SABIIA - Sistema Aberto e Integrado de Informação em Agricultura (Sabiia)

Banzhaf, H. Spencer; Burtraw, Dallas; Palmer, Karen L..

This paper provides new estimates of efficient emission fees for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions in the U.S. electricity sector. The estimates are obtained by coupling a detailed simulation model of the U.S. electricity markets with an integrated assessment model that links changes in emissions with atmospheric transport, environmental endpoints, and valuation of impacts. Efficient fees are found by comparing incremental benefits with emission fee levels. National quantity caps that are equivalent to these fees also are computed, and found to approximate caps under consideration in the current multi-pollutant debate in the U.S. Congress and the recent proposals from the Bush administration for the electricity industry. We also...

Sulfur Dioxide Control by Electric Utilities: What Are the Gains from Trade?

Palavras-chave: Emissions trading; Emission fees; Air pollution; Cost-benefit analysis; Electricity; Particulates; Nitrogen oxides; NOx; Sulfur dioxide; SO2; Health benefits; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q4; D61.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10505

Carlson, Curtis; Burtraw, Dallas; Cropper, Maureen L.; Palmer, Karen L..

Title IV of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) established a market for transferable sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission allowances among electric utilities. This market offers firms facing high marginal abatement costs the opportunity to purchase the right to emit SO2 from firms with lower costs, and is expected to yield cost savings compared to a command and control approach to environmental regulation. This paper uses econometrically estimated marginal abatement cost functions for power plants affected by Title IV of the CAAA to evaluate the performance of the SO2 allowance market. Specifically, we investigate whether the much-heralded fall in the cost of abating SO2, compared to original estimates, can be attributed to allowance trading. We demonstrate...

Economics of Pollution Trading for SO2 and NOx

Palavras-chave: Acid rain; Sulfur dioxide; Air pollution; Clean Air Act; Title IV; Permit trading; Environmental Economics and Policy; H43; Q2; Q4.

Ano: 2000

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10790

Burtraw, Dallas; Evans, David A.; Krupnick, Alan J.; Palmer, Karen L.; Toth, Russell.

For years economists have urged policymakers to use market-based approaches such as cap-and-trade programs or emission taxes to control pollution. The SO2 allowance market created by Title IV of the 1990 U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments represents the first real test of the wisdom of economists' advice. Subsequent urban and regional applications of NOx emission allowance trading took shape in the 1990s in the United States, culminating in a second large experiment in emission trading in the eastern United States that began in 2003. This paper provides an overview of the economic rationale for emission trading and a description of the major U.S. programs for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). We evaluate these programs along measures of...

The Evolution of NOx Control Policy for Coal-Fired Power Plants in the United States

Palavras-chave: Sulfur dioxide; Nitrogen oxides; Emission trading; Power plants; Air pollution; Environmental Economics and Policy; H23; Q25; Q28; D78.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10488

Burtraw, Dallas; Evans, David A..

Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx ) contribute to formation of particulate matter and ozone, and also to acidification of the environment. The electricity sector is responsible for about 20% of NOx emissions in the United States, and the sector has been the target of both prescriptive (command-and-control) and flexible (cap-and-trade) approaches to regulation. We summarize the major NOx control policies affecting this sector, and provide some perspectives as to their effectiveness. While both prescriptive and flexible approaches continue to play an important role, significant new proposals have wholly embraced a cap-and-trade approach.

Electricity Restructuring and Regional Air Pollution

Palavras-chave: Emissions trading; Cap and trade; Air pollution; Cost-benefit analysis; Electricity; Particulates; Ozone; Nitrogen oxides; Acid rain; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; Q4; D62; Q28.

Ano: 2003

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10645

Palmer, Karen L.; Burtraw, Dallas.

This paper investigates the regional air pollution effects that could result from new opportunities for inter-regional power transmission in the wake of more competitive electricity markets. The regional focus is important because of great regional variation in the vintage, efficiency and plant utilization rates of existing generating capacity, as well as differences in emission rates, cost of generation and electricity price. Increased competition in generation could open the door to changes in the regional profile of generation and emissions. We characterize the key determinant of changes in electricity generation and transmission as the relative cost of electricity among neighboring regions. In general, low cost regions are expected to export power...

Output-Based Refunding of Emission Payments: Theory, Distribution of Costs, and International Experience

Palavras-chave: Air pollution; Electricity restructuring; Transmission; Environmental Economics and Policy; L94; Q25; Q28.

Ano: 1996

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10766

Sterner, Thomas; Hoglund, Lena.

In this paper, we discuss the effect of refunding environmental charges. Taxes often are resisted by polluters because they imply both abatement and tax costs. We show that when charges are refunded, the incentives for abatement are essentially the same as for a tax, but the output reduction that often accompanies a tax scheme is forgone. We describe and examine the refund emissions payment (REP) scheme as a policy instrument for emissions abatement and compare it with taxes and permits with regard to allocative properties, distribution of costs, property rights, and, consequently, the politics of implementation. As an empirical example, the Swedish charge on nitrogen oxides is analyzed.

The Use of Economic Incentives in Developing Countries: Lessons from International Experience with Industrial Air Pollution

Palavras-chave: Refunded charge; Incentived-based environmental policy; Air pollution; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q28; Q25; H23.

Ano: 2000

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10670

Blackman, Allen; Harrington, Winston.

To what extent should developing countries eschew conventional command and control environmental regulation that is increasingly seen as inefficient and rely instead on economic incentives? This paper addresses this question as it pertains to industrial air pollution. The paper discusses the advantages and disadvantages of various economic incentive instruments, presents in-depth case studies of their application in Sweden, the United States, China, and Poland, and proposes a number of policy guidelines. We argue that both design deficiencies and pervasive constraints on monitoring and enforcement impede the effectiveness of economic instruments in developing countries. The latter are difficult to rectify, at least in the medium term. As a result, tradable...

The Ancillary Carbon Benefits of SO2 Reductions from a Small-Boiler Policy in Taiyuan, PRC

Palavras-chave: Environmental policy; Economic incentives; Market-based instruments; Developing countries; Air pollution; Sweden; China; Poland; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q25; Q28.

Ano: 1999

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10601

Morgenstern, Richard D.; Krupnick, Alan J.; Zhang, Xuehua.

To reduce carbon emissions worldwide, it makes sense to consider the possibility of developed countries paying for carbon reductions in developing countries. Developing countries may be interested in such activities if the ancillary air pollution benefits are large. This paper reports on an RFF survey of the emissions benefits (and costs) of reducing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from small, coal-burning boilers in Taiyuan, an industrial, northern Chinese city that recently banned uncontrolled coal combustion in certain small boilers in the downtown area. We find significant carbon benefits in percentage terms-on the order of 50% to 95% reduction-associated with this SO2 control policy, with large reduction potential elsewhere in Taiyuan and China. While...

The Chesapeake Bay and the Control of NOx Emissions: A Policy Analysis

Palavras-chave: Carbon; Air pollution; Informal sector; Ancillary benefits; Abatement costs; Survey; Environmental Economics and Policy; O12; L2; Q12; Q25; Q48.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10632

Krupnick, Alan J.; McConnell, Virginia D.; Austin, David H.; Cannon, Matthew; Stoessell, Terrell; Morton, Brian.

Nitrogen oxide emissions not only affect air quality but have recently been found to be an important source of nitrate pollution in the Chesapeake Bay. This analysis examines the costs, emissions, source specific and location-specific allocations of NOx emissions reductions and the ancillary ozone related health benefits under a range of policy scenarios. The paper includes analysis of three separate policies. The first is a detailed analysis of the effect on nitrate loadings to the Bay of command and control policies specified in the Clean Air Act and as part of the OTAG process. The second is a comparison of alternative scenarios for reducing NOx emissions that meet nitrate loading goals, with or without concern for reducing ozone concentrations and the...

CO2 Allowance Allocation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Effect on Electricity Investors

Palavras-chave: Chesapeake Bay; Cost effectiveness; Air pollution; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q20; Q25; Q28.

Ano: 1998

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10576

Burtraw, Dallas; Kahn, Danny; Palmer, Karen L..

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is an effort by nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to develop a regional, mandatory, market-based cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electricity sector. The initiative is expected to lead to an increase in the price of electricity in the RGGI region and beyond. The implications of these changes for the value of electricity-generating assets and the market value of the firms that own them depends on the initial allocation of carbon dioxide allowances, the composition of generating assets owned by the firm, and the locations of those assets. Changes in asset values inside the RGGI region may be positive or negative, whereas changes outside of the RGGI region are almost...

The implications of policy settings on land use and agricultural technology adoption in North-West India

Palavras-chave: Emissions trading; Allowance allocations; Electricity; Air pollution; Auction; Grandfathering; Generation-performance standard; Output-based allocation; Cost-effectiveness; Greenhouse gases; Climate change; Global warming; Carbon dioxide; Asset value; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q25; Q4; L94.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10495

Millham, Nick; Crean, Jason; Singh, Rajinder Pal.

The irrigated rice-wheat cropping system is the predominant and most profitable farming system in north-west India, especially in Punjab. However, there are growing concerns about the environmental effects of the system, particularly with the practice of burning rice stubbles, due to its adverse effects on human health and air pollution. In this paper we consider the wide array of policy settings that tend to favour current land uses and management practices and their impact on the farming system over time. As part of an ACIAR-funded project, we assess the significance of these policies with a view to considering what additional or alternative policies could be put in place to encourage the adoption of approaches or technologies directly concerned with...

Tipo: Conference Paper or Presentation

Palavras-chave: Agricultural policy; Air pollution; Stubble burning; Technology adoption; India; Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries; Land Economics/Use; Political Economy; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/100686

Distributing pollution rights in cap-and-trade programs: are outcomes independent of allocation?

Fowlie, Meredith; Perloff, Jeffrey M..

According to the Coase theorem, if property rights to pollute are clearly established and emissions permit markets nearly eliminate transaction costs, the permit market equilibrium will be independent of how the permits are initially distributed among firms. Testing the independence of firms' permit allocations and emissions is difficult because of endogeneity and omitted variable bias. We exploit the random assignment of firms to different permit allocation cycles in Southern California's RECLAIM Program to test for a causal relationship between facility-level emissions and initial permit allocations. Our primary finding is that a null hypothesis of zero effect cannot be rejected.

The Ten-Year Rule: Allocation of Emission Allowances in the EU Emission Trading System

Palavras-chave: Air pollution; Emissions trading; Transaction costs; Environmental Economics and Policy; D21; D23; H11; Q50; Q53; Q58.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/47002

Ahman, Markus; Burtraw, Dallas; Kruger, Joseph; Zetterberg, Lars.

In its guidance on National Allocation Plans (NAPs), the European Commission has discouraged Member States from adopting allocation methodologies that would provide incentives to firms affecting their compliance behavior. The purpose is to promote economic efficiency and to prevent strategic behavior that deviates from individual and collective cost-minimization. For example, some methodologies would reward one type of compliance investment over another. To discourage such actions, the EU Emission Trading System guidelines prohibit ex post redistribution of emission allowances within an allocation period based on behavior in that period. Similarly, the Commission has indicated that decisions about the initial distribution of allowances in the second phase...

Democratic Institutions and Environmental Quality: Effects and Transmission Channels

Palavras-chave: Emission trading; Allowance allocations; Closures; New entrants; Tradable permits; Air pollution; Cost-effectiveness; Greenhouse gases; Climate change; Global warming; Carbon dioxide; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q2; Q25; Q4; L94.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10637

Romuald, Kinda Somlanare.

This paper aims at analysing the effect of democratic institutions on environmental quality (carbon dioxide per capita, sulfure dioxide per capita) and at identifying potential channel transmissions. We use panel data from 1960 to 2008 in 122 developing and developed countries and modern econometric methods. The results are as follows: Firstly, we show that democratic institutions have opposite effects on environment quality: a positive direct effect on environment quality and a negative indirect effect through investments and income inequality. Indeed, democratic institutions attract investments that hurt environment quality. Moreover, as democratic institutions reduce income inequality, they also damage environment. Secondly, we find that the direct...

Tipo: Presentation

Palavras-chave: Democratic institutions; Air pollution; Panel data; Income inequality; Investments; Environmental Economics and Policy; O43; Q53; C23; D31; E22.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/120396

Using stated preferences to estimate the environmental benefits of using biodiesel fuel in diesel engines

Jeanty, Pierre Wilner; Hitzhusen, Frederick J..

Using biodiesel fuel to reduce emissions from diesel engines is an area of increasing interest. Many environmental benefits associated with biodiesel are not traded in markets and their estimation requires economic valuation methods applied to non-market goods and services. This paper presents the results of a contingent valuation survey conducted in 2006 in two Ohio regions to estimate willingness to pay for air pollution reduction arising from using biodiesel fuel in diesel engines. The double bounded parametric formulation was used to estimate mean WTP ranging from $157 to $457. These results yield estimated aggregate benefits ranging from $123 to $429 million and can be used as a starting point for cost-benefit analysis.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Biodiesel; Diesel; Air pollution; Environmental benefits; Contingent valuation; Willingness to pay; Double bounded model; Environmental Economics and Policy; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; I18; L91; Q42; Q51; Q53.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/48773

Maquiladoras, Air Pollution, and Human Health in Ciudad Juarez and El Paso

Blackman, Allen; Batz, Michael B.; Evans, David A..

Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, is home to the U.S.-Mexico border's largest maquiladora labor force, and also its worst air pollution. We marshal two types of evidence to examine the link between maquiladoras and air pollution in Ciudad Juarez, and in its sister city, El Paso, Texas. First, we use a publicly available sector-level emissions inventory for Ciudad Juarez to determine the importance of all industrial facilities (including maquiladoras) as a source of air pollution. Second, we use original plant-level data from two sample maquiladoras to better understand the impacts of maquiladora air pollution on human health. We use a series of computational models to estimate health damages attributable to air pollution from these plants, we compare these damages...

Um novo conceito de monitoramento e comunicação ambiental: a rede européia para a avaliação da qualidade do ar usando plantas bioindicadoras (EuroBionet)

Palavras-chave: Maquiladora; Air pollution; Human health; Environmental justice; U.S.-Mexico border; Ciudad Juarez; El Paso; Environmental Economics and Policy; Q01; Q25; O13.

Ano: 2004

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10807

Rev. Bras. Bot.

KLUMPP,ANDREAS; ANSEL,WOLFGANG; KLUMPP,GABRIELE; FOMIN,ANETTE.

Apesar de todo o progresso alcançado na redução da emissão de poluentes atmosféricos durante as últimas décadas, a poluição do ar ainda representa um dos principais problemas ambientais nos centros urbanos da Europa. Plantas bioindicadoras têm um papel cada vez maior no controle da qualidade do ar, já que seu uso comprova e demonstra os efeitos negativos da poluição em seres vivos de uma maneira facilmente inteligível, inclusive para leigos. Em uma rede de municípios, o projeto pan-europeu EuroBionet utiliza plantas bioindicadoras para a avaliação de possíveis efeitos da poluição aérea. Através de um conceito de comunicação específico, os resultados científicos do projeto são traduzidos e divulgados de uma forma que chama a atenção do público em geral e...

Respostas de indivíduos jovens de Tibouchina pulchra Cogn. à poluição aérea de Cubatão, SP: fotossíntese líquida, crescimento e química foliar

Palavras-chave: Air pollution; Environmental monitoring; Bioindicator plants; Communication.

Ano: 2001

URL: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-84042001000500005

Rev. Bras. Bot.

MORAES,REGINA MARIA DE; DELITTI,WELINGTON BRAZ CARVALHO; MORAES,JOSÉ ANTÔNIO PROENÇA VIEIRA DE.

Indivíduos jovens de Tibouchina pulchra, cultivados em condições padronizadas, foram colocados em três regiões de Cubatão para estudo dos possíveis efeitos dos poluentes aéreos sobre a fotossíntese, o crescimento e as concentrações foliares de ácido ascórbico, clorofila, nitrogênio, enxofre e flúor. As áreas de estudo foram: vale do rio Pilões (RP), considerada área de referência; Caminho do Mar (CM), próxima a indústrias petroquímicas e vale do rio Mogi (VM), próxima a indústrias siderúrgicas e de fertilizantes. Quatro plantas permaneceram em cada área por um período de seis meses. Em comparação com as plantas mantidas na área de referência (RP - 9,81 mimol.m-2.s-1), a fotossíntese líquida foi reduzida (p < 0,05) nas plantas que foram mantidas em VM...

Leaf contents of nitrogen and phenolic compounds and their bearing with the herbivore damage to Tibouchina pulchra Cogn. (Melastomataceae), under the influence of air pollutants from industries of Cubatão, São Paulo

Palavras-chave: Air pollution; Tibouchina pulchra; Cubatão; Photosynthesis.

Ano: 2000

URL: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-84042000000400010

Rev. Bras. Bot.

FURLAN,CLÁUDIA MARIA; SALATINO,ANTONIO; DOMINGOS,MARISA.

The Atlantic Forest on the slopes of Serra do Mar around Cubatão (São Paulo, Brazil) has been affected by massive emissions of pollutants from the local growing industrial complex. The effects of air pollution on the amounts of leaf nitrogen, total soluble phenols and total tannins of Tibouchina pulchra Cogn., a common species in the area of Cubatão, were investigated, as well as the possible influence of the altered parameters on the leaf area damaged by herbivores. Fully expanded leaves were collected at two sites: the valley of Pilões river (VP), characterized by a vegetation virtually not affected by air pollution and taken as a reference; and valley of Mogi river (VM), close to the core region of the industrial complex, and severely affected by air...

Concentrations and Settling Rates of Particulate Matter in Laying Hen Barns in the Hot Climatic Region of Cameroon

Palavras-chave: Air pollution; Herbivory; Tibouchina pulchra Cogn.; Cubatão; Nitrogen; Phenolics.

Ano: 1999

URL: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-84041999000500014

CIGR Journal

Ngwabie, Ngwa Martin.

Particulate matter (PM) serves as a carrier of adhesive gaseous compounds, and may result to an underestimation of gas emissions from livestock barns when only filtered air samples are analysed. PM concentrations have hardly been studied in the unique livestock production system of Sub-Saharan Africa. This study was aimed at generating baseline data for PM (total suspended particulates) concentrations and settling rates in laying hen barns with cemented floors and wood shavings added as an initial bedding material. Measurements were conducted in two naturally ventilated laying hen barns in Cameroon; a barn with 4 months old hens that had just stated laying eggs and a barn with 18 months old egg laying hens. PM concentration was determined gravimetrically...