KP and Balochistan provinces. Ignoring household garbage, therefore, would lead to underestimation of the urban carbon footprint by at least 15% in developing countries such as Pakistan. |
| Date: | 2018–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201812010800001089&r=all |
| By: | Pauline Laille (Plante et Cité - Association Plante et Cité); Marianne Lefebvre (GRANEM - Groupe de Recherche Angevin en Economie et Management - UA - Université d'Angers - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - Institut National de l'Horticulture et du Paysage); Masha Maslianskaia-Pautrel (GRANEM - Groupe de Recherche Angevin en Economie et Management - UA - Université d'Angers - AGROCAMPUS OUEST - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement - Institut National de l'Horticulture et du Paysage) |
| Keywords: | Discrete choice experiment,Pesticides,Urban green spaces,Individual preferences,France |
| Date: | 2020–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02867639&r=all |
| By: | Dennis Guignet; Christoper Moore; Haoluan Wang |
| Abstract: | We propose a novel extension of existing semi-parametric approaches to examine spatial patterns of willingness to pay (WTP) and status quo effects, including tests for global spatial autocorrelation, spatial interpolation techniques, and local hotspot analysis. We are the first to formally account for the fact that observed WTP values are estimates, and to incorporate the statistical precision of those estimates into our spatial analyses. We demonstrate our two-step methodology using data from a stated preference survey that elicited values for improvements in water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and lakes in the surrounding watershed. Our methodology offers a flexible way to identify potential spatial patterns of welfare impacts, with the ultimate goal of facilitating more accurate benefit-cost and distributional analyses, both in terms of defining the appropriate extent of the market and in interpolating values within that market. |
| Keywords: | Bayesian; hotspot analysis; semi-parametric; spatial heterogeneity; stated preference; water quality |
| JEL: | C11 C14 Q51 Q53 |
| Date: | 2020–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nev:wpaper:wp202001&r=all |
| By: | Pejman Bahramian (Department of Economics, Queen's University); Glenn Jenkins; Frank Milne (Queen's University) |
| Abstract: | This study uses an ex-post evaluation of the grid-connected wind projects in Ontario, Canada, to quantify the stakeholder impacts of such renewable energy projects. Our study includes a financial, economic and stakeholder analysis of these wind farms. The analysis sheds light on the distributional impacts that arise when there is a significant gap between the incentives created by the financial price paid for electricity generation and the economic value of the electricity generated. The analysis shows that the negotiated power purchase agreements (PPAs) have resulted in a negative outcome for the economy in all circumstances. It is found that the present value of the economic costs is at least three times the present value of the economic benefits, including the global benefits from the reduced CO2 emissions. This loss is borne by all the stakeholders of the electricity system, except the private owners of the wind farms. The losers are primarily the electricity consumers followed by the governments. The Ontario Electricity Rebate (OER) programme, which is financed by increased government borrowing, has the effect of transferring a large share of the costs incurred to promote investments in wind power to future generations of taxpayers in Ontario. |
| Keywords: | economic analysis, electricity, Ontario, wind power |
| JEL: | O55 D61 Q42 |
| Date: | 2020–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qed:wpaper:1442&r=all |
| By: | Johanna Bocklet; Martin Hintermayer |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a discrete-time partial equilibrium model of the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to analyze the impact of the recent reform on allowance prices. By including bounded rationality such as myopia or hedging requirements, we find that the Hotelling price path is no longer visible ex-post even though the Hotelling price rule holds ex-ante in the decision making of the firms. Myopia and hedging requirements have little impact in the pre-reform market but strongly drive market outcomes after the reform. In the post-reform market, hedging requirements in combination with restrictive allowance supply may even cause a physical shortage of allowances. Yet, neither form of bounded rationality can fully explain the market outcomes in the third trading period of the EU ETS. If myopia and hedging requirements are considered simultaneously, the price increase in the EU ETS can be attributed to the reform fundamentals. |
| Keywords: | dynamic optimization, EU ETS, bounded rationality, Hotelling, hedging, myopia |
| JEL: | D91 H32 Q58 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_8579&r=all |
| By: | Zhang, nan; Qin, Botao |
| Abstract: | The formation of reference points has drawn increasing interest ever since the introduction of prospect theory. Given that most studies focus on tradable goods such as stocks, for which the prices are observable, while few have focused on environmental goods. This paper attempts to fill this gap in the literature in this regard. In our experiment, we divided the subjects into buyers and sellers and asked them to trade four PM 2.5 filters using the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak mechanism. We have two treatments in this experiment: a) the experience of seven weeks of heavy air pollution; and b) the receiving of information on the relationship between death rates and air pollution. The different bidding prices for the four PM 2.5 filters in these treatment groups make it possible to trace the adjustment of the reference points as a result of these treatments without having to know their precise values. Our results show that, for buyers, the heavy air pollution drives them to fully downwardly adjust their reference points on air quality. For sellers, however, the reference points adaptation caused by heavy pollution is not a full adaptation. Moreover, the new information on the damage to health from air pollution causes buyers to upwardly adjust their reference points on air quality but does not significantly change the sellers’ reference points. We show that, for both treatments, sellers are more reluctant to adjust their reference points on air quality than are buyers. Our results confirm the asymmetric reference point adaptation in that adaptation after a loss is harder than adaptation after a gain. |
| Keywords: | prospect theory; reference point; asymmetric adaptation; air pollution; BDM auction |
| JEL: | C90 D44 Q53 |
| Date: | 2020–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:102935&r=all |
| By: | Saito, Nagayuki; Fukushima, Nao; Jifuku, Etsuko; Takabe, Yumiko; Nakajima, Yasuhiro; Eguchi, Kiyotaka |
| Abstract: | In recent years, many natural disasters have occurred in Japan. As a means for providing information in the event of such a disaster, online media has emerged as a valuable resource. In this study, we analyze the online-media usage tendencies of victims evacuating from Typhoon No. 19 through questionnaire data. The results of cluster analysis and comparative analysis of evacuees' attributes demonstrate that acquiring evacuation information from online media is an information-seeking action similar to obtaining information from one's friends, acquaintances, and neighbors. Such behavior is a self-exploratory information gathering behavior. Therefore, as regards the direction of online media utilization in future of natural disasters, it should be an effective means for to collecting local disaster information from users; then this information can be utilized for disaster countermeasures. |
| Keywords: | online media,natural disaster,evacuees,evacuation,information-seeking |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itso20:224874&r=all |
| By: | Kilkki, Kalevi |
| Abstract: | All ecosystem models are just rough approximations of reality. In the case of communications ecosys-tems, numerous actors interact with each other and create an incredibly complex process that tends to depress even the most diligent modeler. In recent decades, various methods have been used to solve this dilemma. This paper provides an account of some of the methods, including system dynamics, agent-based modeling, and value network analysis. In addition, an ecosystem model implemented in a spread-sheet format is discussed in more detail. An ecosystem model can be used to assess the relative im-portance of different factors, such as pricing and service quality on the profitability of service providers. Extensive ecosystem models are useful for enhancing our understanding of the complex processes occurring in ecosystems. In contrast, the models are hardly applicable for predicting how an ecosystem will evolve in the long term, because no ecosystem model can include all the influencing factors. |
| Keywords: | Modeling,ecosystems,mobile services,quality of service |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:itso20:224862&r=all |
| By: | Ahmed, M. F.; Gao, Y.; Satchell, S. |
| Abstract: | Existing approaches have considered characteristics of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) focused investments from a return-oriented perspective, not paying due consideration to investors’ utility and how ESG features impact utility. We contribute to this literature by providing a model that captures the implications for investment if ESG is valued by the investor as well as wealth. We first present the necessary theory and discuss the rather challenging problem of calibration of the various risk and preference parameters. Using Thomson Reuters ESG data from 2002 to 2018, we provide further empirical evidence that investors who value ESG factors have improved utilities which does not come at the cost of return performance. |
| Keywords: | ESG, Sustainable Investing, Demand Model, Investors’ Utility |
| JEL: | G11 G12 G14 G23 G34 |
| Date: | 2020–10–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:2093&r=all |
| By: | Li, Gang |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the role of endogenous capital accumulation in the interaction between trade and the environment in a two-country, two-sector model. Atomic households follow a simple rule of saving: higher the real interest rate, higher the saving rate is. In autarky, the real interest rate depends only on the quality of the environment, and investment provides a channel allowing for the trade-off between the amount of factor of production and the quality of the environment. In free trade, the real interest rate depends on i) terms of trade if the environmentally sensitive sector (agriculture) is shut down, or ii) both terms of trade and the quality of the environment if agriculture is still active. In either case, the real interest rate jumps right after trade liberalization due to terms of trade improvement, which boosts investment and causes capital accumulation. This scale effect dominates in the long run, causing environmental degradation even if the economy specializes in the relatively clean sector. Trade improves the total world consumption and the country preserving agriculture has relatively better environment in the long run. |
| Keywords: | Environment; intertemporal optimization; investment; environmentally sensitive |
| JEL: | F18 Q20 |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:103470&r=all |
| By: | Pamela Mcelwee (Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University); Esther Turnout (Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen University); Mireille Chiroleu-Assouline (PSE - Paris School of Economics, UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne); Jennifer Clapp (School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo); Cindy Isenhour (Department of Anthropology & Climate Change Institute, University of Maine); Tim Jackson (Center for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, University of Surrey); Eszter Kelemen (ESSRG ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH GROUP HUN - Partenaires IRSTEA - IRSTEA - Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture); Daniel Miller (Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign); Graciela Rusch (NINA - Norwegian Institute for Nature Research); Joachim Spangenberg (SERI - Sustainable Europe Research Institute); Anthony Waldron (Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Cambridge University); Rupert Baumgartner (University of Graz); Brent Bleys (Ghent University); Michael Howard (University of Maine); Eric Mungatana (University of Pretoria [South Africa]); Hien Ngo (IPBES); Irene Ring (Technische Universität Dresden); Rui Ferreira dos Santos (Center for Environmental and Sustainability Research (CENSE), NOVA School of Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon,) |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02954370&r=all |
| By: | Abraham Londono Pineda; Jose Alejandro Cano; Lissett Pulgarin |
| Abstract: | This article explores the challenges for the adoption of scrubbers and low sulfur fuels on ship manufacturers and shipping companies. Results show that ship manufacturers, must finance their working capital and operating costs, which implies an increase in the prices of the ships employing these new technologies. On the other hand, shipping companies must adopt the most appropriate technology according to the areas where ships navigate, the scale economies of trade routes, and the cost-benefit analysis of ship modernization. |
| Date: | 2020–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2009.09547&r=all |
| By: | Alejandro Caparrós |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes a multilateral bargain game motivated by the Paris Agreement on climate change. Countries submit pledges, which can be revoked although this implies reputational costs. Pledges, which do not need to be accepted by other countries, detail intended abatement efforts and can be conditional or unconditional, according to whether they depend on transfers. As the process is repeated, incomplete long-term provisions are also considered. The analysis shows the conditions under which, despite its weakness, the Paris Agreement can bring the world to the first best, or at least closer. It also details how to improve the current agreement. |
| Keywords: | Bargaining Theory; Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Global Warming |
| JEL: | C73 C78 H41 Q54 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipp:wpaper:2003&r=all |
| By: | Oo, Than Zaw; Lambrecht, Isabel; Headey, Derek D.; Goudet, Sophie |
| Keywords: | MYANMAR, BURMA, SOUTHEAST ASIA, ASIA, Coronavirus, coronavirus disease, Coronavirinae, COVID-19, social impact, economic impact, rural areas, urban areas, surveys, policies, households, phone surveys, COVID-19 prevention measures |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:myansn:5&r=all |
| By: | Li, Chao; Hayes, Dermot J.; Jacobs, Keri L. |
| Abstract: | The supply chain connecting biofuel processing firms and suppliers of biomass is evolving, and processors face a choice in the collection and pricing strategies they will employ to procure biomass. One option is to pay a single price for biomass collected field-side (processor collection). Another is to pay a single price for biomass at the plant gate (supplier delivery). The literature in this area is relatively young, but there is a sense that the evolution of contracting and pricing structures will dictate the industry’s success, and ultimately the costs of producing biofuels from dedicated and non-dedicated energy crops. We examine the collection and pricing choices for a cost-minimizing cellulosic biofuel processor, who initially has monopsony power in feedstock procurement in their collection area. We derive optimal prices, total expenditures on feedstocks, and the collection areas required to meet a processor’s fixed input needs. We show that while societal welfare is greatest under supplier delivery; however, the processor will be indifferent between supplier delivery and processor collection unless they are concerned about entry of a competing processor. When this is the case, the processor can use the processorcollection mechanism as an effective deterrent to entry. Numerical simulation based on corn stover for biomass is used to illustrate optimal pricing and the extent of biomass collection areas for different procurement and pricing strategies. We use these findings to calculate the rates at which collection costs increase for a monopsonistic stover processor constrained to a defined procurement area, as might emerge as the industry moves towards commercialization. The derived marginal cost curve for a monopsonistic processor of stover is compared with the marginal cost curve across alternative feedstocks. |
| Date: | 2018–10–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isu:genstf:201810180700001650&r=all |
| By: | Matti Liski (Aalto University); Francois Salanie (Toulouse School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | How to plan for catastrophes that may be under way? In a simple but general model of experimentation, a decision-maker chooses a flow variable contributing to a stock that may trigger a catastrophe at each untried level. Once triggered, the catastrophe itself occurs only after a stochastic delay. Consequently, the rhythm of past experimentations determines the arrival of information. This has strong implications for policies in situations where the planner inherits a history of experiments, like climate change and pandemic crisis. The structure encompasses canonical approaches in the literature. |
| Keywords: | catastrophe, experimentation, delay. |
| JEL: | C61 D81 Q54 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fae:wpaper:2020.20&r=all |
| By: | Beintema, Nienke M.; Echeverria, Ruben G. |
| Abstract: | The primary role of international public agricultural research is undoubtedly to address key social, environmental, and economic goals at the global level. Further, there is consensus that investment must be accelerated in research-based innovations focusing on sustainable food systems. And given the relatively weak situation of many national agricultural research systems in the global South, it is imperative to reach economies of scale in investments in international initiatives. It is not yet clear, however, how much additional investment is needed or how scarce resources should be allocated across priority research-for-development challenges. At the international level, growing consensus indicates that—in addition to increasing funding—far greater harmonization is needed in funding and executing research in order to more effectively tackle global agricultural research challenges. Growing opportunities for technology spillovers and research alliances to occur across national, regional, and international boundaries necessitates the ability to access new technological knowledge from a variety of sources. And since access to new technologies is closely related to the capacity to generate new technologies, the need to strengthen and harmonize national, regional, and global research systems becomes even more of a priority. Although the role, contributions, and impacts of the CGIAR have been analyzed by many authors, only a few have summarized the recent evolution of its financing. This note is intended to contribute to reflections on the CGIAR’s first 50 years, which it will celebrate in 2021, while also providing a useful reference for the current “One CGIAR” governance and management transformation. |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:astisn:september2020&r=all |
| By: | Djemaci, Brahim; Khelafi, Hakima; Fedghouche, Youssera |
| Abstract: | The deposit-refund-system combines a tax between producer and consumer that is refunded if the packaging is used for recycling. This system can be used for plastic, cardboard and aluminum packaging, in addition to batteries, and electronic machinery. The deposit-refund system is based on automatic distributors or sorting centers to return the paid deposit. It has several advantages such as the reduction of the quantities of waste put in landfills or landfill, and on the other hand the increase of recycled materials as well as the reduction of the costs of management of household waste |
| Keywords: | waste; recyclage.; deposit refund system;taxe.; |
| JEL: | H23 Q53 |
| Date: | 2020–09–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:103580&r=all |
| By: | Dominique Roux (REGARDS - Recherches en Économie Gestion AgroRessources Durabilité Santé- EA 6292 - URCA - Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne - MSH-URCA - Maison des Sciences Humaines de Champagne-Ardenne - URCA - Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne); Marie Schill (REGARDS - Recherches en Économie Gestion AgroRessources Durabilité Santé- EA 6292 - URCA - Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne - MSH-URCA - Maison des Sciences Humaines de Champagne-Ardenne - URCA - Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne) |
| Abstract: | This research proposes a consumer perspective on waste prevention by examining how individuals cope with public discourses about reducing, reusing and recycling material possessions. We confront consumers' sayings and doings with three objectives put forward by public authorities about waste prevention: raising awareness, improving material efficacy, and promoting sustainable consumption. A qualitative-based methodology with 25 participants shows that waste is mostly equated with destroying and non-using objects, much less with buying as its primary trigger. Consumers also highlight the difficulty to fully optimize the use of their products as well as the lack of channels to recirculate unwanted, unused or broken things. Finally, they show that objects tend to stagnate in the home, a reality that is inadequately captured by public authorities through waste collection and recycling systems. |
| Keywords: | waste prevention,material possessions,public policy discourses |
| Date: | 2019–05–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02877091&r=all |