Economic transition and environmental sustainability: effects of economic restructuring on air pollution in the Russian Federation

Economic liberalization in former socialist countries may have various implications for their environmental sustainability. Positive effects of this process are potentially associated with improved efficiency, investments into cleaner technologies, responsiveness to environmentally aware markets, and ending subsidies to heavy industries. On the other hand, market liberalization may result in weaker environmental controls, economic instabilities distracting attention from environmental issues, and increasing orientation towards profit-making leading to more intensive exploitation of natural resources. In addition, trade liberalization may result in shifts towards more pollution and resource-intensive industries. This article seeks to quantify effects of economic restructuring in Russia on air pollution from productive economic sectors in the 1990s. Air pollution in Russia had significantly declined in 1991-1999, however, this decline was largely due to economic decline, as the overall pollution intensity of the economy had decreased only slightly. The factors that affected the pollution intensity are: (1) a decrease in the combined share of industrial and transport activities in the economy and (2) changing pollution intensities of the industrial and transport sectors. The pollution intensity of the Russian industry had remained relatively stable during the 1990s. This was the result of the two opposite and mutually canceling trends: (a) increasing shares of pollution-intensive branches such as metal smelting and oil production vs. less pollution intensive manufacturing and (b) decline in pollution intensities within the industrial branches. The article proposes a methodology by which the contribution of both factors to the overall pollution intensity of the industrial sector can be quantified. The pollution intensity of the Russian transport sector appears to have declined in the first half of the 1990s and increased in the second half. The most recent trend can be explained by a rising proportion of private motorcars used for transportation of people and goods instead of traditional rail and other public transport. The findings of the paper demonstrate that shifts towards more pollution-, resource- and energy-intensive industries as a result of economic liberalization emerges as a significant negative factor of the process of economic transition threatening sustainability of emerging market economies. A research agenda to further investigate these impacts is proposed.     

Environmental performance indicators: Balancing compliance with business economics

Many companies are examining ways to integrate environmental performance into the management and operation of their core businesses. Basic principles from the application of TQM in manufacturing will help bring environmental management into the mainstream of business operations. Likely results include improved and sustained compliance and improved long-term financial performance. The author addresses a critical first step, which is developing a common language and system for measuring environmental performance and setting goals for continuous improvement.     

Clean air with economic growth: Optimization modeling

Conflicts between the goals of having clean air and economic development are widespread. This paper discusses the conceptual and mathematical development of a linear programming optimization model and an interative solution procedure to determine optimal economic development strategies to promote employment subject to various contexts which limit air pollution carrying capacity. Three cases are formulated: (1) maximizing employment subject to ambient concentration constraints, (2) maximizing employment subject to emissions constraints, and (3) minimizing emissions subject to employment constraints. Empirical relationships using Census and pollutant inventory data describe a conceptual urban system, so that indirect and induced impacts of development strategies are also included. The modeling incorporates both point and nonpoint sources, and is shown to be adaptable for nonreactive emissions.     

Balancing environmental and industry sustainability: A case study of the US gold mining industry

Mandatory insurance requirements and/or mitigation fees (royalties) for mining companies may help reduce environmental risk exposure for the federal government. Mining is examined since the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxic Release Inventory reveals that this sector produces more hazardous waste than any other industrial sector. Although uncommon, environmental expense can exceed hundreds of millions of dollars per development. Of particular concern is the potential for mines to become unfunded Superfund sites. Monte Carlo simulation of risk exposure is used to establish a plausible range of unfunded federal liabilities associated with cyanide-leach gold mining. A model is developed to assess these costs and their impact on both the federal budget and corporate profitability (i.e., industry sustainability), particularly if such costs are borne by offending firms.     

The seventh world conservation lecture the World Bank's challenge: Balancing economic need with environmental protection

The World Conservation Lecture is an annual event organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) — United Kingdom, to draw attention to the World Conservation Strategy. This lecture was presented at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London on 3 March 1988. Full copies of the lecture, in booklet form, are available from the Education Department, WWF — UK, Panda House, Weyside Park, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1XR.     

Environmental sustainability assessment of food waste valorization options

Food waste can be valorized through different technologies, such as anaerobic digestion, incineration, and animal feed production. In this study we analyzed the environmental performance of two food waste valorization scenarios from a company of the retail sector in Belgium, through exergy analysis, exergetic life cycle assessment (ELCA), and a traditional life cycle assessment (LCA). In scenario 1 all food waste was considered to be valorized in an anaerobic digestion (producing electricity, heat, digestate and sorting the packaging material to be used as fuel for cement industry), while in scenario 2 a bread fraction was valorized to produce animal feed and a non-bread fraction was valorized in an anaerobic digestion (producing the same products on scenario 1, but in lower amounts). Scenario 2 was 10% more efficient than scenario 1 in the exergy analysis. For the ELCA and the single score LCA, scenario 2 presented lower environmental impacts than scenario 1 (32% and 26% lower, respectively). These results were mainly due to the avoided products from traditional supply chain (animal feed produced from agricultural products) and lower exergy loss at the feed production plant. Nevertheless, the high dry matter content of the bread waste played an important role on these results, therefore it should be pointed out that valorizing food waste to animal feed seems to be a better option only for the fractions of food waste with low water content (as bread waste).     

Environmental legislation, economic growth and risk in minerals development The Bolivian case

This paper examines the General Environmental Law of Bolivia which was recently passed by its Congress. It is a multi-purpose law with two primary objectives: (i) the protection and conservation of the environment; and (ii) the promotion of sustainable development. In this law, environmental benefits are emphasized by stating general principles, not by attempting to define the means. Regulations setting forth the means are left to the writing of subsequent complementary codes. This paper shows that much of the controversy surrounding the legislation disappears when it is seen as a guideline rather than an operational part of Bolivia's industrial policy. In essence, the law addresses environmental awareness in a region that is more anxious than ever to speed economic growth.     

Environmental sustainability in an agricultural development project: a system dynamics approach

Regional agricultural projects based on water resource development have many potential impacts on social and natural environments. In this research, potential long-term environmental problems of the Southeastern Anatolian Project (GAP) related to water resources, land use, land degradation, agricultural pollution and demography are analysed from a systems perspective. The analysis focuses on the totality of environmental, social and economic issues. For this purpose, a system dynamics simulation model (GAPSIM) has been developed as an experimental platform for policy analysis. GAPSIM was validated, first 'structurally', using the tests suggested by the literature and then the model 'behaviour' was tested and calibrated with respect to available data. The reference behaviour of GAPSIM reveals that, as the irrigated lands are developed, GAP faces significant water scarcity because of the increased intensity of cotton, the crop with the highest demands for water. Simulation results also indicate that two key environmental factors, pesticide and fertilizer consumption may reach undesirable levels. Alternative irrigation water release strategies, development rates of irrigated fields and farm rotation practices appear as important policy tools in achieving long-term environmental sustainability. GAPSIM promises to be not only a useful laboratory for policy makers of GAP, but also a useful generic structure applicable to other similar regional development projects.     

Vehicular air pollution and asthma: implications for education for health and environmental sustainability

Studies show a direct relationship between occurrence of asthma and increases of particulate matter in the air. Private transportation is found to be a significant contributor to this problem. The objective of this article is to explore this link between air pollution, asthma and vehicular dependency in order to provide recommendations for health and transport policy. This article focuses on the survey of literature on the relationship between vehicular air pollution and asthma; combining it with the literature on vehicular dependency or ‘car culture’ in the global context and in The Netherlands. This article exposes the imbalance of power between patient groups and polluting industries, and the government failure to protect the weaker party can be explained by corporate pressures. It will be argued that since air pollution is tied to the corporate support for the car industry and vested interests in promoting a ‘car culture’, strategic policy that claims to be concerned with public health should explicitly link the present pattern of mobility to public health. This article concludes with a recommendation for raising environmental health awareness by explicitly linking vehicular dependency to respiratory health through a combination of holistic and citizenship education.     

Environmental sustainability and land reform in South Africa: A neglected dimension

Despite supportive policy frameworks and increased environmental awareness, a growing body of evidence indicates that environmental sustainability is not central to planning and decision-making processes in land reform in South Africa. Increasing pressures on government to meet land reform targets, cumbersome and often inappropriate environmental assessment procedures, and a confusing multitude of laws all contribute to neglect of long-term environmental sustainability considerations in land reform. This is exacerbated by poor recognition of resource rights, a lack of proactive and pre-emptive environmental management plans, and insufficient implementation capacity. This paper argues that the early incorporation of environmental sustainability issues in pre-settlement and post-settlement land reform planning processes could significantly improve the environmental, social and economic outcomes of these projects. A simple, participant-driven environmental sustainability assessment tool is proposed to achieve these environmental and developmental goals.     

Air pollution control by economic incentives in the U.S.: Policy,problems, and progress

This paper deals with cost-effectiveness of the economic incentive policies of the bubble concept and offset credits relative to the policy of direct regulations of air emissions. The second section discusses single- and multi-plant bubbles, their adoption across regions and industries, the methods used to control emissions and the extent of savings in costs. We conclude that despite the delay resulting from duplication of review of state implementation plans by both the state and the Environmental Protection Agency, the required technological commands, the requirement to model air quality and the restrictions to permit bubbling only in the attainment areas, the policy is progressing successfully and should be encouraged by eliminating the restrictions. The third section analyzes the policy of emission offset credit, trading, and banking which can permit economic growth in nonattainment areas. It reviews the available literature, which deals only with aggregation of offsets across cities instead of individual offset trades. Progress by individual offset trades is analyzed in terms of the number of offsets, their acceptance across regions, the extent of reductions in emissions, and the classification of the offsets into internal and external trades. Comparison of estimated capital costs and prices of individual offsets with direct regulation costs reveals that the former are economical. We conclude that despite the problems of high tradeoff ratios, the short and uncertain life of the emission offset credits and the technological commands, the policy is progressing successfully and should be encouraged further by relaxing restrictions.This paper represents the author's personal views. Neither the Commission nor any member of its staff is in any way responsible for these views.     

The Environmental sustainability of mining in Australia: key mega-trends and looming constraints

At first ‘sustainable mining’ could be perceived as a paradox—minerals are widely held to be finite resources with rising consumption causing pressure on known resources. The true sustainability of mineral resources, however, is a much more complex picture and involves exploration, technology, economics, social and environmental issues, and advancing scientific knowledge—predicting future sustainability is therefore not a simple task. This paper presents the results from a landmark study on historical trends in Australian mining, including ore milled, ore grades, open cut versus underground mining, overburden/waste rock and economic resources. When complete data sets are compiled for specific metals, particular issues stand out with respect to sustainability—technological breakthroughs (e.g. flotation, carbon-in-pulp), new discoveries (e.g. uranium or U), price changes (e.g. Au, boom/bust cycles), social issues (e.g. strikes), etc. All of these issues are of prime importance in moving towards a semi-quantitative sustainability model of mineral resources and the mining industry. For the future, critical issues will continue to be declining ore grades (also ore quality and impurities), increased waste rock and associated liabilities, known economic resources, potential breakthrough technologies, and broader environmental constraints (e.g. carbon costs, water). For this latter area, many companies now report annually on sustainability performance—facilitating analysis of environmental sustainability with respect to production performance. By linking these two commonly disparate aspects—mining production and environmental/sustainability data—it becomes possible to better understand environmental sustainability and predict future constraints such as water requirements, greenhouse emissions, energy and reagent inputs, and the like. This paper will therefore present a range of fundamental data and issues which help towards quantifying the resource and environmental sustainability of mining—with critical implications for the mining industry and society as a whole.     

Environmental space and barriers to local sustainability: Evidence from Edinburgh, Scotland

This paper steps into the minefield that is urban sustainability studies. It defends a rigorous definition of sustainable development called Environmental Space. This approach starts from the assumption that (1) there are limits to the biophysical capacity of the ecosystem and (2) that — within these limits — each individual has equal access rights to natural capital. On this basis, per capita sustainable consumption targets are calculated which can be (and are being) used as policy objectives. The paper explores how environmental space has influenced local sustainability politics in Edinburgh, Scotland. By doing so, it finds that environmental space targets are still far from being achieved. Reasons for this failure are investigated and Edinburgh's continued commitment to the material growth of her economy is identified as one key barrier. This point is illustrated through the investigation of recent policy decisions in Edinburgh which were justified as being necessary for growth, but which clearly contradict the aims of sustainable development.     

Agricultural water pollution control: An interdisciplinary approach

Regulation and control of agricultural water pollution is unique and difficult to accomplish. Water quality standards are often proposed without adequate consideration of the overall economic impact on agricultural production. This article illustrates how economists and physical scientists can cooperate to develop appropriate control strategies for agricultural water pollution. Data provided by physical scientists and economists are used in a linear programming model to describe salt discharge as a function of water management, production levels, and an associated effluent charge. Four water management activities were chosen on the basis of different costs of production (including a parametrically varied effluent charge), water requirements, alfalfa yields, and levels of salt discharge. Results indicate that when the effluent charge is low (<$0.20/metric ton salt discharged), maximum production with maximum salt discharge is most profitable. As the effluent charge is increased ($0.20–$0.40/metric ton salt discharged), it becomes progressively less profitable to produce alfalfa at maximum levels of pollutant discharge. When the effluent charge is >$0.40/metric ton salt discharged, alfalfa production is no longer economically feasible. An important aspect of this approach is that it permits policy makers to identify explicitly the relationship between the environmental standard and the effect on agricultural production.     

浅谈化学污染事故环境风险管理

通过了解国内外化学污染事故的现状,分析了化学污染事故的严重性及其特征,结合我国现有的环境风险管理状况,探讨了化学污染事故环境风险管理的途径。