珠江三角洲城市节水减污措施的经济分析

快速城市化的珠江三角洲地区面临着较为严重的水环境问题,节水减污是珠江三角洲地区实现水资源可持续利用的有效途径。本文着眼于评价节水减污战略措施的实施环境,以珠江三角洲城市污水集中处理的现状经济指标为分析背景,运用比率经济指标,对工业废水回用和建筑中水利用这两类具有显著环境效益的节水减污措施进行了经济合理性的对比分析。分析结果表明:工业废水回用和建筑中水利用这两项节水减污措施在珠江三角洲地区具有实施的经济可行性。     

析生态城市水休闲旅游环境承载力评价——以扬州古运河风景区为例

水休闲旅游是城市规划中的新兴主题,而水休闲旅游本身的规划模式和经营水平直接影响城市发展的生态循环程度。旅游活动的发展势必造成对城市水域空间环境质量的影响,空间旅游环境的承载力研究也成为旅游规划的重要前提。本文以扬州古运河风景区为例,在分析景区地理资源和旅游经济条件的基础上构建水休闲旅游环境承载力测算指标,并利用木桶综合推测法计算出风景区水休闲旅游环境综合承载力,为生态循环型城市水休闲旅游规划步骤中的开发条件评价提供合理依据。     

Compensation payments for habitat heterogeneity: Existence, efficiency, and fairness considerations

Compensation payments for voluntary conservation measures have become an important tool for biodiversity conservation worldwide. Each year substantial financial resources are spent on such measures, particularly in the context of agri-environmental schemes. In Europe, a debate has started on whether this money is spent effectively. In response to this debate it has been suggested that a portfolio of measures leading to habitat heterogeneity be implemented. Although payments for heterogeneous conservation measures have been analysed in the literature, it has never been questioned that payments can be designed in a way that encourages enough land users to carry out each conservation measure within a portfolio of measures. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that such payments do not always exist. Moreover, in cases where payments for habitat heterogeneity exist the payment scheme may require overcompensation of the land users, posing a limit to both efficiency and fairness considerations.     

FEDERAL ACQUISITION OF WATER THROUGH VOLUNTARY TRANSACTIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PURPOSES

Throughout U.S. history public land management agencies have attempted to achieve environmental objectives by relying on a broad range of policy tools, including both regulatory and voluntary mechanisms. An important component of these policies has been oriented toward the acquisition of land or partial interests in land from voluntary sellers. However, it has become clear that preserving or restoring damaged ecosystems increasingly requires more than land and easement acquisitions. The procurement of water for environmental purposes is becoming increasingly common. In some regions such acquisitions also represent a significant share of the local water market activity. Given the increasingly important role these transactions play in achieving federal environmental objectives, it makes sense to consider the alternative mechanisms available that could be used for such acquisitions. This paper examines the situations where the federal government has acquired water for environmental purposes and the extent to which competitive mechanisms—such as auctions—could be used in future acquisition efforts.     

节能减排政策对城市生态效率的影响——基于NDDF-DID的市级实证研究

采用非径向方向性距离函数测算了2005—2016年我国的城市生态效率,发现我国城市生态效率取得了明显改进,采用双重差分法实证研究了节能减排政策对城市生态效率的影响,结果表明:节能减排政策显著提高了城市生态效率,趋势性检验和安慰剂检验验证了双重差分估计的有效性和稳健性。最后,根据研究结果提出我国应该坚持推进节能减排政策,扩大节能减排政策的覆盖范围,加强节能减排政策的财政支持力度,同时指出城市在执行节能减排政策过程中,应当注重建立长效机制,以更好地实现节能减排政策的效果。     

自愿参与型环境规制与企业技术创新——公众关注度和市场进程的调节作用

“波特假说”有效性一直是学术界颇具争议的话题，然而现有文献对于自愿参与型环境规制与企业技术创新的关系讨论较少，也缺乏对其作用情景因素的关注。基于2011—2019年730家沪深A股上市企业面板数据，采用负二项回归模型和倾向得分匹配法，分析我国上市企业在市场化进程影响下，自愿参与型环境规制、公众关注度对企业技术创新的影响。结果发现，自愿参与型环境规制对企业技术创新具有正向影响；公众关注度在自愿参与型环境规制对企业技术创新的影响过程中起正向调节作用；自愿参与型环境规制、公众关注度和市场化进程交互项结果表明，企业位于市场化程度较高地区时，公众关注度对自愿参与型环境规制与企业技术创新的调节作用更显著。结论不仅丰富了“波特假说”相关研究，还为我国企业提高信息共享意识以及政府优化市场环境提供了微观证据。     

Wetland restoration,collective action and the role of water management institutions

Over the past 50 years, large areas of agricultural land have been drained and put into intensive agricultural production. Increasing attention is now being paid to the issue of restoring wetland areas and promoting environmental benefits. Collective action is important for wetland restoration, both because of the physical interactions among landholders and because of the cost saving and enhanced environmental benefit that can be achieved at a larger scale. Policy needs to be geared towards facilitating co-operation among farmers if environmental schemes are to be effective in enabling wetland restoration. Internal Drainage Boards have been primarily involved with securing of land drainage for local landholders. They now have a formal responsibility to further nature conservation but could take a more proactive role in promoting wetland restoration. They have good information on local water management options and are well placed to co-ordinate actions for restoration. Agri-environment policy could be redirected in order to promote collective action for wetland restoration.     

国际自愿减排标准比较研究

在我国进入管制碳交易市场之前,国内碳减排交易市场以自愿减排为主要形式发展并且处于起步阶段,而国际自愿减排市场相对成熟,对国际自愿减排(碳抵消)标准进行比较研究有利于我国自愿减排标准的制定和管理。文章分别从基本信息、项目信息、核算方法、可持续性要求、审定核查与注册五个方面对黄金标准、芝加哥气候交易所标准等七个国际自愿减排标准进行比较研究,并提出我国发展与规范自愿减排市场的相关对策建议。     

Conservation: From Voluntary Restraint to a Voluntary Price Premium

This paper investigates how concern for the environment translates into predictable patterns of consumer behavior. Two types of behavior are considered. First, individuals who care about environmental quality may voluntarily restrain their consumption of goods and services that generate a negative externality. Second, individuals may choose to pay a price premium for goods and services that are more environmentally benign. A theoretical model identifies a symmetry between such voluntary restraint and a voluntary price premium that mirrors the symmetry between environmental policies based on either quantities (quotas) or prices (taxes). We test predictions of the model in an empirical study of household electricity consumption with introduction of a price-premium, green-electricity program. We find evidence of voluntary restraint and its relation to a voluntary price premium. The empirical results are consistent with the theoretical model of voluntary conservation.      

The appeal of voluntary environmental programs: which firms participate and why?

Why do firms participate in the EPA's voluntary environmental programs? Possible reasons include: (1) to appeal to consumers who demand ‘green’ products; (2) to preempt government regulation; (3) to seek regulatory relief from the agency; and (4) to gain a competitive advantage over competitors. This article examines the determinants of participation in voluntary environmental programs, focusing on testing hypotheses 1 and 3. To test 2, a different approach is used than in previous literature. The focus is on a specified universe of firms (manufacturing firms in the Standard & Poor 500), and their participation in each of three EPA voluntary programs (33/50, Green Lights, and WasteWi$) referring to differently regulated pollutants is analyzed. Our empirical analyses reveal that (1) publicity is an important component of participation; (2) the worse the environmental track record of the firm, the more likely the firm is to participate, but only in programs directly related to highly regulated pollutants; and (3) firms that scrutinize their environmental performance more carefully are wary of newer programs with uncertain reach of the public and uncertain benefits. Firms appear to value the information/technology transfer aspect of joining a program.     

知识作用视角下城市间环境规制异质性与绿色创新质量研究

城市环境规制刻画了地方政府在绿色创新中的角色特征。基于我国279个地级市面板数据,从知识作用视角,采用负二项分布模型测度我国城市环境规制强度的地区差异性对城市绿色创新质量的影响机制。研究发现：(1)邻近城市的高环境规制强度对本地绿色创新质量产生抑制作用,该抑制作用通过城市间知识宽度缩小、知识距离扩大两类中介效应影响本地绿色创新质量;(2)城市间的知识平衡度在邻近城市环境规制强度与本地绿色创新质量关系中发挥调节效应,当城市间知识平衡度较高时,邻近城市的高环境规制强度对本地绿色创新质量的影响由负转正。由此,获得如下政策启示：地方政府应重视环境规制政策带来的知识成分变化与知识结构调整,促进环境政策与绿色创新政策协同,同时,不同地方间应深化绿色创新主体合作机制,促进知识流动,提升城市绿色创新质量。     

中国环境规制对碳排放影响的空间异质性分析

基于1997—2017年中国30个省份的面板数据,将环境规制分成命令型、市场型和自愿型三类,以核密度估计分析碳排放分布的动态变化,采用空间杜宾模型探究了不同环境规制对碳排放影响的空间异质性。结果表明:1997—2017年中国三种环境规制与碳排放量变化表现同步增长,碳排放区域差异明显,命令型环境规制占据主体,市场型环境规制波动性变化特征明显,自愿型环境规制稳步增长;碳排放和环境规制具有明显的空间自相关特征,并且环境规制对邻近地区碳排放减少或增长的影响能力增强;三种环境规制对碳排放的影响均存在空间溢出,相比较而言,市场型环境规制的正向溢出效应最为明显,不同环境规制影响的区域差异特征表现为:命令型环境规制"东部>中部>西部",市场型环境规制"东部>西部>中部",自愿型环境规制"西部>东部>中部"。     

The impact of smart meters on residential water consumption: Evidence from a natural experiment in the Canary Islands

Smart meters can promote behavioral changes and water conservation by improving information and providing feedback about water consumption to households. In this paper, we evaluate a large-scale programme implemented by the municipal water company of La Laguna (Tenerife). Exploiting quasi-experimental variation brought about program, we estimate the effect of water meter replacement on measured water consumption and the behavioral effect of the installation of the smart metering technology allowing households to access daily water consumption and real-time feedback through an online portal. Our main empirical analysis employs a difference in differences identification strategy and uses annual consumption data from 51,674 households observed over 10 years. We find a positive effect of water meter replacement on measured water consumption. Our main finding is that providing access to the smart metering technology induces households to reduce consumption by around 2% on average. Our results point to consumers’ engagement with the information portal as the main mechanism behind the observed behavioral response.     

Energy Conservation More Effective With Rebound Policy

This article sketches the problem of indirect energy use effects, also known as rebound, of energy conservation. There is widespread support for energy conservation, especially when it is voluntary, as this seems a cheap way to realize environmental and energy-climate goals. However, this overlooks the phenomenon of rebound. The topic of energy rebound has mainly attracted attention from energy analysts, but has been surprisingly neglected in environmental economics, even though economists generally are concerned with indirect or economy-wide impacts of technical change and policies. This paper presents definitions and interpretations of energy and environmental rebound, as well as four fundamental reasons for the existence of the rebound phenomenon. It further offers the most complete list of rebound pathways or mechanisms available in the literature. In addition, it discusses empirical estimates of rebound and addresses the implications of uncertainties and difficulties in assessing rebound. Suggestions are offered for strategies and public policies to contain rebound. It is advised that rebound evaluation is an essential part of environmental policy and project assessments. As opposed to earlier studies, this paper stresses the relevance of the distinction between energy conservation resulting from autonomous demand changes and from efficiency improvements in technology/equipment. In addition, it argues that rebound is especially relevant for developing countries.     

The Brave New World of Carbon Trading

Human-induced climate change has become a prominent political issue, at both national and international levels, leading to the search for regulatory ‘solutions’. Emissions trading has risen in popularity to become the most broadly favoured government strategy. Carbon permits have then quickly been developed as a serious financial instrument in markets turning over billions of dollars a year. In this article, I show how the reality of permit market operation is far removed from the assumptions of economic theory and the promise of saving resources by efficiently allocating emission reductions. The pervasiveness of Greenhouse Gas emissions, strong uncertainty and complexity combine to prevent economists from substantiating their theoretical claims of cost-effectiveness. Corporate power is shown to be a major force affecting emissions market operation and design. The potential for manipulation to achieve financial gain, while showing little regard for environmental or social consequences, is evident as markets have extended internationally and via trading offsets. At the individual level, there is the potential for emissions trading to have undesirable ethical and psychological impacts and to crowd out voluntary actions. I conclude that the focus on such markets is creating a distraction from the need for changing human behaviour, institutions and infrastructure.     

中心城市道路运输节能减排途径的研究

节能减排是我国国民经济发展的基本国策,也是当前我国道路运输业转变经济发展方式的硬任务。中心城市是能源消耗和温室气体排放的重点区域,是节能减排的重要环节。在认真分析中心城市道路运输的特点及节能减排工作现状和存在问题的基础上,探索提高节能减排的途径,以提高中心城市道路运输节能减排工作的水平。     

中国城市中的三种贫困类型

我们课题组在 1 999年进行了一次覆盖六省市的住户调查。本文利用这次调查数据对中国城市贫困的性质和特点进行了考察。通过综合考虑收入标准和消费标准 ,我们把中国城镇贫困分为三种类型 ,即持久性贫困、暂时性性贫困和选择性贫困。在贫困人口中 ,有一大部分是属于选择性贫困 ,即他们的收入高于贫困线而消费低于贫困线。我们对贫困户的消费函数进行了估计 ,其结果显示以下几个因素对贫困状况产生重要的影响 :修匀收入的效应 ;人们防备外部环境不确定性的心理 ;人们为将来投资而进行储蓄的行为 ;家庭对子女教育和医疗服务的特别需要。我们还对三种贫困类型进行了比较分析 ,从中发现预测的金融资产和预测的收入 ,以及教育和医疗的特殊需要都对不同类型的贫困户的消费行为起到重要的影响作用     

水利旅游开发中的环境问题及控制对策

水利旅游是我国旅游业发展的一个新亮点,大力发展水利旅游,对我国水利经济可持续发展具有重要意义。文章阐述了水利旅游对水利经济可持续发展的重要意义,分析了水利旅游发展中的环境问题,提出了环境保护的对策。     

珠江三角洲城市生活节水减污战略研究

人口的急剧集聚以及生活水平的快速提高，导致珠江三角洲地区的城市生活用水量非常大。城市生活节水对于降低珠江三角洲地区的水资源开发压力和水环境负荷有着特别的意义。该文探讨了珠江三角洲城市生活节水减污的战略目标、重点城市、重点用水部门以及主要战略措施。     

The Militarisation and Marketisation of Nature: An Alternative Lens to ‘Climate-Conflict’

Policies addressing climate change are driving major transformations in access to global land, forests and water as they create new ‘green’ markets that reinforce, and attracts the financial grid and its speculators. This leads us to examine the rise of state violence and subsequent environmental policies in forests, transferring into both ‘fortress’ and ‘participatory’ conservation, enhancing this relationship with new environmental commodity markets. We go on to document how the new and intensifying commodification of the environment associated with climate change is manifest in conflicts linked to the UN-REDD+ programme, industrial tree plantations (ITPs), and land-use practices associated with conservation and biofuels. We trace conflicts to business practices associated with land acquisitions and mining practices which claim to address climate change and mitigate ecological crises. This paper thus grapples with systemic issues of the modern industrial economy and the mechanisms legitimising and advancing the militarisation and marketisation of nature.