This report finds that revenue account fund disbursement in Punjab in terms of percentage share of the total for water supply, irrigation, and science, ecology and environment has decreased for the financial year 2012–13 over 2011–12. This finding further strengthens the need for a process that will enable pro-active measures for supporting environmental sustainability considerations within the existing public finance framework. The report articulates "green budgeting" as a process where every year, government agencies (departments, directorates, boards, councils, commissions) through the Annual Budget Circular, by preparing Green Budget Statements, will highlight the quantum of public expenditure earmarked in the state budget for environmental sustainability initiatives as well as reducing expenditure in unsustainable sectors. For implementing such a process in Punjab, the Planning Department and Finance Department will need to play a role in coordinating the process along with nodal support from the Department of Science Technology and Environment.
This paper argues in favour of an approach that has growth-oriented climate investment and social inclusion at its core. It presents a roadmap to a green economy in South Asia where interventions are categorized under: i) priority programmatic interventions that can contribute to an inclusive green economy; ii) strategies for mainstreaming green growth in macro-economic development policy and planning; iii) upscaling of policy and technology innovations; and iv) regional cooperation. The challenge, however, would be to have the roadmap implemented in an integrated manner accompanied by equitable benefit sharing arrangements at the institutional level. The constraints arise primarily because of inadequate stakeholder awareness and engagement in the transition process, which makes the approach to a green economy in South Asia as much a socio-cultural challenge at the country level, as that of the political leadership at the regional level.
This paper first reviews the conceptual case for, and appropriate design of, fiscal policies to address major externalities associated with energy use — global warming, local air pollution, and various side effects (e.g., congestion) from motor vehicles. Techniques for (roughly) estimating the magnitude of these externalities, and corrective energy taxes, on a country-by-country basis are then described. The implications for reforming energy taxes, and the potential environmental, health, and fiscal benefits from reform, are then discussed. A theme of the paper is the critical role of finance ministries in administering tax reforms and ensuring efficient use of revenues.
This paper calculates, for the top twenty emitting countries, how much pricing of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is in their own national interests due to domestic co-benefits (leaving aside the global climate benefits). On average, nationally efficient prices are substantial, $57.5 per ton of CO2 (for year 2010), reflecting primarily health co-benefits from reduced air pollution at coal plants and, in some cases, reductions in automobile externalities (net of fuel taxes/subsidies). Pricing co-benefits reduces CO2 emissions from the top twenty emitters by 13.5 percent (a 10.8 percent reduction in global emissions). However, co-benefits vary dramatically across countries (e.g., with population exposure to pollution) and differentiated pricing of CO2 emissions therefore yields higher net benefits (by 23 percent) than uniform pricing. Importantly, the efficiency case for pricing carbon’s co-benefits hinges critically on (i) weak prospects for internalizing other externalities through other pricing instruments and (ii) productive use of carbon pricing revenues.
Renewable energy deployment remains an important issue. Generation of electricity and heat from renewable energy (RE) sources reduces the emission of greenhouse gases, provides energy access in remote areas, and diversifies fossil-fuel reliant energy supply, increasing energy security. As such RE deployment creates environmental and social value. Increasingly, RE deployment also contributes to employment and the emergence of an economic sector which is participating in global competition. The question for decision makers in industrialized countries as well as in emerging economies and developing countries is: How can economic value be generated from RE and how can this process be supported by value enabling policies? This study is set out to offer/develop an analytic framework oriented toward identifying opportunities for value creation along the entire RE value chain; to identify and define RE value creation policies and discuss possibilities for strategic policy interventions to enhance RE value creation; and to deepen the analysis with lessons learnt from the development of RE and other sectors.
This paper presents three individual cases of a wind turbine producer, a wind farm and a wind blade producer to illustrate how foreign collaboration and technology, choice of deployment strategy, and government policy have influenced the sector to continually improve its technology. The findings indicate that foreign technology and collaboration have had a significant role in helping wind energy technology to develop in China, and were also key elements in stimulating indigenous innovation when high prices held the domestic wind market back from massive expansion. While public policy has played a key role in many aspects of the development of the innovation path, the long-term, enduring goal of developing the required technology was the essential driver. The development of the wind sector occurred alongside the economic development and social improvement of the nation. Thus, while it may be too soon to predict the future path of innovation for Chinese wind energy technology, an emphasis on research and development and increasing international competition is a trend that is likely to continue.
In its new report ‘A Greener Budget: Sustaining our Prosperity in a Changing World’, WWF-UK sets out a suite of practical policy recommendations that would help to shift the UK to a sustainable, resource efficient, low-carbon economy.
Drawing on the latest evidence, the report shows how these policy measures are win-wins for the environment and the economy - cutting public sector costs, generating hundreds of thousands of new jobs, creating new market opportunities, improving UK competitiveness, and insulating the economy and businesses from growing risks of resource scarcity and climate change.
Some of these measures will pay off even in the short-term – such as cutting energy and resource use. UK businesses could save £23billion in the space of one year through no-cost or low-cost resource efficiency measures, based on Defra’s own estimates. Other evidence suggests that, over longer time frames, improving the UK’s resource efficiency could generate half a million new jobs by 2030.
This report is the final delivery of the Energy Efficiency Financial Institution Group (EEFIG) summarizing its work and thinking over the 16 months between October 2013 and February 2015. During this time EEFIG has met nearly every month and addressed energy efficiency investments, their drivers and trends, for buildings, industry and SMEs in the European Union (EU). The reports contains recommendations on a range of actions that could help overcome the current challenges to obtaining long-term financing for energy efficiency. It focuses on the following questions to increase the flow of energy efficiency investments from a financial institution’s perspective:
1. What are the most imminent challenges that must be overcome?
2.Who would be the right party to address them?
3. What should the European Commission/EU do?
A growing number of companies globally have started to develop and apply circular business models. These business models replace the traditional linear, “end-of-life” concept. Companies are now employing restoration rather than destruction and are shifting away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy. Manufacturers are stopping the use of toxic chemicals and aiming towards the elimination of waste through superior material, product and system design. Governments have good reasons to act as well: Besides strengthening the economy by saving hundreds of billions of euros per year on finite resources, the shift to a more circular economy not only stimulates innovation, it also offers the promise of new employment opportunities. Given the importance of government intervention in establishing sustainable national economies, the Dutch Sustainability Business Association has in this publication identified best practices by analysing government initiatives worldwide.