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Energy and Environmental Science (Royal Society of Chemistry)

The photovoltaic (PV) industry has grown rapidly as a source of energy and economic activity. Since 2008, the average manufacturer-sale price of PV modules has declined by over a factor of two, coinciding with a significant increase in the scale of manufacturing in China. Using a bottom-up model for wafer-based silicon PV, the article examines both historical and future factory-location decisions from the perspective of a multinational corporation. The model used calculates the cost of PV manufacturing with process step resolution, while considering the impact of corporate financing and operations with a calculation of the minimum selling price that provides an adequate rate of return. The article quantifies the conditions of China's historical PV price advantage, examines if these conditions can be reproduced elsewhere, and evaluates the role of innovative technology in altering regional competitive advantage. The authors find that the historical price advantage of a China-based factory relative to a U.S.-based factory is not driven by country-specific advantages, but instead by scale and supply-chain development.

OSLO Consortium Initiative

This report focuses on the results of a public-private dialogue in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The report outlines the key findings and recommendations from the event held in Bangkok, Thailand, in June 2013, and provides insights into the key opportunities emerging from the transition to a green economy in the region. Initiated by the OSLO Consortium, the public-private dialogue was co-organised by the Global Mechanism, the Asian Development Bank, UNEP, UNDP, FAO and WWF.

Organisation :
World Bank Group

India’s sustained and rapid economic growth offers an opportunity to lift millions out of poverty. But this may come at a steep cost to the nation’s environment and natural resources. Greening India's Growth: Costs, valuations and trade-offs analyzes India’s growth from an economic perspective and assesses whether India can grow in a “green” and sustainable manner.

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

This paper examines the relative attractions of a carbon tax, a “pure” cap-and-trade system, and a “hybrid” option (a cap-and-trade system with a price ceiling and/or price floor). The paper shows that the various options are equivalent along more dimensions than often are recognised. In addition, the authors bring out important dimensions along which the approaches have very different impacts. Several of these dimensions have received little attention in prior literature. A key finding is that exogenous emissions pricing (whether through a carbon tax or through the hybrid option) has a number of attractions over pure cap and trade. Beyond helping prevent price volatility and reducing expected policy errors in the face of uncertainties, exogenous pricing helps avoid problematic interactions with other climate policies and helps avoid large wealth transfers to oil exporting countries.

International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

China’s economy continues to grow rapidly with corresponding increases in both energy consumption and environmental pollution. Renewable energy is a key part of China’s response to this challenge. Currently, the costs of measures to facilitate the large-scale deployment of renewable energy are primarily met through an electricity surcharge—effectively a tax on electricity consumption. However, concerns have been raised that continuing to rely on the surcharge alone places a disproportionate burden on electricity consumers. In response, the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the China National Renewable Energy Centre (CNREC) identified the need for further debate on how best to fund renewable energy and reduce environmental pollution, leading to the establishment of a research project to examine the international experience of similar schemes and their relevance to China.

The publication includes case studies from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.