Inventory of Interbasin Transfers in the United States

Interbasin transfers (IBTs) are man‐made transfers of water that cross basin boundaries. These transfers are used to distribute water resources according to supply and demand. The objectives of this work were to quantify the number of IBTs that exist in the United States (U.S.) and to examine the distribution of IBTs and potential causes associated with any observed clustering of IBTs. Defining “basin” was important to enable determination of which transfers qualify as “interbasin.” A variety of definitions are employed by states, with no federal definition. The most recent national studies of IBTs were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1985 and 1986 using USGS Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) definitions of basins. To build a 2016 inventory of IBTs in the U.S., and to identify where they most commonly occur, the USGS National Hydrography Database (NHD) was utilized in conjunction with the Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD). Transfers across HUC6 basin boundaries were considered interbasin. Geographical information analysis with the NHD and WBD databases revealed that there are a total of 2,161 man‐made waterways crossing HUC6 basin boundaries in the U.S. IBTs are somewhat concentrated: Florida, Texas, and North Carolina account for over 50% of the total identified IBTs. For some states, identified IBTs are locally clustered. Analysis of these clusters suggests a variety of reasons that IBTs have been built, including population, drainage, and agricultural factors.     

中国的节能减排困境和财税政策选择

节能减排不仅是推进我国国民经济又好又快发展的核心要义,也是应对全球气候变化的迫切需要.在我国,要实现到2020年单位国内生产总值的二氧化碳排放比2005年下降40%-45%的约束性目标,需要进行艰难的产业结构调整、能源消费结构调整和经济发展阶段跨越,并应采取体制、政策、技术和管理等综合推进措施.包括政府投资、税收、政府采购和财政贴息在内的财税政策措施对于推进我国节能减排至关重要.本文认为,政府投资政策应重在支持高新技术产业研发应用,经由产业结构调整促进节能减排;税收政策应立足于综合采取增设环境污染税、低技术污染税以及税收优惠和减免等激励和惩罚并重措施;政府采购应通过扩大高效节能减排产品市场需求,引导企业生产行为;财政贴息则应侧重于解决企业节能减排投资以及技术改造过程中的资金约束.     

CAN STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ASSUME MORE OF THE COSTS OF WATER DEVELOPMENT?1

ABSTRACT As availability of funds in the federal budget for water development has decreased recently, pressure has increased for state and local governments to pay a larger share of the costs. In this situation a difficult question immediately arises-what is the capability of state and local governments to pay a larger share? Of course, there is no easy answer. Expenditures of public funds are policy outcomes of a government's political process in which political, economic, legal and other factors are involved in complex relationships. The traditional sources of capital funds for state and local governments include bond proceeds, tax revenues, and federal financial aid (state aid is also a major source of local government funds). The issuing of bonds is hampered by a variety of legal debt limitations, but there are means for circumventing the limitations. State and local governments vary widely in amounts of taxable resources available and in the extent to which these resources have been tapped. More effective use of revenue resources could be made in some cases. New sources of capital funds for water development ought to be considered-a fee on the use of water per se, for example. Costs associated with water use currently are imposed to cover development costs, but a state might impose additional use fees earmarked for a state water development fund.     

土地发展非均衡度测算及其敏感性分析——基于农地非农发展受限视角

论文以农地非农发展受限为研究对象,分别基于用地结构和土地财事权视角构建土地发展非均衡度模型,并在此基础上依据二者对经济发展的贡献度确定权重,进行加权求和,求算土地综合非均衡度。基于我国2009—2013年省级面板数据的实证研究结果表明：总体上,我国的土地发展非均衡度较高,但逐年下降;省级层面上,我国土地发展非均衡度的空间差异显著,且非均衡度呈“东部沿海发达地区—中部地区—西南地区或东北、西北地区”逐级递增趋势。此外,论文就土地发展非均衡度对财政转移支付的敏感性进行分析,为我国财政转移制度改革奠定理论依据。结果表明,财政转移制度有助于减缓土地发展非均衡度,且四大分区的土地发展非均衡度对财政转移支付的敏感性存在显著差异。研究尝试直接量化土地发展非均衡程度,为缓解土地非均衡发展、均衡区域发展奠定理论基础。     

Building resilience to climate risks through social protection: from individualised models to systemic transformation

This article analyses the role of social protection programmes in contributing to people's resilience to climate risks. Drawing from desk‐based and empirical studies in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, it finds that social transfers make a strong contribution to the capacity of individuals and households to absorb the negative impacts of climate‐related shocks and stresses. They do so through the provision of reliable, national social safety net systems—even when these are not specifically designed to address climate risks. Social protection can also increase the anticipatory capacity of national disaster response systems through scalability mechanisms, or pre‐emptively through linkages to early action and early warning mechanisms. Critical knowledge gaps remain in terms of programmes’ contributions to the adaptive capacity required for long‐term resilience. The findings offer insights beyond social protection on the importance of robust, national administrative systems as a key foundation to support people's resilience to climate risks.     

上海市环保产业发展分析研究

通过对上海市环保产业发展需求的分析,针对上海市环保产业目前存在的政府环保投入相对不足、环保技术装备和技术水平相对落后、提升行业水平的大企业数量偏少等问题,提出加强环保科技创新、加大投入力度,制定技术标准、提升技术装备及技术水平,通过兼并重组、上市融资等举措培育大企业大集团,完善财税激励政策等相关建议。     

关于促进环保产业发展的经济政策研究

中国目前的经济、政策环境及环保市场决定了环保产业正迎来快速发展的良好契机,但现有对环保产业的经济扶持政策还不完善,存在刺激力度不大、范围较窄、资金缺口大且来源单一等问题。为解决目前中国环保产业所面临的一系列"瓶颈"问题,下一步,应重点从财政、税收、金融以及价格收费等4个方面入手,完善对环保产业的经济扶持政策,直接或间接刺激其快速发展,使其成为支柱性产业。     

Can environmental compensation contribute to socially equitable conservation? The case of an ecological fiscal transfer in the Brazilian Atlantic forest

ABSTRACT

Regions of high biodiversity often coincide with regions of poverty and conservation can imply economic and social costs for poor resident populations. Environmental compensation is considered a tool to reduce socio-environmental conflict, improve the equity of conservation and promote sustainable development. The intricacies of specific socio-ecological systems may determine how compensation payments are interpreted locally to produce outcomes. This research examines the social perceptions of an ecological fiscal transfer which intends to compensate the local public administration for the substantial costs of conservation in a hotspot of biological and social diversity in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. In this context we explore whether financial compensation (1) influences local perceptions of the conservation regime, (2) contributes towards the reconciliation of human-conservation conflicts and (3) triggers any meaningful socio-economic improvement that would counter the local costs of conservation. Results show that environmental compensation is not widely recognised as effectively benefiting the community. Local authorities consider compensation insufficient to enact a sustainable development agenda. Environmental compensation could play an important role in a policy mix for socially equitable conservation by being explicitly linked to community benefits, especially to fostering local livelihoods. The collaboration of actors operating across multiple governance levels may improve the institutional capacity of local actors to produce effective outcomes.     

碳达峰碳中和目标下可再生能源产业财税金融支持政策研究

能源作为经济社会发展的重要物质基础,也是碳排放的主要来源,推动能源结构调整、大力发展可再生能源产业是实现碳达峰碳中和目标的必然要求。为了促进可再生能源产业发展,国家实施了一系列财税宏观调控政策。本文在梳理政策现状的基础上,对存在的问题进行了识别,包括弃风弃光现象影响财政资金使用效益、可再生能源电价补贴不到位、财税优惠政策形式相对单一、优惠政策执行的配套机制不足等。从建立、完善可再生能源电力消纳保障机制,多种渠道解决可再生能源补贴缺口问题,进一步完善税收优惠政策,适时优化调整财政支持政策,与其他政策协同发挥作用等方面提出了政策优化建议。     

EXTERNALITIES,WATER PRICES,AND WATER TRANSFERS1

Discussing, estimating or analyzing the value of water is a difficult task. In addressing the value of water as reflected in its price — either as charged by a water utility, as the price of a water transfer, or a water sale in some market — this paper will examine three propositions regarding water pricing. The paper will consider the marginal scarcity rent of water, estimates of externalities, the full cost pricing of water and the consequences of these considerations on water prices, transfers and the efficiency of water use.