Sedimentation rate of settleable particulate matter in Santiago city,Chile

Settleable particulate matter (SPM) is an atmospheric pollutant harmful to human health and the environment in high concentrations. Despite this fact, no up‐to‐date information on SPM levels exists for the capital of Chile, Santiago (7 million inhabitants). To address this knowledge gap, SPM sedimentation rates, including soluble and insoluble components, were measured at three different urban sites from July to November of 2016. We compare the measurements with ambient and meteorological information, as well as urban typology settings. Our results indicate SPM deposition rates between 2.5 and 3.9 g/(m²·30 days). Only one site exceeded the national limit of 4.5 g/(m²·30 days), but we found an increasing trend in all three sites. SPM and its insoluble sedimentation rates increased during warm and dry months and presented significant correlations with meteorological parameters. The highest sedimentation rates were measured at the location with the least permeable surfaces and the lowest green spaces, while the lowest sedimentation rates were found in the sites with abundant green spaces and permeable soil. No significant differences were detected in the soluble components. Our results suggest that SPM levels in Santiago are close to the national limit and may increase with climate change and urban expansion.     

Decision factors for e-waste in Northern Mexico: To waste or trade

Currently, around the globe, environmental and social problems derive from the inappropriate recycling of electronic products. Moreover, improper recycling is not the only issue to address in electronic products. Others include: energy intensity in their manufacture, employment generation related to the international trade in used electronics, and access to technology by low-income communities. Nevertheless, policies and controls created to provide socially and environmentally sound management of used electronics do not match the complexity of the system. In order to understand the e-waste system, particularly used computers, as a whole, a field study was done between 2010 and 2011 in ten Mexican cities. Ninety-five diverse stakeholders were interviewed to uncover factors regarding the decision to waste or trade still-usable computers. Structured analysis was used to create Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) to describe the critical parts of the system. The results show that perceived value and geographical location determine the rate in which computers are disposed and the opportunities to waste or trade them, including the trade of their materials. Among businesses and other organizations, legislation has a stronger effect. Technological change is another important factor, largely driving the change in materials and new products. Designing policies responding to this diversity may prevent unforeseen problems and stimulate solutions.     

Towards the estimation of demand for recycling in Chile: The case of Santiago

In developing countries, the recycling of municipal solid waste (MSW) as an alternative to the traditional MSW management requires an economic sustainability valuation. From this perspective, the estimation of demand for recycling is crucial. In this paper, we study the case of recycling MSW in Santiago, Chile. We estimate the relation between the monthly amount of MSW separated voluntarily from apartments located in Santiago and the monthly price required to participate in a municipal recycling program. We consider the transference of the municipal cost savings to the owners of the apartments due to the amount of MSW separated for recycling, which is not collected and deposited in the current MSW system. For the estimation, we use concepts from environmental economics and psychology, analyzing the operation and municipal costs incurred by current MSW management and designing and applying a survey based on a contingent valuation method (CVM) approach. The results indicate that the percentage of MSW separated for recycling varies between a 27.98% and 33.18%, that only four MSW types are affected by a variation of the monthly price, and that a reduction of monthly collection trips in the current MSW system from 24 to 18 can be obtained. Additionally, we discuss a number of methodological aspects to be considered in a similar study of valuation of recycling in developing countries. Our conclusion is that Santiago has favorable conditions for the implementation of a recycling program as an alternative to the current MSW system.     

安徽省水域排污权交易市场建立可行性研究

随着经济发展,传统的经济增长模式已经不能适应需要,寻求一种资源节约型、环境友好型的新的经济发展模式势在必行。日益受到关注的排污权交易制度就是新型经济发展模式的具体运用和体现。本文在对安徽省自然条件、市场主体需求、政府政策等方面进行分析的基础上,就安徽省水域排污权交易市场建立的可行性问题作了必要研究。     

排污权交易机制在山西省的探索与实践

排污权交易制度是一项需要探索的引入了利益激励的新制度,本文着重介绍了山西省在排污权交易工作中的探索成果。对排污权交易机构的设立、区域排污权总数量的确定及企业初始排污权的核定、交易价格计量单位和排污权获得后拥有年限、排污权交易的保护价格、可出让排污权及政府储备排污权、跨区域交易原则、排污权退市以及促使现有企业进入购买排污权队列等问题做了详细阐述。     

Impact of natural resources,trade openness,and economic growth on CO2 emissions in oil-exporting countries: A panel autoregressive distributed lag analysis

This study explores the impact of natural resource exploitation, trade openness, and economic growth on carbon emissions in a sample of oil-exporting nations for the period 1971–2014. To examine this relationship, we used the panel autoregressive distributed lag model and a set of econometric techniques accounting for cross-sectional dependence. Our results indicate that the exploitation of natural resources and trade openness have a long-term negative impact on environmental quality. Furthermore, our analysis confirms the validity of the Kuznets Environmental Curve for oil-exporting countries. An assessment of causality reveals a bidirectional link between natural resources, economic growth, and CO₂ emissions, as well as a unidirectional link between trade openness and CO₂ emissions. In the light of our findings, appropriate policies could include the imposition of more stringent regulations on the exploitation of natural resources, the application of taxes on carbon emissions, and the promotion of clean and renewable technologies. Greater international cooperation is also needed to address these environmental issues on a global scale.     

An international registration and tracking system for greenhouse gas emissions trading: elements,possibilities, problems and issues for further discussion

International emissions trading under the Kyoto Protocol or an alternative international regime need a registration system to prevent the creation of fake emission permits. We suggest a two-tier system consisting of an International Registry (IR) and a set of national registries. National registries have to adhere to a set of minimum standards. The IR maintains accounts for countries and private entities. The latter would thus be ensured against expropriation. We suggest that permits should become fungible across all Kyoto Mechanisms, and are allocated a serial number to allow tracking. The IR should collect fees for adaptation and administration. It should also be charged with reallocation of emission budgets owing to various causes, enforcing of eventual caps, and discounting of permits owing to non-compliance. We discuss the registration process and a timetable for the set-up of the registries. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

合芜蚌试验区排污权交易制度建立之构想

排污权交易的实践证明了排污权交易可以有效地保护环境,同时也提出了亟需对其适用条件和建设模式进行探索的现实命题。文章以合芜蚌自主创新试验区为例,在分析了合芜蚌试验区内推行排污权交易制度的可行性基础上,提出了区域性排污权交易的构建模式。     

Panel heterogeneous distribution analysis of trade and modernized agriculture on CO2 emissions: The role of renewable and fossil fuel energy consumption

In line with the global target of reducing climate change and its impact, this study explored the causal relationship between CO₂ emissions, modernized agriculture, trade openness, aggregate and disaggregate energy consumption in 14 African countries from 1990–2013 using a panel quantile estimation procedure. The empirical results showed that value addition to agricultural commodities declines CO₂ emissions in countries with high pollution levels. The study revealed a positive nexus between CO₂ emissions and energy consumption homogeneously distributed across quantiles. Trade openness was found to lower CO₂ emissions in countries with lower and higher levels of environmental pollution. While fossil fuel energy consumption was found to exacerbate CO₂ emissions, renewable energy consumption confirmed its mitigating effect on environmental pollution. The institution of climate‐smart agricultural options will sustainably increase productivity and income while adapting to climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Diversification of energy technologies with clean and modern energy sources like renewables avoid the over‐dependence on fossil fuels for agricultural purposes. Trade policies can stimulate flows of technology and investment opportunities for specialization in production and economies of scale. Hence, the consideration of policies that boost agricultural sector productivity and create an efficient market for international trade in Africa will help in improving livelihoods.     

Good deposits are not enough: Mining labor productivity analysis in the copper industry in Chile and Peru 1992–2009

Chile and Peru produce almost 45% of world’s mine copper output. This situation reflects their natural endowment and mining tradition, but is also the result of development processes undertaken over the last decades. As a result, both countries multiplied its mine copper production in more than 3 times in the last 20 years. Mining labor productivity played a central role achieving these amazing growth rates. Although there is a consensus about the relevance of this variable for the mining industry, the specific factors behind labor productivity changes are not completely understood.     

To centralise or to decentralise: an overview of the most recent trends in wastewater treatment management

An overview of recent trends in wastewater management is proposed concerning the role of centralisation and decentralisation in wastewater treatment. The main advantages, criticisms and limitations considering social, economic and environmental issues have been summarised. It resulted that none of the approaches could be excluded a priori, but were generally shown to integrate one another on the basis of the specific required situation.     

International trade and air pollution: estimating the economic costs of air emissions from waterborne commerce vessels in the United States

Although there is a burgeoning literature on the effects of international trade on the environment, relatively little work has been done on where trade most directly effects the environment: the transportation sector. This article shows how international trade is affecting air pollution emissions in the United States' shipping sector. Recent work has shown that cargo ships have been long overlooked regarding their contribution to air pollution. Indeed, ship emissions have recently been deemed "the last unregulated source of traditional air pollutants". Air pollution from ships has a number of significant local, national, and global environmental effects. Building on past studies, we examine the economic costs of this increasing and unregulated form of environmental damage. We find that total emissions from ships are largely increasing due to the increase in foreign commerce (or international trade). The economic costs of SO2 pollution range from dollars 697 million to dollars 3.9 billion during the period examined, or dollars 77 to dollars 435 million on an annual basis. The bulk of the cost is from foreign commerce, where the annual costs average to dollars 42 to dollars 241 million. For NOx emissions the costs are dollars 3.7 billion over the entire period or dollars 412 million per year. Because foreign trade is driving the growth in US shipping, we also estimate the effect of the Uruguay Round on emissions. Separating out the effects of global trade agreements reveals that the trade agreement-led emissions amounted to dollars 96 to dollars 542 million for SO2 between 1993 and 2001, or dollars 10 to dollars 60 million per year. For NOx they were dollars 745 million for the whole period or dollars 82 million per year. Without adequate policy responses, we predict that these trends and costs will continue into the future.     

Analyzing the cost effectiveness of Santiago, Chile's policy of using urban forests to improve air quality

Santiago, Chile has the distinction of having among the worst urban air pollution problems in Latin America. As part of an atmospheric pollution reduction plan, the Santiago Regional Metropolitan government defined an environmental policy goal of using urban forests to remove particulate matter less than 10 microm (PM(10)) in the Gran Santiago area. We used cost effectiveness, or the process of establishing costs and selecting least cost alternatives for obtaining a defined policy goal of PM(10) removal, to analyze this policy goal. For this study, we quantified PM(10) removal by Santiago's urban forests based on socioeconomic strata and using field and real-time pollution and climate data via a dry deposition urban forest effects model. Municipal urban forest management costs were estimated using management cost surveys and Chilean Ministry of Planning and Cooperation documents. Results indicate that managing municipal urban forests (trees, shrubs, and grass whose management is under the jurisdiction of Santiago's 36 municipalities) to remove PM(10) was a cost-effective policy for abating PM(10) based on criteria set by the World Bank. In addition, we compared the cost effectiveness of managing municipal urban forests and street trees to other control policies (e.g. alternative fuels) to abate PM(10) in Santiago and determined that municipal urban forest management efficiency was similar to these other air quality improvement measures.     

Comparative analysis of air pollution emissions by electric utilities: Public policy implications

One of the objectives of US environmental regulations was to reduce industrial air pollution emissions, especially from the electric utility industry, the major industrial air polluter. In this study, a comparative analysis of air pollution emissions from fossil-fuel-burning electric utility plants is conducted. The analysis focuses on a 12-yr period from 1975 to 1987 for three air pollutants: particulates, surfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides. The results indicate that particulate emissions have been significantly reduced but that sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides are still major problems for a number of plants. Furthermore, the disparity in the performance by plants indicates that by using current technology, the industry as a whole could greatly reduce these emissions. These results have policy implication for future environmental legislation.     

The valuation of historical sites: a case study of Valdivia,Chile

The economic valuation of cultural heritage is an area of increasing interest and an important research topic in the emerging field of cultural economics. Many services and values associated with cultural heritage are not traded in markets, and their estimation requires methods developed for the valuation of non-market goods, such as those used in environmental economics. This paper applies the contingent valuation method with double dichotomous choice to estimate the value of historical sites in the city of Valdivia, Chile. The valuation exercise was implemented by designing a hypothetical guided walking tour to a cluster of historical sites in the city centre, and surveying tourists visiting the city during the summer of 2004. Parametric and non-parametric statistical methods were used to estimate the survival distribution and the mean and median estimates of the willingness-to-pay (WTP). The study emphasizes the importance of explicitly treating heterogeneous preferences and the sensitivity of the survival distribution to the estimation methods used.     

Environmental policy stringency,renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions: Panel cointegration analysis for BRIICTS countries

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between environmental policy stringency and CO₂ emissions in BRIICTS (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, Turkey and South Africa) for the period 1993–2014 after controlling for renewable energy, fossil energy, oil prices and income. We believe that this is the first attempt to use the recently OECD-developed environmental policy stringency index to test the effectiveness of environmental stringency policy in reducing CO₂ emission in these countries. Applying the Panel Pooled Mean Group Autoregressive Distributive Lag (PMG-ARDL) estimator, we found an inverted U–shaped relationship between environmental policy stringency and CO₂ emissions. This suggests that initially strict stringent environmental policy does not lead to improvements in the environment but after a certain level or a threshold point, environmental stringency policy leads to improvement in environmental quality. Renewable energy consumption was negatively related to CO₂ emissions while fossil energy consumption and real oil prices and income were positively and significantly related to CO₂. Our findings suggest that strengthening the stringency of environmental policies and promoting renewable energy are effective ways of preventing environmental degradation in BRIICTS countries.     

Feasibility,forward pricing and returns: Recent developments in the literature on futures trading

In recent years the feasibility conditions for market establishment and the information value of futures markets have been central issues in futures market research. This paper first discusses recent developments under the heading of feasibility conditions, including the obsolescence of the commodity characteristics approach and the search for a comprehensive framework. Second, futures markets collect and disseminate information, and in so doing they are centres of rational price formation, and the forms of tests that have been developed to ascertain whether they perform this function efficiently are considered. Futures markets also perform a forward pricing function: their prices may be regarded as market anticipations of subsequent cash prices. 1970s' literature has addressed this question, finding differences in performance between continuous and non-continuous inventory commodities. This paper discusses the reasons for and economic implications of these results.     

Bottom-up approach for downscaling CO2 emissions in Taiwan: robustness analysis and policy implications

The roles and responsibilities of cities in CO₂ mitigation have drawn increasing attention in recent years. To facilitate optimal design of effective mitigation policies, it is important for city authorities to understand the magnitudes and sources of their CO₂ emissions, and their relative shares of emissions at a higher spatial level. Although several studies estimate CO₂ emissions at the city level, the robustness of these estimates and their linkage to emissions at a higher level remains unclear. This kind of localized information on emissions is important for coordination of climate policies at different spatial scales. The study aims to fill a gap in understanding by building a systematic bottom-up approach for estimating urban CO₂ emissions and offering a consistency check with IPCC top–down estimates. Using Taiwan as a case study, we display the geographic distribution of CO₂ emissions. The significance and implications of the downscaling CO₂ emissions are indicated accordingly.     

Projections of highway vehicle population,energy demand,and CO2 emissions in India to 2040

This paper presents projections of motor vehicles, oil demand, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions for India through the year 2040. The populations of highway vehicles and two‐wheelers are projected under three different scenarios on the basis of economic growth and average household size in India. The results show that by 2040, the number of highway vehicles in India would be 206‐309 million. The oil demand projections for the Indian transportation sector are based on a set of nine scenarios arising out of three vehicle‐growth and three fuel‐economy scenarios. The combined effects of vehicle‐growth and fuel‐economy scenarios, together with the change in annual vehicle usage, result in a projected demand in 2040 by the transportation sector in India of 404‐719 million metric tons (8.5‐15.1 million barrels per day). The corresponding annual CO₂ emissions are projected to be 1.2‐2.2 billion metric tons.