Globalisation and the Environment

• "Mother Nature doesn't do Bailouts"

  Thomas Friedman is good. His book "flat earth" is a really excellent read.
  
  This column gets to the point. Never a truer word....
  
  We have created a system for growth that depended on our building more and more stores to sell more and more stuff made in more [...]
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  Posted: November 24, 2009, 4:38pm EST
  

• America, China and the inevitable failure of Copenhagen - the Economist talks

  The Economist covers the inevitable failure of Copenhagen in a well written article. One could also be believe that the US government is deliberately placing articles to lower expectations.
  
  The cartoon on page 10 of the economist represents my view perfectly.
  
  
  
  [...]
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  Posted: November 22, 2009, 4:00pm EST
  

• Climate change academic emails leaked online

  Nothing is safe online. Whilst the story that hundreds of emails have been stolen and put online via a Russian mirror is no surprise it is a shock that there are academic emails from a UK University - in this case East Anglia.
  
  Whilst not likely to represent proof [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 6:53pm EST
  

• Can Global De-Carbonization Inhibit Developing Country Industrialization?

  This is the question raised in a recent World Bank Working paper. The answer has to be "yes" without reading the paper. The question is the magnitude.
  
  The numbers from the abstract to not strike me as too far off for China and India. You can bet that the [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 3:54pm EST
  

• "Peak Globalisation" and Peak Oil

  A new paper by Fred Curtis in Ecological Economics introduces us to the term "Peak Globalisation". Always one who enjoys a new movement peak globalisation is right up my street.
  
  I am not sure I believe this story but I expect I will need to read the paper to [...]
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  Posted: November 21, 2009, 3:37am EST
  

• Rap on the knuckles for Copenhagen

  From the inbox:
  
  To demonstrate that "Globalisation and the Environment" is "down with the kids" here is a rap about climate change and Copenhagen.
  
  It is vaguely amusing actually and certainly worth 5 minutes of ones short life.
  
  
  
  . [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 5:06am EST
  

• Glaciers on the top of the world - hopes melting away

  From the inbox:
  
  A bit about the project:
  “On Thinner Ice”: A new photography project provides undeniable proof of melting glaciers on the roof of the world.
  
  Global warming is melting 18,000 Himalayan glaciers, the largest concentration of glaciers outside the polar ice sheets. If the present [...]
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  Posted: November 20, 2009, 4:45am EST
  

• Peak Oil - lights out even sooner than expected?

  Peak Oil is a subject that is always fun to read about. Personally I am sceptical and have a belief that countries in the middle east are deliberately UNDERestimating the level of reserves to keep the price high.
  
  Now the Guardian reports that reserves may actually be lower that [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 10:48am EST
  

• Object graveyards - in pictures

  Always a believer that a picture is worth a thousand words some of these "piles of rubbish" pictures show clearly tell us something about capitalism and society.
  
  Exactly what is tells us is something to think about - answers welcome.
  
  
  
  Object [...]
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  Posted: November 19, 2009, 10:37am EST
  

• Climate Volatility and Poverty

  Climate change is not always about absolute increases in temperature.
  
  An important element is the volatility in climate. This can do more damage that a simple increase. It is good to see this issue being addressed in a recent World Bank working paper looking at Tanzania.
  
  My instinct [...]
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  Posted: November 17, 2009, 2:51am EST
  

• Chinese Pollution in picutres

  Must view pictures.
  
  Warning - these are not for the faint hearted.
  
  Amazing Pictures, Pollution in China [China Hush]
  
  . [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 4:36pm EST
  

• No deal in Denmark

  Followers of this blog will have known I have long predicted no deal in Copenhagen. This was hardly a left field prediction - it was simply never going to happen.
  
  The gulf between developed and developing countries is simply too large and Obama already has enough on his plate. [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 3:59pm EST
  

• How fast is "pollution" moving East?

  Nicole Andréa Mathys and Jean-Marie Grether have a series of interesting papers using concepts from physics to look at the "centre" of different variables.
  
  CO2 is the new target and not surprisingly the trend is a dramatic shift east.
  
  Some great pictures and interesting reading. This is [...]
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  Posted: November 16, 2009, 10:55am EST
  

• The future of economics research?

  An interesting (yet strangely depressing) prediction of the future of economics research from Marginal Revolution I am sure there is a silver lining somewhere but I can't quite pin it down yet.
  
  Matthew Kahn does a good follow up HERE.
  
  Two factors shaping the economics profession' [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 4:10pm EST
  

• Can 144 environmental economists be wrong?

  The Institute for Policy Integrity recently released results on their survey of economists on climate change. I was invited on the back on a 2005 JEEM article I think.
  
  I originally wrote a long post explaining why I would not participate because of what I perceived to be a [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 3:28pm EST
  

• The Place of Nature in Economic Development

  Another large paper to read. This article is overdue and is a must read (if I ever get time).
  
  Here are the conclusions. I tend to agree with much of what is written here.
  
  The Place of Nature in Economic Development [PDF]
  
  In this paper I [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 3:10pm EST
  

• Tibetan Plateau hopes are melting away

  After a recent trip to China and crossing some very large rivers on route it is hard to imagine the potential problems that melting glaciers are storing up.
  
  The Tibetan Plateau problems include flooding,water shortages and desertification. More economics research is needed in this area.
  
  This post from [...]
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  Posted: November 15, 2009, 2:57pm EST
  

• Climate Change Negotiations Summer School

  Apologies for the lack of posts - I have been at the heart of the globalisation and environment debate spending over a week in 3 of China's largest cities - Beijing, Tianjin and Wuhan.
  
  The sheer scale of these cities is something to behold.
  
  I could not' [...]
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  Posted: November 11, 2009, 11:28pm EST
  

• Earth Scars - holes to die for

  
  
  A picture is worth a thousand words - these are impressively big holes. Is there room for more holes this size elsewhere - sure there is. The earth is a big place.
  
  The scale can only really be appreciated in the shots that [...]
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  Posted: October 30, 2009, 2:34am EDT
  

• CO2 Emissions: Cumulative vs Annual

  This is a picture I have wanted to see for a long time but was too lazy to do it myself.
  
  The result is interesting on many levels. The US is very naughty although China is catching up quick.
  
  [www.flickr.com]
  
  . [...]
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  Posted: October 19, 2009, 7:33pm EDT
  

• Does trade openness improve environmental quality?

  A perfect "globalisation and the environment" paper that I need to read. Another one on the ever growing list.
  
  The results appear plausible and the methods appropriate.
  
  Does trade openness improve environmental quality?
  
  Shunsuke Managia, Akira Hibikic and Tetsuya Tsurumia
  
  Received 8 February 2008.
  [...]
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  Posted: October 18, 2009, 6:25pm EDT
  

• Environmental Economics Survey

  Apologies - original post edited at request of the survey designers - to be posted again once the results are known.
  
  My thoughts on this survey could potentially bias the results.
  
  . [...]
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  Posted: October 18, 2009, 9:55am EDT
  

• Elinor Ostrom research papers

  I am afraid I opted out of all the "Ostrom" fever that has been keeping the blogosphere busy in recent days.
  
  It is sad to admit that the majority of "environmental economists" that I know including experts on the "commons" had little recognition of the name. Of course [...]
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  Posted: October 18, 2009, 9:45am EDT
  

• Bunny slaughter keeps Swedes warm at night

  The news that Swedes are being kept nice and toasty at night due to the wholesale slaughter of thousands and cute and cuddly bunnies is a newspaper (and blog writers) dream.
  
  Bunny boliers of the world unite.
  
  Cue picture of fluffy bunny as used on the BBC website.
  [...]
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  Posted: October 16, 2009, 9:56am EDT
  

• Environmental crises: past, present, and future

  Scott Taylor gave this paper at the 2009 European Association of Environmental Economists conference in Amsterdam this year. It was an excellent talk and is a great paper.
  
  I buy the story and the model. The increase in CO2 can be viewed as a crisis in the making. This [...]
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  Posted: October 09, 2009, 12:11pm EDT
  

• The weight of wee and why it matters

  I am a little surprised this has not been thought of before. If an airline could extract the urine out of all passengers before they embark it could come pretty close to saving the planet.
  
  Just think of the benefit if all human waste products could be removed prior [...]
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  Posted: October 06, 2009, 5:39pm EDT
  

• Polls show global warming nothing to be scared of.

  Polls, polls and more polls.
  
  In the poll results below I suppose it depends on what people perceive as "scare worthy". Whilst man made global warming is most probably occurring as I write I am not personally "scared". I might be if I lived on the coast of Bangladesh [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2009, 5:05am EDT
  

• Should Europes poor help the rich to help the poor?

  Poland have a good point. When the EU promise such massive transfers of wealth from the EU to the developing world to mitigate climate change where exactly does the money come from? For sure some of it comes from the poor countries of Europe such as Poland.
  
  There is [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2009, 4:58am EDT
  

• SOS climate

  From the inbox: The scientists are getting rather hot under the collar.
  
  I like this anti-cap and trade quote:
  
  Cap and trade is the worst choice for pricing carbon. It is proven ineffective even in its best incarnations, is influence-prone, creates a huge, risky, game-able carbon market that [...]
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  Posted: October 05, 2009, 4:34am EDT
  

• On Spatial Heterogeneity in Environmental Compliance Costs

  A must read paper. All of Randy Becker's papers are excellent and show off the quality of data in the US.
  
  I have been trying to look at this issue using other country data but any paper is always going to be of a lower quality due to' [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2009, 4:56am EDT
  

• The Pollution Game for the Classroom

  An excellent resource for teaching (and students in environmental economics). I would certainly use this if I was still teaching env-econ (a victim of my increased management role).
  
  The Pollution Game: A Classroom Exercise Demonstrating the Relative Effectiveness of
  Emissions Taxes and Tradable Permits [PDF]
  
  By Jay [...]
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  Posted: October 01, 2009, 4:48am EDT
  

• Co2 pollution is good!!

  When one watches the following advert paid by the coal industry it is hard to know whether to laugh or cry.
  
  Only in America.
  
  
  
  For more information read this link from Care2.
  
  Relax, CO2 is Good for You!
  
  The Washington Post reports [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2009, 4:17am EDT
  

• Potato Economics

  Always on the look out for new branches of economics come an unmissable paper from Nathan Nunn and Nabcy Qian from British Columbia and Yale respectively.
  
  The abstract reveals the enormous impact of the Solanum tuberosum on world population growth and unbanisation. This is a great "globalisation" is good [...]
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  Posted: September 30, 2009, 3:24am EDT
  

• Environmental class war - burn the rich

  George Monbiot writes great columns in the Guardian. Sure, pollution growth is never going to be good for the environment. What is far worse for the environment is the number of rich people.
  
  The parts in "bold" are sheer classic Monbiot. A great thought provoking article.
  
  Class [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2009, 3:50pm EDT
  

• Is the ETS economic suicide for Europe? The NYT investigates

  Europe leads the world in terms of environmental regulation via the European Trading Scheme (ETS).
  
  Has the cost to competitiveness really been worth it given the increase in emissions from China, India and the US? Surely something is better than nothing but what about those who have lost their [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2009, 8:44am EDT
  

• Carbon Capture and Storage - next steps: finance, demonstration and feasibility

  London based seminar for all those interested in Carbon Capture (from the inbox).
  
  Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum Keynote Seminar
  
  Carbon Capture and Storage - next steps:
  finance, demonstration and feasibility
  
  with
  Martin Deutz
  Director of the Cleaner Fossil Fuels Unit
  Department of Energy [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2009, 8:31am EDT
  

• Cap and Trade - Krugman style

  Paul Krugman writes on "cap n trade" in the NY Time.
  
  The textbook economics of cap-and-trade [NY Times]
  
  I realized, after the last post, that it might be useful to write down just what the Econ 101 version of cap and trade looks like; as it happens, [...]
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  Posted: September 29, 2009, 8:20am EDT
  

• Google and the Climate Simulator

  Google have launched a new climate simulator. This could be a great tool.
  
  Google Earth launches climate simulator [Guardian]
  
  
  
  In collaboration with the Danish government and others, we are launching a series of Google Earth layers and tours to allow you to explore the potential [...]
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  Posted: September 26, 2009, 4:46pm EDT
  

• EU emissions trading - the wrangling continues

  My environmental economics students will soon be getting to grips with the European Trading Scheme (ETS) as part of their course.
  
  It is useful therefore to point out the continued political wrangling behind the ETS and how it never appears to get any easier.
  
  Te environment invariably loses [...]
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  Posted: September 25, 2009, 6:03am EDT
  

• "Volatility and the Natural Resource Curse"

  The natural resource curse gets of a lot of headlines. Rick ven der Ploeg is also doing a lot of interesting work in this area.
  
  This recent OEP article demonstrates the importance of volatility.
  
  "Volatility and the Natural Resource Curse"
  
  Oxford Economic Papers, Vol. [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 4:08am EDT
  

• Who Pays a Price on Carbon?

  Given the proposed US legislation the following paper is a timely piece of research.
  
  The distributional effects of a carbon tax are worthy of further research.
  
  Who Pays a Price on Carbon?
  
  Corbett A. Grainger
  University of California, Santa Barbara - Department of Economics
  
  Charles [...]
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  Posted: September 24, 2009, 4:04am EDT
  

• Glaciers thinning, water levels rising

  Shoddy post frequency I know but I promise to improve over the next month.
  
  Let us get back to action with some good old glacier work. I will catch up on all the pre-Copenhagen news soon.
  
  What is interesting here is that it is the speed of the [...]
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  Posted: September 23, 2009, 3:55pm EDT
  

• Climate Policy Options and the World Trade Organization

  A good summary article of the WTO - environmental position.
  
  It is going to get very messy in my opinion especially with the US proposal to tax carbon imports. The authors of this article are correct to point out the almost certain challenges that will arise.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: September 07, 2009, 4:25am EDT
  

• Solar trade war heats up

  A good trade and the environment story hits the news. Solar is big and has attracted subsidies for many governments around the world looking to generate "green jobs". Each country wants to be the "first mover" and to reap the future rewards.
  
  We then have the classic over investment [...]
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  Posted: September 07, 2009, 4:11am EDT
  

• WTO and Copenhagen linked in a death spiral?

  If, as is likely, Copenhagen ends in failure will it spell trouble for the WTO? Pascal Lamy, head of the World Trade Organisation, certainly seems to think so. The FT report.
  
  I happen to believe him. There are some rather odd proposals on how tariffs can be used to [...]
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  Posted: September 04, 2009, 9:38am EDT
  

• Copenhagen posturing: Africa I

  Ahead of the UN climate change talks in Copenhagen there are going to be many countries and regions threatening many things, walk outs, veto's and boycotts being top of the list.
  
  This is all about political game playing and posturing ahead of the conference and can be largely ignored. [...]
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  Posted: September 04, 2009, 9:28am EDT
  

• Bubble, bubble toil and trouble - feedback loops kick in

  The permafrost problem is potentially a large one and is one of the feedback mechanisms that could kick in if the climate goes past the "tipping point".
  
  More research is needed but this is one of the more believable "climate catastrophe" stories.
  
  Troubling bubbles [Columbia Tribune]
  
  [...]
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  Posted: August 31, 2009, 4:27pm EDT
  

• Chinese Copenhagen poker

  Apologies for the long absence. Large administration jobs are surprisingly time consuming.
  
  I have missed lots of important events not least Copenhagen and the China factor. Here are some early quotes from Benny Peiser.
  
  China must reorient its economic development to cut greenhouse gas emissions, according to a [...]
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  Posted: August 28, 2009, 8:42am EDT
  

• A map to success - where are the acadmics?

  This map is an environmental free zone but it great nonetheless.
  
  
  
  BIG VERSION.
  
  I know a lot of academics who seem to get stuck in the right hand corner of this map who enter under the illusion that they are a [...]
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  Posted: August 15, 2009, 1:57pm EDT
  

• Dirty Money

  Ever wondered where the money in your pocket came from? You will not be surprised to hear that it is a hole in the ground and that this said hole in the ground has its fair share of related environmental problems (with the standard pictures of little children and shanty [...]
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  Posted: August 04, 2009, 3:42am EDT
  

• "Social Ecological Economics"

  I think I agree with the abstract from the following paper. In fact I think I always thought like this.
  
  Ecological economics = heterodox
  Environmental economics = mainstream
  
  I think I had better read the paper before commenting any more although I am not sure "social" is really [...]
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  Posted: August 03, 2009, 5:04am EDT
  

• EU in carbon tax fraud shocker!

  The only surprise about the story that carbon trading is up to its neck in fraud is that it is not a surprise.
  
  Given my knowledge of how the EU operates stories of wide scale fraud are pretty much par of the course.
  
  Traders Call For EU [...]
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  Posted: August 03, 2009, 4:18am EDT
  

• Climate wars - Eagle vrs Dragon

  It is always interesting to take a step back and have a quick look at what the world's two largest polluters are doing about climate change.
  
  This neat little summary from PlanetArk speaks volumes although I am not sure what about.
  
  It is clear that with the current [...]
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  Posted: July 28, 2009, 6:00am EDT
  

• Waterwars - Bear vrs Dragon

  Things could get ugly.
  
  Russia complains about Chinese border river project [PplanetArk]
  
  MOSCOW - Russia complained about a major Chinese river project on Monday which it says will harm the Russian environment, the latest sign of strained relations between the two countries.
  
  In a statement, Russia's' [...]
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  Posted: July 28, 2009, 4:59am EDT
  

• The Left’s Civil War on Cap-and-Trade

  Some of the "free market" blogs have interesting articles. This one gives some food for thought (and some good quotes).
  
  Here are some quotes from this post.
  
  The Left’s Civil War on Cap-and-Trade: Who Likes Political Capitalism? [MasterResource]
  
  The political hijacking of climate legislation is why [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2009, 5:19am EDT
  

• Climate change deal has a Himalayan mountain to climb

  The climate change debate saw the rift between development and developing countries widen. I have tried to point out numerous times just how big the gap is and that the chances of it narrowing are very slim. This article merely emphasises why a deal is close to impossible to achieve.
  [...]
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  Posted: July 24, 2009, 4:56am EDT
  

• US should pay for carbon content

  The blindingly obvious come back to the recent US regulation is summarised by the headline of this blog post. This is no surprise and shows why troubled negotiations are ahead.
  
  It comes down to the simple question of whether the consumer or producer pays for the pollution caused by [...]
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  Posted: July 19, 2009, 5:11pm EDT
  

• Water wars - India V Bangladesh round 1

  This is the sort of headline I expect to see a lot more of in years to come.
  
  The question is what Bangladesh can really do about it. Wait until this sort of event occurs in the middle east.
  
  Bangladesh Ex-PM Asks India to Scrap River Dam [...]
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  Posted: July 19, 2009, 5:05pm EDT
  

• "Economics of Renewable Energy"

  When I saw the title I wondered who would use such a broad title for a paper. Have a guess. Correct - it was Geoffrey Heal.
  
  The Economics of Renewable Energy
  Date: 2009-06
  By: Geoffrey Heal
  
  URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15081&r=env
  
  Greater use of renewable energy is seen as [...]
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  Posted: July 15, 2009, 4:06pm EDT
  

• Green Market Geography

  Matt Kahn (fellow environmental economics blogger) has a nice little B.E. Journal paper out in a recent issue.
  
  Environmental spatial papers are something I am working on at the moment so it must mean it is no longer fashionable.
  
  The results are pretty much as you would expect. [...]
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  Posted: July 15, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
  

• "Monkey harvesting" and the monkey market

  Any academic paper that talks about "monkey harvesting" is a must blog piece.
  
  Ecological Economics is a well respected journal. The data that managed to source for this paper sounds great.
  
  Not surprisingly the conclusion is that being a monkey on Boiko Island is not good for your [...]
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  Posted: July 15, 2009, 3:42pm EDT
  

• "Green Suicide"

  Headlines such as "GREEN SUICIDE: CALIFORNIA FACES MASSIVE CLIMATE BILL, 1 MILLION JOB LOSSES" do not to the anti-climate change lobby any favours.
  
  We revisit the "jobs vrs environment" debate this time in California.
  
  California Small Businesses Face $50,000 Cost from State Implementation of AB 32
  
  [...]
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  Posted: July 15, 2009, 6:45am EDT
  

• US carbon tax on imports gets a Chinese burn

  As I pointed out yesterday, the carbon tax on imports idea really needs more careful thought (and for me to write a paper on it).
  
  China lays into the idea and the FT reports. This is the bread and butter of "globalisation and the environment".
  
  Fears of a [...]
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  Posted: July 14, 2009, 11:12am EDT
  

• "Treatise of the Soul" gets environmental

  Environmental quote of the day:
  
  “Our teeming population is the strongest evidence
  our numbers are burdensome to the world, which
  can hardly support us from its natural elements.
  Our wants grow more and more keen and our
  complaints more bitter in all mouths, while nature
  fails in affording us [...]
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  Posted: July 13, 2009, 4:04pm EDT
  

• Population boom - are we still doomed?

  Again, any title that includes the word "doomed" perks my interest.
  
  The "population bomb" was written 40 years ago and has had a lot of attention for its neo-Malthusian stance. It is interesting that the authors think that:
  
  "perhaps the most serious flaw in The [Population] Bomb" [...]
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  Posted: July 13, 2009, 3:52pm EDT
  

• Africa to be sacrificed on the alter of climate change by the Tories?

  In a sense the title of this post meant I had to blog on it. Nothing like a good anti-Tory story to start the week.
  
  Whatever the politics there will always be these sorts of tradeoffs. Helping Africa is fine but the money will be wasted if climate change [...]
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  Posted: July 13, 2009, 3:42pm EDT
  

• Welcome "Carbon space" to the negotiating table

  I cannot remember how many times the "globalisation and environment" debate returns to the elephant in room. Developed and developing countries are simply miles apart on climate change.
  
  We all agree that there is a problem and we all know that CO2 emissions must fall but there is [...]
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  Posted: July 13, 2009, 3:27pm EDT
  

• Future King of England talks "environmental economics"

  Has Price Charles been sneaking into Environmental Economics 101 lectures?
  
  He actually uses the word "economic" and demonstrates some decent joined up thinking.
  
  "...a new economic model must be found because the Earth can no longer support the demands of a growing "consumerist society" where growth is an" [...]
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  Posted: July 10, 2009, 3:31am EDT
  

• Incentives and Mosquitos

  I have always wondered whether anti-virus software detection companies employ hundreds of people to write virus' so that customers then have to buy and renew ant-virus software. If not, why not (apart from the moral issue).
  
  News from Sri Lanka at least shows such perverse incentives exist this time' [...]
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  Posted: July 03, 2009, 3:04am EDT
  

• Waxman-Markey - Stavins summarises

  I appear to have missed some serious climate change action over the pond.
  
  Stavins provides a good overview of what actually happened. It is a good start.
  
  National Climate Change Policy: A Quick Look Back at Waxman-Markey and the Road Ahead[Belfer Centre]
  
  Like any legislation, the [...]
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  Posted: July 02, 2009, 4:33pm EDT
  

• "environmentally induced migration"

  Apologies for the lay off from blogging - academia can be a tough taskmaster.
  
  I have no doubt that climate change induced migration is on the rise and will cause significant tensions across the globe. The Economist provide a nice introduction. Academics will follow.
  
  I predict a value [...]
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  Posted: July 02, 2009, 3:46pm EDT
  

• The End of the Line: Overfishing on video

  Good video looking at EU overfishing and why we will be "fishless" by 2050.
  
  A useful video for my "economics of fishery students".
  
  [www.babelgum.com]
  
  . [...]
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  Posted: June 17, 2009, 5:02am EDT
  

• Spatially disaggregated analysis of pollution

  A must read paper for the pile. Apologies for using this blog as an online repository of papers I need to read but it helps me keep a record.
  
  The abstract does not make for very interesting reading I am afraid. It is the techniques that are important in [...]
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  Posted: June 10, 2009, 4:24am EDT
  

• Pigs in Space

  The geographical location of hog farms in the US and the impact of environmental regulations led to this inevitable blog title. I can only apologise.
  
  However, the abstract does draw you in. What is the answer? Which of the three options won out? Now I have to also read [...]
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  Posted: June 08, 2009, 6:25am EDT
  

• Research fellow position - economy, energy and climate

  For recent environmental economics PhDs. Living in either Milan or Venice sounds great.
  
  FONDAZIONE ENI ENRICO MATTEI
  Research Programme on Sustainable Development
  Research fellow position
  
  The Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), an Italian research institute that carries out research on sustainable development, encourages to submit applications for [...]
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  Posted: June 08, 2009, 5:44am EDT
  

• The EU Emissions Trading Scheme: assessment and outlook

  After setting this question to my Econ 211 students as part of their assessment I was interested to come across an academic answer to the question. I hope this paper does not "too" closely resemble the answers given by my students for their sakes.
  
  The EU Emissions Trading [...]
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  Posted: June 08, 2009, 4:10am EDT
  

• "Pollution, Health, and Avoidance Behavior: Evidence from the Ports of Los Angeles"

  I have a forthcoming paper the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty looking at the relationship between pollution exposure and wages.
  
  Dirty Money: Is there a Wage Premium for Working in a Pollution Intensive Job? [PDF old working paper version]
  
  This paper is part of a growing literature [...]
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  Posted: June 06, 2009, 10:01am EDT
  

• Climate Change Articles

  New blog to check out. Nice layout and a good place to get information.
  
  Climate Change Articles
  
  . [...]
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  Posted: June 01, 2009, 5:38am EDT
  

• The End of Civilisation

  Nothing better than a good "end of the world" story for a Monday morning. This should appeal to economists everywhere.
  
  'Earth 2100': the Final Century of Civilization? [ABC News]
  
  It's an idea that most of us would rather not face -- that within the next century,' [...]
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  Posted: June 01, 2009, 4:59am EDT
  

• "Economists in the Pits?"

  Apologies for the low posting rate - academics occasionally have to take a holiday and when that location is "internetless" even the most ardent blogger has to admit defeat.
  
  In UK academia the pressure to publish in "A" journals is immense. However, with a large increase in the number [...]
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  Posted: June 01, 2009, 3:57am EDT
  

• Lobby groups killing the planet?

  US politics is an ugly place. You have to wonder about the future of democracy and the planet when big oil and other lobby groups can have such an influence on the democratic decision making process.
  
  This is a sad state of affairs.
  
  Barack Obama's key climate' [...]
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  Posted: May 13, 2009, 4:52pm EDT
  

• "Economic Instruments to Enhance the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity"

  Call for papers:
  
  "Economic Instruments to Enhance the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity"
  
  The Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, in association with Conservation International, DEFRA, Department of Land Economy of Cambridge University and European Investment Bank, announces the Eleventh International BIOECON Conference on "Economic Instruments to Enhance the" [...]
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  Posted: May 13, 2009, 4:48pm EDT
  

• "Pollution and International Trade in Services"

  Arik Levinson and his latest trade and the environment paper.
  
  The bottom line is that services are relatively small polluters so Arik was never going to find much of real economic significance. Good to cover all bases though.
  
  
  
  "Pollution and International Trade in Services"
  [...]
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  Posted: May 11, 2009, 3:17pm EDT
  

• The World According to Monsanto

  I am on a "hammering big business roll" - first Chevron and now Monsanto.
  
  Up the revolution.
  
  The World According to Monsanto - Full Documentary [Twilight Earth]
  
  
  
  The post above has the entire documentary for all to view.
  
  [...]
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  Posted: May 11, 2009, 3:19am EDT
  

• Big Oil and "Environmental Atrocity"

  A good read and watch.
  
  “60 Minutes” Exposes Chevron’s Environmental Atrocity in the Amazon
  
  . [...]
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  Posted: May 10, 2009, 12:46pm EDT
  

• Wind farms in Sicily made an offer they cannot refuse

  You know that alternative energy has gone mainstream when the Cos Nostra get involved.
  
  This is yet another unintended consequence of sky high EU subsidies for wind power. The question is whether the finely named "operation wind" will be a rip roaring success.
  
  The idea that companies [...]
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  Posted: May 05, 2009, 9:17am EDT
  

• Foreign Direct Investment and the Pollution Haven Hypothesis"

  Having written extensively on the pollution haven hypothesis I need to keep up to speed. This looks like a promising approach but for a single sector (one that is most likely to result in a positive effect.
  
  "Agglomeration Effects in Foreign Direct Investment and the Pollution Haven Hypothesis"
  [...]
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  Posted: May 02, 2009, 7:14pm EDT
  

• "Discounting for Climate Change"

  Discounting remains controversial.
  
  David Anthoff, Tol, Richard and Gary Yohe provide a good summary of the problem.
  
  The bottom line is that the social cost of carbon could be pretty much anything.
  
  Discounting for Climate Change
  
  Date: 2009
  By: Anthoff, David
  Tol, Richard S. J.
  Yohe, [...]
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  Posted: May 02, 2009, 7:03pm EDT
  

• "An Elaborated Global Climate Policy Architecture"

  New paper from Jeffery Frankel. It is interesting to see how many mainstream economists are turning their hand to environmental issues.
  
  This plan might have legs if taken seriously.
  
  An Elaborated Global Climate Policy Architecture: Specific Formulas and Emission Targets for All Countries in All Decades"
  [...]
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  Posted: May 02, 2009, 6:43pm EDT
  

• Krugman on climate change economics

  As someone with a dust covered PhD with Krugman's name all over it, it is good to see that he has also seen the light and that "trade and the environment" is the future.
  
  Krugman is still da man.
  
  H/T: Env-econ
  
  Anti-green economics [NY Times]
  [...]
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  Posted: April 29, 2009, 4:14pm EDT
  

• Norway sees a silver lining to climate change

  A recent PlanetArk article highlights the fact that not everyone loses from climate change. Norway is looking at the opportunities that it might throw up.
  
  I suspect the thawing in the ice will lead to a freezing in relations between the large number of countries who have claims to [...]
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  Posted: April 28, 2009, 5:09am EDT
  

• Waterworld and the growing crisis

  The Economist does water. Some interesting statistics for those of us that like that sort of thing.
  
  There are stormy waters ahead that is for sure.
  
  What is the difference between a brownout and a blackout?
  
  It does seem remarkable that a growing number of the worlds [...]
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  Posted: April 24, 2009, 3:45am EDT
  

• US and Green Protectionism

  The US move to become "greener" may have wider political implications. Such protests were not unexpected but China has a point.
  
  Chinese official warns US on protectionism [FT]
  
  A top adviser to the Chinese government on Tuesday warned that a proposed US border tax on carbon sensitive [...]
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  Posted: April 23, 2009, 8:43am EDT
  

• "Controversies in the Economics of Climate Change." Geoffrey Heal at the LSE 6th May 2009

  From the inbox:
  
  I am delighted to invite you to a Grantham Research Institute public lecture, to be given by Professor Geoffrey Heal on Wednesday 6 May 2009. The lecture is entitled Controversies in the Economics of Climate Change.
  
  The Stern Review stirred up the controversy surrounding [...]
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  Posted: April 22, 2009, 11:12am EDT
  

• The truth about energy saving. Is it really so pointless?

  From the inbox:
  
  Cambridge University physicist, David MacKay, in a passionate, personal analysis of the energy crisis in the UK, in which he comes to some surprising conclusions about the way forward. The film is based on his new book ‘Sustainable Energy – without the hot air’, in which [...]
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  Posted: April 22, 2009, 8:58am EDT
  

• Carbon will kill us all

  This article from Peter Huber is fantastically bleak and makes great reading. It is refreshing to see someone talking about the reality of climate change and just how hard (and expensive) it will be to do anything about it.
  
  This is the dismal science at its most dismal. It [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 11:03am EDT
  

• Use Energy, Get Rich and Save the Planet (OR DIE TRYING)

  Good to see the much maligned Kuznets curve getting its annual airing on earth day from none other than the New York Times.
  
  Use Energy, Get Rich and Save the Planet [New York Times]
  
  When the first Earth Day took place in 1970, American environmentalists had good [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 8:38am EDT
  

• The cost of climate change in Africa

  The costs were always going to be larger than many predicted. Given these figures will never be paid the only point of this article is to get an idea of how bad things are going to get.
  
  Africa Says Poor Need Billions To Fight Climate Fight [PlanetArk]
  
  [...]
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  Posted: April 21, 2009, 4:51am EDT
  

• Does greenwashing show the dirt?

  I have written an increasing number of firm level "environmental economics" papers and this is an interesting twist on the story.
  
  Why Greenwashing Hurts Even the Most Eco-Friendly Businesses[GreenBiz.com]
  
  Your business has been designing more environmentally friendly products for the past 15 years. Your marketing team is [...]
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  Posted: April 13, 2009, 5:04am EDT
  

• Soap Smugglers

  If ever there was an example of why the planet is ultimately doomed one only has to look as far as Spokane in Washington.
  
  I am sure it is not only Americans that are this environmentally selfish but it does feed the flames of discontent with America's apparent lack' [...]
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  Posted: April 08, 2009, 8:58am EDT