Executive Summary:
The Institute for Policy Integrity surveyed a group of the top economic experts on climate change to solicit their views on several key questions that affect climate change policy. The pool of economists was selected by searching the top twenty‐five economics journals over the past fifteen years [...]
Abstract: In many countries environmental policies and regulations are implemented to improve environmental quality and thus individuals’ well-being. However, how do individuals value the environment? In this paper, we review the Life Satisfaction Approach (LSA) representing a new non-market valuation technique. The LSA builds on the recent development of [...]
Abstract: Observed tradeoffs between monetary returns and fatality risk identify estimates of the value of a statistical life (VSL), which inform public policy and quantify preferences for environmental quality, health and safety. To date, few investigations have estimated the VSL associated with tradeoffs between returns from natural resource extraction [...]
Abstract. Isabel Mendes and Isabel Proença applied count-data travel cost methods to a truncated sample of visitors, to estimate the average CS per each day of visit of an individual, visiting the Peneda- Gerês National Park to enjoy their natural facilities for recreation purposes. As the recreation demand was [...]
Abstract: ... This paper presents the results of an analysis of the potential cost-effectiveness of different policy options aimed to foster the production and consumption of energy-efficient appliances in different European countries. Our results suggest that incentives to promote the use of energy-efficient appliances can be cost-effective, but whether [...]
Abstract: Douglas Almond, Lena Edlund and Mårten Palme use prenatal exposure to Chernobyl fallout in Sweden as a natural experiment inducing variation in cognitive ability. Students born in regions of Sweden with higher fallout performed worse in secondary school, in mathematics in particular. Damage is accentuated within families (i.e., [...]
With public money at stake, councils are expected to subject all their decisions to a rigorous review process.
However, one has been accused of taking the practice to absurd lengths after establishing a scrutiny panel to scrutinise the actions of its scrutiny panels.
Wealden District Council said a [...]
Despite a challenging economic outlook, green building will support 7.9 million U.S. jobs and pump $554 billion into the American economy – including $396 billion in wages – over the next four years (2009-2013), according to a new study from the U.S. Green Building Council and Booz Allen Hamilton. [...]
Abstract: The Kakamega Forest is the only remaining tropical rainforest fragment in Western Kenya and hosts large numbers of endemic animal and plant species. Protected areas were established decades ago in order to preserve the forest's unique biodiversity from being converted into agricultural land by the regions large number [...]
Abstract: Wind is the fastest growing renewable energy source for generating electricity, but economic research lags behind. In this study, therefore, we examine the economics of integrating large-scale wind energy into an existing electrical grid. Using a simple grid management model to investigate the impact of various levels of [...]
[www.BottomLineGreenCities.com.]
In their new book, “Bottom Line Green,” NLC Past President James Hunt and co-author Mike Conduff present 10 strategies city leaders can use to effectively reduce municipal energy use and save taxpayer dollars while also relieving pressure on natural resources. To demonstrate the practical application of their recommendations, the [...]
Abstract: Green electricity is energy that is generated from renewable energy sources such as solar power, wind power, small-scale hydroelectric power, tidal power, and biomass power. These sources mostly do not produce pollutants and are considered environmentally friendly. However, considering the current state of technology, they are more costly. [...]
The National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) and the Association of the Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA) released a report icon-pdf today detailing the impacts climate change can have on wastewater and drinking water utilities and estimating the adaptation costs for these critical facilities to be between $448 billion [...]
Abstract: In this study, over 1,200 home sales in 1998-2007 are aggregated into four study areas with a 345-kV transmission line. Field data are collected on the sale properties relative to proximity to and visibility of transmission line towers, and the extent of encumbrance by a transmission line easement. [...]
Abstract: Energy Security is of increasing importance in today’s world, yet little research has been carried out on the costs or benefits of energy security policies. This paper looks at the period after the 1970s to estimate the cost premium of electricity generation due to energy security policies. The [...]
By using ad hoc value transfer protocols, this paper offers a methodological contribution and provides accurate per hectare estimates of the economic value of some selected ecosystem services for all forest biomes in the world, identified following the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment taxonomy MEA. The research also estimates potential total [...]
On Autust 14, 2009 Todd Bishop wrote in his blog
One study estimated that changes in Windows Vista — mostly changes in the operating system’s “sleep” mode — could benefit the environment in the U.S. as much as taking 380,000 cars off the road.
...
The next version of the [...]
Introduction and Summary:
The main source of insurance against flood damage in the United States is the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Some 21,000 communities, covering about 98 percent of the U.S. population, participate in the program. Almost all buildings in [...]
Abstract: Nitrogen (N) losses from agriculture are negatively impacting groundwater, air, and surface water quality. National, state, and local policies and procedures that can mitigate these problems are needed. Market-based approaches where waste treatment plants (point sources) can purchase nutrient credits from upstream agricultural operations (non-point sources) to meet [...]
On October 13, 2009 Environmental Defense urged the California Energy Commission (CEC) to adopt the nation's first energy efficiency standards for big screen TVs that will save consumers money, cut energy use and reduce global warming pollution....
...
The standards require new TVs sold in California with screens less [...]
Abstract: Governments around the world have adopted ambitious targets to increase the share of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They pursue a variety of policy approaches to achieve these targets. It has been a popular theme for contributions in Energy Policy to investigate the effectiveness of such [...]
On November 05, 2009 Liberty Mutual Group, announced that its 10 St. James Avenue building, a 585,000 square foot Class A office building located in Boston’s Back Bay, has been awarded LEED Silver Certification for Existing Buildings Operations and Maintenance (LEED EB O&M) by the United States Green Building [...]
Abstract: Korea is considering the construction of a tidal power plant (TPP) at Garolim Bay. However, as the construction of the Garolim TPP (GTPP) is expected to entail some environmental damage, it has become an increasingly important topic for public debate. Using a choice experiment (CE) approach, this study [...]
Abstract: Since the late 1970s the central government of China has initiated several ecological environmental protection projects. The most significant of these has been the tui geng huan lin (returning cultivated land to forest and pasture) project in operation since the late 1990s. China's northwest region is characterized by [...]
Although significant clean-tech investments are being made in America, the United States risks losing ground to other nations -- such as China and South Korea -- that are pursuing aggressive clean-tech growth initiatives, according to a report being released on October 22, 2009 by Green America and Clean Edge [...]
Green building activity has sustained impressive growth during 2009, amid a brutal construction market that has decimated other segments of the construction marketplace, according to the 2009 Green Building Market & Impact Report published on November 5, 2009 by GreenerBuildings.com.
According to report author Rob Watson, floor area registered and [...]
by Kyriaki Remoundou 1, Phoebe Koundouri 1, Areti Kontogianni 2, Paulo A.L.D. Nunes 3 and Michalis Skourtos 2
1. Department of International and European Economic Studies, Athens University of Economics and Business, 76 Patission Street, 104 34 Athens, Greece
2. University of Aegean, Faculty of the Environment, 81100 Mytilini, [...]
As the GreenFleet Conference 2009 kicks off this morning in Chicago, fleet managers have access to comprehensive online tools and materials to help them cut costs and emissions. Available at [edf.org], the tools unveiled on October 19, 2009 by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) assist companies in reaching out [...]
According to the latest analysis by New Energy Finance, the value of the world carbon market fell by 21% from Q2 to Q3. This is largely due to a drop in activity in the European emissions market compared to Q2. Traded volumes in the North American and international offset [...]
Analysts at Point Carbon have created a new model to forecast prices for carbon allowances under an emission trading system in the United States. A bill establishing a cap-and-trade programme in the US is currently being debated by Congress.
The ... provider of market analysis for the energy and environmental [...]
Abstract:
Methane is a major anthropogenic greenhouse gas, second only to carbon dioxide (CO2) in its impact on climate change. Methane (CH4) has a high global warming potential that is 25 times as large as the one of CO2 on a 100 year time horizon according to the latest [...]
Abstract: This paper analyses the role of global land management alternatives in determining potential greenhouse gas mitigation by land-based activities in agriculture and forestry. Land-based activities are responsible for over a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet the economics of land-use decisions have not been explicitly modeled in [...]
Abstract: Algal bloom arises in part from anthropogenic emissions of nutrients into the coastal zone. Increased interest in water quality in coastal and marine areas stemming from the Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive leads to important questions in terms of policies to address nutrient loadings. [...]
Abstract: Water rates are designed to meet multiple objectives, typically resulting in trade-offs among the objectives of economic efficiency, revenue sufficiency, and related revenue stability. Standard theory of natural monopoly is extended here to explain why long-run marginal cost (LMC) can be greater than both average cost and short-run [...]
Point Carbon identified the winners and losers in a proposed cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in its latest report Carbon Exposure unveiled on November 2, 2009 at its annual fall conference Carbon Market Insights Americas. Within the power and oil sectors, representing 40% of [...]
Summary: WITCH is an energy-economy-climate model developed by the climate change group at the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM). The model has been extensively used in the past 3 years for the economic analysis of climate change policies. WITCH is a hybrid top-down economic model with a representation of [...]
Abstract: Solar photovoltaic (SPV) power plants have a long working life with zero fuel cost and negligible maintenance costs but requires huge initial investments. The generation cost of solar electricity is mainly the cost of financing the initial investment. Therefore, the generation cost of solar electricity in different years [...]
Abstract: This paper presents a cost–benefit analysis of the Stockholm congestion charging system, based on the observed rather than on the model-forecasted data. The most important data sources are travel time and traffic flow measurements made in the year before the charges were introduced (during April 2005) and during [...]
Abstract: This paper reviews the methods and technologies for congestion pricing of roads. Congestion tolls can be implemented at scales ranging from individual lanes on single links to national road networks. Tolls can be differentiated by time of day, road type and vehicle characteristics, and even set in real [...]
On October 29, 2009, the Save The Waves Coalition announced the preliminary results from its second “Surfonomics” study, a measure of the economic value of the world-famous big-wave break at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California. The study found that the surfing site and area has an estimated economic [...]
From the publisher:
Cost?Benefit Analysis (CBA) is one of the most useful tools of applied economics for the social appraisal of public projects and government policies. This textbook shows how CBA can be applied to environmental policy choice and environmental resource management. It covers the conceptual underpinnings of CBA, [...]
Summary: This analysis provides an example of how biodiversity can be measured by means of different indicators, and how the latter can be used to assess the influence of the biodiversity profile of a region on the tourism flows towards it. Previous studies have considered environmental amenities as one [...]
According to Tom Zeller Jr. writing in the November 1, 2009 New York Times:
News last week of the first major influx of Chinese capital and wind turbine manufacturing expertise into the renewable energy market in the United States — a 600-megawatt wind farm planned for the plains of west [...]
...
Representatives McDermott (D-WA) and Petri (R-WI) have introduced H.R. 3503, the Salmon Solutions and Planning Act, to help save billions of taxpayer dollars by ensuring that the best available science and economics are used to recover salmon to the Columbia and Snake River Basin. If action is not [...]
Executive Summary
Applying comprehensive green methods and materials to affordable housing developments invariably raises two hotly debated questions: 1) How much do these measures cost? and 2) Are these measures cost-effective? In-depth answers to both questions are now available from Enterprise Community Partners. This report shares findings from our [...]
Abstract: Beach nourishment is a popular policy beach management option in many parts of the US Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. The value of beach width is an important factor that enters the benefit-cost calculus of beach replenishment decisions. Previous studies have consistently shown a positive influence of beach width [...]
Abstract: Given the focus on protecting natural assets in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia, it is important for managers and policy makers to understand the value of recreational fishing in the area, and how changes in management may affect those recreational values. Travel cost methods were [...]
Executive Summary
By some estimates, agricultural practices account for 20 percent of India’s total greenhouse gas (GSG) emissions; thus, cost-effective reductions in agricultural emissions could significantly lower India’s overall emissions.
Gerald C. Nelson, Richard Robertson, Siwa Msangi, Tingju Zhu, Xiaoli Liao and Puja Jawajar explore mitigation options for three agricultural [...]
Summary: Anna Alberini, Stefania Tonin, Margherita Turvani use conjoint choice questions to investigate people's tastes for cancer risk reductions and income in the context of public programs that would provide for remediation at abandoned industrial contaminated sites. Their survey was self-administered using the computer by persons living in the [...]
GDAE’s research program on Agricultural Expansion and Climate Change has published a new Working Paper highlighting the environmental costs of agricultural expansion in the Amazon. For decades, the improvement of transportation infrastructure in the Brazilian Amazon has been the government’s main social and economic development policy in the region. [...]
According to Steven Erlanger and Maia de la Baume writing in the October 30, 2009 New York Times:
Residents here can rent a sturdy bicycle from hundreds of public stations and pedal to their destinations, an inexpensive, healthy and low-carbon alternative to hopping in a car or bus.
But this latest [...]
[www.greenfiscalcommission.org.uk]
Executive Summary:
The concept of a green tax shift is simple: taxes on the things that are valued by society; like jobs, incomes and profits; are reduced and the lost revenue is replaced by taxes on things society does not like, such as pollution and environmental degradation. ‘Pay as [...]
by Paulo A.L.D. Nunes 1, Helen Ding 1 and 2 Anil Markandya 3 and 4
1. Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
2. Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
3. University of Bath, UK BC3
4. Basque Centre for Climate Change
Abstract: In a democratic system, policy makers have to take the [...]
Abstract: This study examines the impacts of trails and greenbelts and other amenities on home value. Using [a] hedonic framework the study provides analyses of a database consisting of roughly 10,000 sales of homes occurring from April 2001 to March 2002 in and around San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. [...]
Abstract: This paper presents an environmental evaluation of building envelopes, made of three different technologies: a traditional air-cavity wall, a plus-insulated wall (with an external cork covering), and a ventilated wall (with external brick panels fixed on extruded frames). An environmental accounting method, namely Emergy Evaluation (EE), was performed [...]
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to analyse under what conditions, with respect to CO2 emission-reduction and biofuels-for-transport targets, the trading in the EU of CO2 credits and solid and/or liquid biofuels is cost-effective from the perspective of an optimisation energy systems model. Julia Hansson and Göran Berndes [...]
Abstract: A contingent valuation survey of forest landowners in Southern Vermont and Western Massachusetts suggests that it would cost about $700 per acre to entice about one-half of Massachusetts and 33% of Vermont respondents to permanently conserve their forestland. Policies that promote early development of management plans and cooperation [...]
On October 28, 2009 Robin Bravender and Taryn Luntz of Greenwire reported in the New York Times that
House and Senate conferees yesterday approved a $10.3 billion spending plan to fund U.S. EPA for fiscal 2010, a 36 percent boost over last year's levels. Included in the conference report [...]
