Economic Potential of Biomass Based Fuels for Greenhouse Gas Emission Mitigation

Use of biofuels diminishes fossil fuelcombustion thereby also reducing net greenhousegas emissions. However, subsidies are neededto make agricultural biofuel productioneconomically feasible. To explore the economicpotential of biofuels in a greenhouse gasmitigation market, we incorporate data onproduction and biofuel processing for thedesignated energy crops switchgrass, hybridpoplar, and willow in an U.S. AgriculturalSector Model along with data on traditionalcrop-livestock production and processing, andafforestation of cropland. Net emissioncoefficients on all included agriculturalpractices are estimated through crop growthsimulation models or taken from the literature. Potential emission mitigation policies ormarkets are simulated via hypothetical carbonprices. At each carbon price level, theAgricultural Sector Model computes the newmarket equilibrium, revealing agriculturalcommodity prices, regionally specificproduction, input use, and welfare levels,environmental impacts, and adoption ofalternative management practices such asbiofuel production. Results indicate no rolefor biofuels below carbon prices of $40 perton of carbon equivalent. At these incentivelevels, emission reductions via reduced soiltillage and afforestation are more costefficient. For carbon prices above $70,biofuels dominate all other agriculturalmitigation strategies.     

Rethinking the costs related to global warming: A survey of the issues

One approach to the economic analysis of global warming seeks to balance the costs of damage from or adaptation to it with the costs of mitigating it. The costs of adaptation and damage have been estimated using techniques of environmental evaluation, but are subject to a wide margin of uncertainty. The costs of mitigation, principally by reducing the emissions of CO₂, have been estimated using different kinds of economic models, some of the results of which have suggested that very little abatement of carbon emissions is justified before the costs of abatement exceed the benefits of it in terms of foregone damage and adaptation costs. The paper analyses the extent to which this conclusion is a function of the modelling assumptions and techniques used, rather than likely practical outcomes, with regard to the models' treatment of unemployed resources, revenue recycling, prior distortions in the economy due to the tax system and possible dynamic effects from the introduction of a carbon-energy tax. It concludes that, with different and arguably more appropriate treatment of the above issues, especially when the secondary benefits of reducing CO₂ emissions are also taken into account, it is not clear that even substantial reductions in the use of fossil fuels will incur net costs, especially if there is the prospect of even moderate costs from global warming.     

Is the environment‐friendly factor attractive to customers when purchasing electric vehicles? Evidence from South Korea

In a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, several countries worldwide are implementing policies to promote electric vehicles (EVs). However, contrary to expectations, the diffusion speed of EVs has been rather slow in South Korea. This study analyzes consumer preferences for the technological and environmental attributes of EVs and derives policy and environmental implications to promote market diffusion of EVs in South Korea. We conduct a choice‐based conjoint survey of 1,008 consumers in South Korea and estimate the consumer utility function using a mixed logit model considering consumer heterogeneity. Based on the consumer utility function, we analyze consumers' willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for EV attributes such as driving range, charging method, charging time, autonomous driving function, carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction rate, and purchase price. The results indicate that the current low acceptance of EVs is due to their relatively high price and lack of a battery charging technology that satisfies consumers' expectations of the charging method and time. One interesting finding is that Korean consumers have a relatively higher WTP for the CO₂ reduction rate of EVs than consumers in other countries; however, they do not consider CO₂ reduction over other technological attributes when choosing EVs. This implies that the rate of CO₂ reduction of EVs is not an important factor for South Korean consumers when buying EVs. We also calculate the effect of CO₂ reduction with the market penetration of EVs and find that CO₂ reduction through the diffusion of EVs depends on the country's electricity generation mix.     

国际海运温室气体减排的效率机制与清洁发展机制的比较

国际海运温室气体减排政策正在谈判过程中,最终确定的减排机制可能对我国海运发展产生一定影响.国际海事组织推广的"技术、运营和市场"减排方式中,效率机制是重点研究的内容之一,在技术和运营方面,旨在提高船只效率的船只设计效率因子和船只能效管理计划是重点研究的内容,提高效率也是市场机制的重要组成部分.面对当前的国际海运减排形势,采取有效的应对措施才能为我国海运发展争取更多的发展空间.清洁发展机制是<京都议定书>中唯一与发展中国家相关的国际温室气体减排机制,通过几年的实施已经积累了较丰富的经验,文章将对清洁发展机制与国际海运温室气体减排的效率机制进行比较分析,研究如何利用清洁发展机制来分析我国海运行业对国际海运温室气体减排效率机制的应对思路.     

因行业而异的温室气体减排政策——基于古诺模型的福利分析

笔者在古诺模型中引入温室气体排放的负外部性问题,分析了厂商的利润最大化行为,并基于社会福利函数得到了温室气体最优排放水平。该最优结果与经典的庇古分析结果相比偏多,这表明庇古政策并不是最优的,最大化社会福利的排放额并无需完全弥补排放的负外部性。进一步分析表明,最优排放水平与市场结构有关,垄断程度越高减排水平反而应该越低。     

EU Policies on Bioenergy and their Potential Clash with the WTO

The paper outlines EU policy on bioenergy, including biofuels, in the context of its policy initiatives to promote renewable energy to combat greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. The EU’s Member States are responsible for implementing EU policy: thus, the UK’s Renewables Obligation on electricity suppliers and its Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation and road‐fuel tax rebates are examined. It is unlikely that EU policy is in conflict with the WTO Agreement on Agriculture or that on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, but its provisions on environmental sustainability criteria could be problematic.     

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。     

论温室气体排放管制的政治学根据

温室气体排放管制的政治学根据包括绿色政治和政治合法性两个方面。在绿色政治的大背景下,国际政治和国内政治都将温室气体排放管制问题放到了一个非常重要的位置。政府对温室气体排放行为进行管制是实现和维护其政治合法性的重要途径。温室气体排放管制本身是政府作为公共权力主体应当提供的一种特殊公共产品。温室气体排放管制是政府履行其社会职能的重要方面。温室气体排放管制的目的是为社会提供环境公共产品——安全的气候。作为地球村的一员,每个国家应当积极采取相关法律政策措施促进温室气体减排。     

Trip Planning and Decision Making of Self-Drive Tourists—

Abstract

Touring holidays are greenhouse gas intensive, and ways are being sought to reduce these emissions in New Zealand. This research seeks to influence rental vehicle tourists' planning and decision making towards shorter travel. Semi-structured interviews (n = 96) were conducted as part of a quasi-experimental approach, in which tourists were “treated” by receiving a purpose-designed tourist map. Three levels of planning and decision making could be distinguished, whereby both cognitive and affective processes were important. The tourist map did not influence tourists' itineraries, but tourists in New Zealand consistently followed a “travel budget” of about 3-5 hours driving per day.     

Modeling green vehicle adoption: An integrated approach for policy evaluation

This article employs an integrated discrete-continuous car ownership model to jointly forecast households’ future preferences on vehicle type, quantity and use, and to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The model system is estimated on a dataset collected from a web-based stated preference survey conducted in Maryland in 2014. The data contain vehicle purchase decisions and sociodemographic information of 456 households who were requested to state their future preferences over a 9-year period (2014–2022). In each time period, a respondent is faced to four alternatives that include the current vehicle, a new gasoline vehicle, a new hybrid electric vehicle, and a new battery electric vehicle. Intertemporal choices between conventional and “green” vehicles such as hybrid and electric cars capture dynamics in vehicle purchase decisions. Short run and medium-long run situations were predicted and compared based on the first 4-year data and the entire 9-year data of the dynamic panel. Vehicle GHG emissions were calculated correspondingly. We find the introduction of “green” vehicles makes a positive impact on car ownership and use, especially in a medium-long run. Two “green” taxation policies, gasoline tax and ownership tax, were proposed and their impact on vehicle use and emission reductions was evaluated. Results indicate that: (a) gasoline tax is a more effective way to reduce vehicle miles traveled and GHG emissions and (b) gasoline tax makes a higher impact on car use and emission reductions in the medium-long run, while ownership tax makes a higher impact in the short run.