|
on Regulation |
| By: | Kendall, Alissa; Ambrose, Hanjiro; Maroney, Erik A. |
| Abstract: | In the United States, vehicle emissions are responsible for 29% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with the majority of these coming from light-duty vehicles. To reduce GHG emissions, the U.S. has adopted policies to support the development and deployment of low-carbon fuels and zero emission vehicles (ZEVs—e.g., plug-in hybrid electric vehicles [PHEVs] and battery electric vehicles [EVs]). Most current policies focus on emissions from vehicle operation only, omitting significant contributions from vehicle production and other parts of the vehicle and energy life cycle. GHG emissions from vehicle operation and even from operation plus production are almost always lower for EVs than for conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (see Figure). However, as EVs become more efficient, low-carbon electricity becomes more common, and the size of the global EV fleet increases, emissions from production and other non-operation parts of the life cycle become increasingly important. Researchers at UC Davis studied: (i) the effect of different factors on life cycle emissions; (ii) the impact of excluding life cycle emissions from policies; and (iii) potential strategies that might be used to effectively incorporate life cycle emissions in light-duty vehicle GHG policy. This policy brief summarizes the findings from that project. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Law, Physical Sciences and Mathematics, Electric batteries, Electric power plants, Electric vehicles, Exhaust gases, Greenhouse gases, Life cycle analysis, Manufacturing, Plug-in hybrid vehicles, Regulations, Sales, Standards |
| Date: | 2019–10–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt9gg7f0ft&r=all |
| By: | Taiebat, Morteza; Stolper, Samuel; Xu, Ming |
| Abstract: | Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) are expected to yield significant improvements in safety, energy efficiency, and time utilization. However, their net effect on energy and environmental outcomes is unclear. Higher fuel economy reduces the energy required per mile of travel, but it also reduces the fuel cost of travel, incentivizing more travel and causing an energy “rebound effect.” Moreover, CAVs are predicted to vastly reduce the time cost of travel, inducing further increases in travel and energy use. In this paper, we forecast the induced travel and rebound from CAVs using data on existing travel behavior. We develop a microeconomic model of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) choice under income and time constraints; then we use it to estimate elasticities of VMT demand with respect to fuel and time costs, with fuel cost data from the 2017 United States National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) and wage-derived predictions of travel time cost. Our central estimate of the combined price elasticity of VMT demand is -0.4, which differs substantially from previous estimates. We also find evidence that wealthier households have more elastic demand, and that households at all income levels are more sensitive to time costs than to fuel costs. We use our estimated elasticities to simulate VMT and energy use impacts of full, private CAV adoption under a range of possible changes to the fuel and time costs of travel. We forecast a 2-47% increase in travel demand for an average household. Our results indicate that backfire – i.e., a net rise in energy use – is a possibility, especially in higher income groups. This presents a stiff challenge to policy goals for reductions in not only energy use but also traffic congestion and local and global air pollution, as CAV use increases. |
| Date: | 2019–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:lawarx:dk6qv&r=all |
| By: | Marius Buchmann |
| Abstract: | The increasing share of renewables in the electricity system results in congestion on all network levels. To address this congestion, the EU Commission proposed that distribution network operators become responsible for local congestion management. Within this paper we analyze the institutional implications of the introduction of local congestion markets and identify three discrimination concerns related to the DSO’s role on these markets. We will argue that the standard governance models (legal unbundling, ownership unbundling, IDSO) are not adequate here. Instead, we discuss two novel approaches: The introduction of Independent Distribution Operators (IDO) or alternatively, a Common Flexibility Platform (CFP). Since the CFP does not require stronger unbundling of DSOs, we recommend to investigate this solution further. |
| Keywords: | local congestion market, congestion management, regulation, unbundling, discrimination |
| JEL: | D47 L52 L L97 L98 |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bei:00bewp:0031&r=all |
| By: | KAPSARC, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center) |
| Abstract: | The world of energy is always undergoing transition, but the nature of the current phase of the transition is subject to a wide spectrum of interpretations that are often colored by bias and aspirations for a particular future end-point. In its simplest form, the energy transition is characterized by changes in the global fuel mix, the rapid growth in renewable energy, emerging new transportation patterns and the rapid implementation of new energy technologies. The drive for energy decarbonization is often perceived to underpin all these changes, but in many cases decarbonization is just a result of an ongoing trajectory led by technological innovation. In response to this transition, resource holders have renewed their efforts to adopt new strategies, while in consuming countries energy companies and the financial sector realign to a new reality. Is the energy transition going according to plan and how will the world of energy look in future years? |
| Keywords: | Battery technology, Coal, Decarbonization, Electric vehicles (EVs), Energy demand, Energy mix, Energy transition, Europe, Fuel economy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Liquified Natural Gas, Natural Gas, Nuclear Energy, Oil export revenue, Photovaltaic Manufacturing, Renewable energy, Shared mobility, Transportation |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:prc:wbrief:ks--2018-wb16&r=all |
| By: | KAPSARC, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center) |
| Abstract: | Personal automotive travel is associated with many negative externalities, including air pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and traffic congestion. The current cost of driving for motorists does not necessarily account for the costs associated with these externalities. Policymakers are employing a portfolio of policy instruments, including taxes, subsidies, mandates, restrictions, and transit investment, to transfer the costs of these externalities to motorists and the automotive industry. |
| Keywords: | Mobility, Fuel Efficiency Incentives, Automobile Transport, Transportation Policy |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:prc:wbrief:ks--2019-wb25&r=all |
| By: | KAPSARC, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center) |
| Abstract: | An effective transport policy framework would take into account the costs of rising local pollution, congestion, accidents and global greenhouse gas emissions. The various supply- and demand- side transformations happening in personal mobility provide policymakers with opportunities and challenges for addressing these externalities. |
| Keywords: | Automation, Climate change, Electric vehicles, Carbon tax, Decarbonization, Fuel economy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG), Mobility, Oil Demand, Policy framework, Regulatrory incentives, Ride-sharing, Transportation |
| Date: | 2018–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:prc:wbrief:ks--2018-wb13&r=all |
| By: | Pereira, Rafael Henrique Moreas |
| Abstract: | Public transport policies play a key role in shaping the social and spatial structure of cities. These policies influence how easily people can access opportunities, including health and educational services and job positions. The accessibility impacts of transport policies thus have important implications for social inequalities and for the promotion of just and inclusive cities. However, in the transportation literature, there is still little theoretically informed understanding of justice and what it means in the context of transport policies. Moreover, few studies have moved beyond descriptive analyses of accessibility inequalities to evaluate how much those inequalities result from transport policies themselves. This is particularly true in cities from the global South, where accessibility and equity have so far remained marginal concerns in the policy realm. This thesis builds on theories of distributive justice and examines how they can guide the evaluation of transport policies and plans. It points to pathways for rigorous assessment of the accessibility impacts of transport policies and it contributes to current discussions on transportation equity. A justice framework is developed to assess the distributional effects of transport policies. This framework is then applied to evaluate recent transport policies developed in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) in preparation to host sports mega-events, such as the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, which included substantial expansion of the rail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) infrastructure. This research presents ex-post analyses of the policies implemented between 2014 and 2017 and ex-ante analysis of an as yet unfinished BRT project. It evaluates how the planned transport legacy of those mega-events impacted accessibility to sports venues, healthcare facilities, public schools and job opportunities for different income groups. The results show that there were overall accessibility benefits from the expansion in transport infrastructure between 2014 and 2017, but these were generally offset by the reduction in bus service levels that followed an economic crisis that hit the city after the Olympics. Quasi-counterfactual analysis suggests that, even if the city had not been hit by the economic crisis, recent transport investments related to mega-events would have led to higher accessibility gains for wealthier groups and increased inequalities in access to opportunities. Results suggest that those investments had, or would have had, greater impact on inequalities of access to jobs than in access to schools and healthcare facilities. The evaluation of the future accessibility impacts of the unfinished BRT corridor, nonetheless, indicates that such project could significantly improve access to job opportunities for a large share of Rio’s population, particularly lower-income groups. Spatial analysis techniques show that the magnitude and statistical significance of these results depend on the spatial scale and travel time threshold selected for cumulative opportunity accessibility analysis. These results demonstrate that the ad-hoc methodological choices of accessibility analysis commonly used in the academic and policy literature can change the conclusions of equity assessments of transportation projects. |
| Date: | 2018–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:thesis:d2qvm&r=all |
| By: | Shuhei Nishitateno (School of Policy Studies, Kwansei Gakuin University); Paul J Burke (Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University) |
| Abstract: | About 2.6 million non-compliant vehicles were removed from designated metropolitan areas in Japan after the introduction of vehicle registration restrictions under the 1992 Automobile NOx Control Law. Based on a difference-in-differences framework and using a monitor-level panel dataset for the period January 1981–December 2015, we find that the intervention led to a 3–6% reduction in the monthly mean ambient concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the treated areas. Back-of-the-envelope calculations identify benefits equal to about US$104 million as a result of reduced mortality from asthma. |
| Date: | 2019–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:een:ccepwp:1904&r=all |
| By: | Arthur Grimes (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Dominic White (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | We examine: (i) which groups have a lower likelihood of being digitally included in New Zealand, and (ii) how digital inclusion relates to wellbeing. Using four large-scale surveys, we identify several groups whose members are prone to relatively low internet access: people living in social housing; disabled individuals; Pasifika; M?ori; people living in larger country towns (10,000-25,000 people); older members of society (particularly those aged over 75 years); unemployed people and those not actively seeking work. Those in social housing and disabled people are particularly disadvantaged with respect to internet access. Disabled people are also at greater risk than others from a virus infection or other internet interference. We identify a number of associative (but not necessarily causal) relationships between internet access and wellbeing. Those with internet access tend to have higher wellbeing and richer social capital outcomes (e.g. voting) than those without access. For adolescents, as internet use on weekdays outside of school increases, students’ subjective wellbeing declines; once daily internet use exceeds about two hours, we find no positive association between internet use and adolescents’ wellbeing. These results are of particular interest given that 15% of 15-year olds (including 27% of M?ori students) report using the internet for more than 6 hours per day on a weekday outside of school, while over half report more than two hours’ use. |
| Keywords: | internet, digital inclusion, wellbeing, social capital |
| JEL: | H42 H54 I31 |
| Date: | 2019–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:19_17&r=all |
| By: | Brown, David P. (University of Alberta, Department of Economics); Eckert, Andrew (University of Alberta, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Using data from Alberta's wholesale electricity market, we demonstrate the empirical challenges that can arise when employing empirical methodologies to characterize a firm's unilateral profit-maximizing offer curve. We illustrate that such residual demand analyses can result in non-monotonic, downward sloping, optimal best response offer curves violating restrictions imposed on bidding behaviour. We show that this arises because of the highly non-linear nature of residual demand functions firms can face in practice. We find that firms could have achieved the vast majority of expected profits by employing an offer curve that represents a monotonically smoothed version of the often non-monotonic optimal offer curves. Our findings shine light onto empirical challenges associated with commonly employed equilibrium models to analyze firm behaviour in restructured electricity markets. Further, our analysis illustrates that the failure to account for these empirical challenges may lead researchers to incorrect conclusions regarding observed firm behaviour. These findings stress the importance of accounting for regulatory and practical constraints firms face when modeling bidding behaviour in these multi-unit, uniform priced, procurement auctions. |
| Keywords: | Electricity; Market Power; Regulation |
| JEL: | D43 L40 L51 L94 Q48 |
| Date: | 2019–10–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:2019_015&r=all |
| By: | Burgess, Robin; Greenstone, Michael; Ryan, Nicholas; Sudarshan, Anant |
| JEL: | N0 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:102466&r=all |
| By: | KAPSARC, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center) |
| Abstract: | Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is one of a limited number of ways to reach the Paris Agreement’s objective of net-zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the second half of this century. The world’s remaining carbon budget of 900 gigatonnes (Gt) will become depleted around 2040 at the current emissions rate of some 40 Gt per year. Deploying CCS at scale provides an economically feasible way of achieving the net-zero objective. A recent KAPSARC publication, “A Mechanism for CCS in the Post-Paris Era,” developed the concept of a new CCS-specific technology mechanism under Article 6 of the Agreement that could overcome historical barriers to the deployment of CCS. This would take the form of a new tradable asset or carbon storage unit (CSU) representing one verified tonne of CO2 stored or sequestered geologically with no intrinsic emissions reduction value. |
| Keywords: | Paris agreement, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), Carbon Dioxide emissions (CO2), |
| Date: | 2019–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:prc:wbrief:ks--2019-wb27&r=all |