A rather young but rapidly accelerating biofuel industry has recently emerged in China. However, there is no legislation or policy specifically regulating biofuels or bioenergy. In addition, most of the regulatory functions are undertaken by policy initiatives rather than by law. As a result, the regulation and, in a broader context, governance of biofuels still face several major obstacles, including unclear development directions, ignored impact of biofuels development on society, environment and economy, and limited public participation. This paper argues that legislation on biofuels in the form of joint departmental rule is a departure for a comprehensive regulatory framework to overcome the current obstacles and to realize the sustainable development of the biofuels industry in China.
This article appears in the Special Issue: Green Economy and Sustainable Development.
The concept of “green growth” can be fruitfully connected to concepts and theories in neoclassical economics including market externalities, Ricardian and Hotelling rents, and policies that would correct externalities such as Pigovian taxes or a cap and trade system set to achieve emissions reductions consistent with cost benefit assessment. Partial equilibrium concepts have been extended to general equilibrium models, including their realization in relatively detailed empirical models that faithfully adhere to theoretical concepts of neoclassical economics. With such models we are then able to see how resource depletion and environmental degradation are affecting the economy, and how efforts to reduce the impact of these environmental and resource constraints could improve economic growth and performance.
The 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change created the basic international architecture for addressing climate change. That treaty was negotiated at a time when the research literature examining emissions mitigation and the role of energy technology was relatively limited. In the two subsequent decades a great deal has been learned. The problem of stabilizing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has proved far more difficult than envisioned in 1992 and the role of technology appears even more important when emissions mitigation strategies are co-developed in the context of multiple competing ends.
This article appeared in the Energy Economics Supplemental Issue: Green Perspectives.
This paper argues that the 2009 pledge of $100 billion in 2020 by rich countries for mitigation and adaptation should not be used for mitigation by commercial firms in developing countries, since that would artificially create competitive advantage for such firms and provoke protectionist reactions in the rich countries where firms must bear the costs of mitigation, thereby undermining the world trading system. The costs of heating the earth's surface should be borne by all emitters, just as the price of copper and other scarce resources is paid by all users, rich or poor. That will still leave scope for rich country help in adaptation to climate change and in bringing to fruition new technologies to reduce emissions.
This article appeared in the Energy Economics Supplemental Issue: Green Perspectives.
Large public investments in clean energy technology arguably constitute an industrial policy. One rationale points to market failures that have not been corrected by other policies, most notably greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on oil. Another inspiration for clean energy policy reflects economic arguments of the 1980s. It suggests strategic government investments would increase U.S. firms' market share of a growing industry and thus help American firms and workers. This paper examines the reasoning for clean energy policy and concludes that:
Over the past several years, labeling schemes that focus on a wide range of environmental and social metrics have proliferated. Although little empirical evidence has been generated yet with respect to carbon footprint labels, much can be learned from our experience with similar product labels. We first review the theory and evidence on the role of product labeling in affecting consumer and firm behavior. Next, we consider the role of governments and nongovernmental organizations, concluding that international, multistakeholder organizations have a critical part to play in setting protocols and standards. We argue that it is important to consider the entire life cycle of a product being labeled and develop an international standard for measurement and reporting. Finally, we examine the potential impact of carbon product labeling, discussing methodological and trade challenges and proposing a framework for choosing products best suited for labeling.
This article appeared in the Energy Economics Supplemental Issue: Green Perspectives.
The experiences of the largest corporation in the world and those of a start-up company show how companies can profitably reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their supply chains. The operations management literature suggests additional opportunities to profitably reduce emissions in existing supply chains, and provides guidance for expanding the capacity of new “zero emission” supply chains. The potential for companies to profitably reduce emissions is substantial but (without effective climate policy) likely insufficient to avert dangerous climate change.
This article appeared in the Energy Economics Supplemental Issue: Green Perspectives.
This publication is a takes stock of existing initiatives and applications relevant for valuing natural capital. A baseline of existing initiatives is provided in order to inform the Natural Capital Protocol project. It is also intended to be a useful resource to demystify the growing volume of natural capital relevant initiatives emerging from the private and public sectors. The following existing initiatives have been reviewed and are summarised:
- Business engagement initiatives.
- Methodologies, tools and initiatives relevant to measuring, managing and valuing natural capital in business and investor decision making.
- Initiatives relevant to using natural capital valuation in business applications eg, strategy, management (at organisation or supply chain levels), reporting and disclosure.
- Policy initiatives that define natural capital accounting classifications, metrics and indicators that can inform future target setting and new market initiatives relevant to business.