Permit markets,carbon prices and the creation of innovation clusters

Innovation clusters combining public and private effort to develop breakthrough technologies promise greater technological advances to slow down climate change. We use a multi-country model with an emission trading system to examine whether and how international climate policy can incentivize countries to create such innovation clusters. We find that a minimal carbon price is needed to attract applied research firms, but countries may nevertheless fail to invest in complementary research infrastructure. We construct a mechanism that leads to innovation clusters when emissions targets are set before uncertainty surrounding technological developments is resolved. It is a combination of low permit endowments for the country with the lowest costs to build the needed infrastructure, compensation for this country by profits from permit trade, and maximal possible permit endowments for the remaining countries. We outline how the EU-ETS can be further refined according to this mechanism.     

Natural resource accounting for Indian states — Illustrating the case of forest resources

Our main objective is to set out and apply a SEEA-based methodology to reflect the true value of forest resources in India's national and state accounts. We establish that a “top-down” approach using available national databases is both feasible and desirable from a policy perspective. In this paper, we address four components of value creation in forests: timber production, carbon storage, fuelwood usage, and the harvesting of non-timber forest products. The results of our analysis suggest that prevailing measures of national income in India underestimate the contribution of forests to income. The income accounts of the Northeastern states in particular are significantly understated by these traditional (GDP/GSDP) measures. We are also able to identify some states which performed poorly in the context of our sustainability framework, reflecting natural capital losses due to degradation and deforestation. Our results highlight the need to integrate natural resource accounting into the national accounting framework in order to generate appropriate signals for sustainable forest management and for the conservation of forest resources which are widely used by the poor in India, as well as being significant stores of national wealth.     

The Change of Ecological Footprint and Its Effect on Sustainable Development in Beijing of China

Speeding up the environmental protection and construction is one of the major issues in ＂Greener Olympic Games＂ held in Beijing in 2008. Making a thorough study to find out the reliable measures to ecological resumption in Beijing has an important scientific and practical significance. It can provide scientific basis for making a better decision for ＂Greener Olympic Games＂ held in capital Beijing and development in harmony for society and economy, as well as management for ecological environment. By studying of change of ecological footprint from 1990 to 2003 in Beijing, the paper shows that ecological footprint per capita has a strong relativity with population and GDP, and both of the correlation coefficient between them is about 0.92, as well as the fossil energy land has a position in the lead in ecological footprint items. The study also shows that the ecological capacity per capita in Beijing occupied about 1.25% in global ecological capacity per capita. Began 1990, the ecological deficit in Beijing was about 0.72 hm2, which is at strong unsustainable development at present. Finally, the paper suggests social and economic structure should be adjusted as soon as possible, resources should be strengthen sustainable used and population increasing should be controlled strictly, as well as arable land also should be under control used for built-up areas. Simultaneity, the utilizing ratio of energy sources should be increased, and the consumption of energy sources and ecological deficit in Beijing should be reduced in order to speed up the society and economy development in harmony and sustainment.     

Impacts of an EC carbon/energy tax and deregulating thermal power supply on CO2, SO2 and NOx emissions

Emission of CO₂, SO₂ and NO_x are all closely linked to the burning of fossil fuels. Here we report on simulations done by linking a Sectoral European Energy Model (SEEM), covering energy demand in nine Western European countries, with the emission-transport-deposition model RAINS developed by IIASA. The study analyses emissions of CO₂, SO₂ and NO_x, deposition of sulphur and nitrogen and the extent of areas where the critical load for sulphur is exceeded in year 2000 under four different energy scenarios. Two different sets of future behavioural patterns for the thermal electric power production sector are considered. In one regime, called the plan-efficient regime, the sector is assumed to follow official plans with regard to investment in new capacity. In the other regime, called the cost-efficient regime, the thermal power sector is assumed to behave in a cost minimizing manner. The effects of the proposed EC carbon/energy tax are studied under both regimes, giving rise to altogether four scenarios.In both regimes the effect of the EC tax is to reduce emissions by between 6 and 10 per cent in year 2000 relative to the scenarios without the tax. A change of regime, from the regulated, plan-efficient regime to the market-based, cost-efficient regime, will, by itself, reduce emissions of CO₂ and NO_x by approximately 3 per cent, while SO₂ emissions are reduced by 13 per cent. The EC tax will reduce sulphur deposition by more than 5 per cent in the nine model countries under the plan-efficient regime. A change of regime further reduces the total deposition by 9 per cent. The area where depositions exceed the critical load is reduced by approximately 6 per cent in year 2000 by the tax in both regimes. Changing from the plan-efficient to the cost-efficient regime has a similar impact.Although the emission reductions due to the EC tax may seem modest, they are shown to have a sizeable effect on the technological abatement costs of reaching targets like those prescribed in the Sofia protocol on the stabilisation of NO_x emissions, and the Helsinki protocol on SO₂ emission reductions. This is part of what can be considered to be secondary benefits of the EC carbon/energy tax.     

上海市生态可持续发展评价研究

本文利用生态足迹法对上海市1985～2004年的生态足迹和生态承载力进行了研究，结果表明上海市入均生态足迹和生态承载力分别由1985年的1．9340hm^2、0．1582hm^2逐年增加至2004年的3．0459hm^2、0．5805hm^2，一而同期的入均生态赤字也由1．7958hm^2上升到2．6656hm^2。同时计算了万元GDP生态足迹，并预测了2010年的入均生态足迹和生态承载力。最后得出，上海市入口对自然资源的利用逐年增加，目前已超出了自然生态系统的生态承载力范围，现有的发展模式是不可持续的。     

基于生态足迹模型的可持续性度量研究--以吉林省大安市为例

针对吉林省大安市发展现状和存在的严重生态环境问题,运用生态足迹模型,采用多源数据,首次对大安市生态环境的可持续发展状况进行了定量研究;在此基础上,运用相对指标法对可持续发展的量化结果进行分级。研究表明,2001年大安市的生态需求大于生态供给,生态呈现“供不应求”的局面,人均生态赤字为0.56hm2,处于弱不可持续发展状态。     

碳纤维加固技术在实际工程中的应用

由于具有自重轻、强度高、工期短、造价低、施工简便等优点,碳纤维复合材料(CFRP)在建筑梁、板、柱、墙等的加固工程中得到广泛应用.文中在对长春市生物制品研究所制药车间因增加设备荷载进行评估的基础上,提出了采用碳纤维布加固技术对其而需对框架梁进行加宽加固,以满足该车间要求的使用功能的需要.其加固工艺可为同类型框架梁加固提供参考.     

The raw material basis of global value chains: allocating environmental responsibility based on value generation

A new approach to allocate environmental responsibility, the ‘value added-based responsibility’ allocation, is presented in this article. This metric allocates total environmental pressures occurring along an international supply chain to the participating sectors and countries according to the share of value added they generate within that specific supply chain. We show that – due to their position in global value chains – certain sectors (e.g. services) and countries (e.g. Germany) receive significantly greater responsibility compared to other allocation approaches. This adds a new perspective to the discussions concerning a fair distribution of mitigation costs among nations, companies and consumers.     

Carbon taxes and the double dividend hypothesis in a recursive-dynamic CGE model for Spain

A carbon tax is potentially a policy that can reduce CO₂ emissions and mitigate climate risks, at lowest economy-wide costs. We develop a dynamic CGE model for Spain to assess the economic and environmental effects of a carbon tax, and test the double dividend (DD) hypothesis. We simulate the impact of three carbon taxes: €10, €20 and €30 per ton of CO₂. For each tax, four ‘revenue recycling’ scenarios are examined: a reduction of taxes on capital, on labor, on value-added tax, and a scenario in which revenues are not recycled. We find a DD for taxes of €10/ton and lower, within five to seven years of implementation. We estimate an annual CO₂ emissions reduction of around 10% with this tax. Under some circumstances, the DD can be achieved for a tax of €20/ton. In any case, recycling revenues to cut pre-existing taxes reduces costs of imposing carbon taxes.     

传统能源及碳交易价格与新能源股价——基于VAR和CAPM-GARCH模型的分析

文章构建VAR模型和CAPM-GARCH模型,分析检验了2010年7月初至2013年底期间传统能源和碳排放权交易价格对国内新能源上市公司股价波动的影响及新能源股票收益率的波动特点,研究发现:国内煤价对新能源公司股价有显著的正向影响,而国际油价的影响不显著;碳排放权交易价格也是引起新能源投资价值从而上市公司股价变动的重要因素;新能源公司股价指数对高科技股价指数并不敏感,反映出国内新能源上市公司科技含量不足,资本市场关注更多的是新能源的概念而非技术优势;国内新能源股票整体的系统风险在1.125~1.131之间,利好消息比利空消息能引起新能源股票收益率更大的波动。