Narrow Results

This study examines the determinants of emissions for a global sample of 120 countries during the 1995–2012 period using panel data analysis. Specifically, an extended version of the STIRPAT model combined with the EKC was employed to examine the determinants of emissions for the full sample and three subsamples of countries at different income levels. Three proxies for emissions are used, including CO2, N2O and CH4 emissions. The two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) is employed as the estimation technique. The empirical results indicate the evidence of EKC for the global sample and all subgroups of countries for CO2 emissions. On the other hand, U-shaped relationships between income and emissions are found for all three subsamples in the cases of N2O and CH4 emissions. Energy intensity appears to be the major driver of CO2 emissions for all groups of countries as well as for N2O and CH4 emissions for high-income and upper-middle-income countries. The effects of industrialization and urbanization vary across different types of emissions and different income country groups. The global environmental policy should focus on encouraging energy efficiency, enhancing the use of eco-friendly energy resources, as well as incorporating the impacts of industrialization and urbanization on emissions.

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This paper examines the changes in land use in the U.S. likely to be induced by biofuel and climate policies and the implications of these policies for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the 2007–2022 period. The policies considered here include a modified Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) by itself as well as combined with a cellulosic biofuel tax credit or a carbon price policy. We use a dynamic, spatial, multi-market equilibrium model, Biofuel and Environmental Policy Analysis Model (BEPAM), to endogenously determine the effects of these policies on cropland allocation, food and fuel prices, and the mix of first- and second-generation biofuels. We find that the RFS could be met by diverting 6% of cropland for biofuel production and would result in corn prices increasing by 16% in 2002 relative to the business-as-usual baseline. The reduction in GHG emissions in the U.S. due to the RFS is about 2%; these domestic GHG savings can be severely eroded by emissions due to indirect land-use changes and the increase in gasoline consumption in the rest of the world. Supplementing the RFS with a carbon price policy or a cellulosic biofuel tax credit induces a switch away from corn ethanol to cellulosic biofuels and achieves the mandated level of biofuel production with a smaller adverse impact on crop prices. These supplementary policies enhance the GHG savings achieved by the RFS alone, although through different mechanisms; greater production of cellulosic biofuels with the tax credit but larger reduction in fossil fuel consumption with a carbon tax.

This paper examines the costs of emissions abatement through various types of projects financed under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. Using project data, cost functions are estimated applying alternative functional forms. Results show that the average cost of abatement decreases with the volume of abatement, showing economies of scale and suggesting that reducing emissions through small projects is relatively expensive. Results also show significant variation in the costs of abatement by project type and location. Nevertheless, the observed distribution of project investments does not closely match the relative cost structure, either by location or project type. Renewable energy projects accounted for 62% of the projects even though they had the second highest cost. Most of the CDM projects are located in emerging economies, principally China, India, and Brazil, even though the fixed costs of establishing CDM projects in these countries are higher than in many other developing countries. Significantly, while much of the conceptual and applied numerical literature concerning greenhouse gas abatement policies relies on presumptions about the structure of abatement cost curves, these findings suggest that comparative advantage is only one of several factors driving CDM investments and that investors hold additional preferences about project location and project type. Finally, results indicate a general, though noncontinuous, downward trend in the costs of abatement for new CDM projects.

For EMF 32, we applied a new version of our Intertemporal General Equilibrium Model (IGEM) based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). We simulated the impacts arising from the Energy Modeling Forum’s broad range of carbon taxes under three revenue recycling options — lump sum redistributions, capital tax reductions, and labor tax cuts. We examined their consequences for industry prices and quantities, for the overall economy, and for the welfare of households, individuals, and society, the latter in terms of efficiency and equity. We rank recycling mechanisms from most to least favorable in terms of the magnitudes of their impacts on net social welfare — efficiency net of equity — recognizing that other objectives may be more important to policy makers and the public. Finally, we and the EMF 32 effort focus only on the economic effects of carbon taxation and revenue recycling; the environmental benefits arising from emissions reductions are not within our scope of study.

We find CO₂ emissions abatement to be invariant to the chosen recycling scheme. This means that policy makers need not compromise their environmental objectives when designing carbon tax swap options. We also find additional emissions reductions beyond the scope of coverage and points of taxation.

Reducing capital taxes promotes new saving, investment and capital formation and is the most favorable recycling mechanism. In 2010 dollars, the welfare loss per ton abated ranges from $0.19 to $3.90 depending on the path of carbon prices. Reducing labor taxes promotes consumption and work through real-wage incentives and is the next most favorable recycling scheme. Here, the welfare loss per ton abated ranges from $11.09 to $16.49 depending on the carbon tax trajectory. Lump sum redistribution of carbon tax revenues is the least favorable recycling option. It incentivizes neither capital nor labor. Consequently, the damages to the economy and welfare are the greatest among the three schemes. With lump sum recycling, the welfare loss per ton abated ranges from $37.15 to $43.61 as carbon taxation becomes more aggressive. While this ranking is common among the participating EMF 32 models, the spread in our results is the greatest in comparison which we attribute to the substitution possibilities inherent in IGEM’s econometrics, the absence of barriers to factor mobility, and likely differences in the manner in which tax incentives are structured.

We find welfare gains are possible under capital and labor tax recycling when emissions accounting is viewed from a top-down rather than a bottom-up perspective and carbon pricing is at an economy-wide average. However, these gains occur at the expense of abatement.

We find capital tax recycling to be regressive while labor tax recycling is progressive as is redistribution through lump sums. Moreover, we find that the lump sum mechanism provides the best means for sheltering the poorest from the welfare consequences of carbon taxation. Thus, promoting capital formation is the best use of carbon tax revenues in terms of reducing the magnitudes of welfare losses while the lump sum and labor tax options are the best uses for reducing inequality.

In recent decades, the surge in greenhouse gas emissions has given rise to an increase in climate risk-related development finance. This research delves into the effect of renewable energy and climate risk-related development finance on greenhouse gas emissions in the BRICS region. Panel regression estimates were employed to uncover several noteworthy findings. Firstly, a slight yet significant surge in greenhouse gas emissions resulted from increased climate risk-related development finance. Secondly, augmented climate risk-related mitigation finance corresponded with a noteworthy upsurge in renewable energy usage. Thirdly, greater renewable energy consumption resulted in a considerable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Lastly, amplified renewable energy consumption alleviated the impact of climate risk-related mitigation finance on greenhouse gas emissions. These findings emphasize the necessity of efficiently utilizing climate finance in generating renewable energies like wind, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric and solar energies. Additionally, it is recommended that benefactor nations and officials ensure a regular and uninterrupted flow of climate risk-related development mitigation finance to emerging nations.

Biofuel mandates are being widely used by countries to achieve multiple objectives of energy security and climate change mitigation. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) in the US specifies arbitrarily chosen volumetric targets for different types of biofuels in the US based on their greenhouse gas intensity only. Cellulosic biofuels from high yielding energy crops like miscanthus have the potential to co-generate multiple environmental impacts, including reducing nitrate runoff, being a sink for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and providing a given volume of biofuel with less diversion of land from food crop production than corn ethanol, but at a significantly higher cost. This paper quantifies the tradeoffs between profitability, food and fuel production, GHG emissions and nitrate runoff reduction with different types of biofuels in the Sangamon watershed in Illinois and analyzes the optimal mix of biofuels as well as the policies that should supplement the mandate to achieve multiple environmental outcomes. We find that a two-thirds share of cellulosic biofuel in the mandated level could reduce nitrate run-off by 20% while reducing GHG emissions by 88–100% but would reduce profits by 15–27% depending on whether a GHG policy or a Nitrate policy is used relative to the case where the mandate is met by corn ethanol alone. Additionally, the ratio of corn stover to miscanthus used to produce cellulosic biofuels is higher under a GHG policy compared to a Nitrate policy that achieves the same level of nitrate reduction. Our results show that the optimal mix of different types of biofuels and the policy to induce it depend on the environmental objectives and the tradeoffs that society is willing to make between low cost energy security, food production and various environmental benefits.

Development financing focusing on climate hazards has become necessary in recent decades as a result of the rise in emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). This study investigates how the Congo Basin’s greenhouse gas emissions are affected by using renewable energy sources and climate risk-related development financing. Multiple conclusions are drawn from panel regression analysis. First, there’s a slight but substantial rise in GHG emissions when climate risk-related development finance increases. Second, a boost in climate risk-related mitigation finance substantially encourages the introduction of renewable energy. Third, greater utilization of renewable energy results in a diminution in GHG emissions. Finally, greater utilization of the renewable energy minimizes the influence of the climate risk-related development finance. The research recommends creating a monitoring system to guarantee the effective use of climate funding for generating renewable energy sources, including wind, biomass, geothermal, hydropower, and solar energy. Additionally, it urges donor economies and authorities to provide emerging economies with a supplementary consistent and steady flow of financing for development mitigation connected to climate risk.

By classifying international green and non-green trade for the period 1980–2015, this study investigates trends in green trade, exports, and imports as shares of total trade, exports, and imports, respectively. The general findings are that these green shares increased during the review period, albeit with the green shares for member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development showing different trends than those of nonmember countries. Further, three countries at different stages of economic development—the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the United States—each exhibit different trends in green trade over time. In particular, the green trade, export, and import shares of the People's Republic of China decreased over time, which is in contrast to the increases observed for the Republic of Korea and the United States during the review period. The findings suggest that efforts to persuade developing countries to accept international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions should also consider the transboundary transmission of these emissions and their health effects.

Climate change has gained global attention in the past few decades due to its impact on humanity. This chapter examines the impact assessment of energy, agriculture, and socioeconomic indicators on carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana using a multivariate analysis (neural network and nonlinear iterative partial least squares regression). Topics covered include drivers of greenhouse gas emissions, Ghana’s climate change profile, flood risk assessment in Ghana, climate change and finance, projected change indicators and bibliometric analysis of climate change research in Ghana.

Globally, agriculture is the main source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Agricultural production systems aim to secure food production, but they have to minimize GHG emissions. The growing global population is putting a pressure on agricultural production systems. GHG emissions are associated with the production of major food commodities in India. These are calculated using the cool farm tool. GHG emissions, based on farm management for major crops (including cereals like wheat and rice, pulses, potatoes, fruits, and vegetables) and livestock-based products (milk, eggs, chicken, and mutton meat), are quantified and compared. Livestock and rice production were found to be the main sources of GHG emissions in Indian agriculture with a country average of 5.65 kg CO₂-equiv/kg rice, 45.54 kg CO₂-equiv/kg mutton meat, and 2.4 kg CO₂-equiv/kg milk. Production of cereals (except rice), fruits, and vegetables in India emits comparatively less GHGs with <1 kg CO₂-equiv/kg product. This research thus suggests that a shift toward dietary patterns with a greater consumption of animal-source foods could greatly increase GHG emissions from Indian agriculture. A range of mitigation options are available that could reduce emissions from the current levels and can probably be compatible with increased future food production and consumption demands in India.

Excessive concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) leading to climate change are one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. In order to understand and combat this problem, it is necessary to develop an understanding of the physical nature of the greenhouse effect, identify the most significant GHGs (including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and others), and evaluate the sources of and sinks for each one. The global carbon cycle will be discussed, as will the methods of reducing the impact of anthropogenic GHG emissions through a combination of sequestration atmospheric carbon in alternative carbon pools and by the adoption of less carbon-intensive energy sources such as biofuels, wind, and solar power.

Wind turbines and Solar Photovoltaic (PV) electric energy generators are the lowest cost producers of electricity available in 2019, costing about half as much as a new coal plant’s electric energy (Lazard’s Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis, 2018). They have the important characteristic of delivering electricity without releasing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂). Yet, almost all experts and plans for the future say that wind and solar will not be dominant contributors to electricity generation for the next couple of decades. They say we must continue fossil fuels with their associated greenhouse gases because of problems with renewable generators…

Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in the automobile sector is one of the main reasons supporting bioethanol production. Bioethanol obtained from biomass fermentation is dilute and unsuitable for use as an automobile fuel. For recovery (pre-concentration) and dehydration (purification) of bioethanol from the fermentation broth, distillation is widely used although ethanol and water separation by distillation is complex due to the presence of a minimum-boiling azeotrope. Membrane separation is increasingly promising for use in bioethanol production. Hence, this chapter presents development of a hybrid process of distillation followed by vapor permeation (DVP) to produce fuel-grade (99.8 wt.%) ethanol. Process optimization with one objective can reduce energy consumption. For deeper insights and meaningful conclusions, this study investigates multi-objective optimization of DVP process for bioethanol recovery and dehydration, using multi-objective differential evolution. Pareto-optimal solutions for minimizing GHG and cost of manufacture are presented and discussed. DVP process at 134 kPa has a lower cost of manufacture of $0.1829/kg of bioethanol with 99.8% recovery of bioethanol from the fermentation broth.

The allocation of fixed resources among multiple dimensions is a usual challenge faced by natural resource managers. In this chapter, we propose a capital allocation framework for assigning financial resources among multiple environmental dependent risks. This approach relies on the use of the multivariate gamma distribution as a formal model for the estimation of different capital allocation principles, given its properties of dependence and positive skewness. The presented methodology is applied to the CO₂, CH₄ and N₂O emissions of the EU-28 in 2013 in order to determine the incomes we should use for financing the reduction of the risks related to each gas. Our results indicate that CO₂ is the riskiest pollutant, and then more capital is allocated to it. Finally, using simulation techniques, we study the sensitivity of our results.

China is the largest cement producer worldwide. The cement industry is very energy and raw material intensive and a large emitter of CO2. At the same time, China's waste management system still has many deficiencies, and the waste is an enormous source of pollution. Waste used as alternative fuel and raw material (AFR) in cement kilns can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save primary resources, and provide a waste treatment service. A large variety of wastes can be co-processed if certain rules are followed and process adaptations are made in order to avoid negative impacts on operation and emissions. In this study, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology has been applied to identify the effects of waste co-processing in cement production on greenhouse gas emissions. With substitution rates of 40% for fuels (20% plastics, 10% tires, 10% sugarcane leaves) and 5% for raw materials (blast furnace slag), a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 89 kg CO2-equivalents can be achieved per ton cement. From a waste management perspective, AFR co-processing may achieve even larger emission reductions, since the co-processed wastes need not be landfilled or incinerated.