Climate and international trade policies when emissions affect production possibilities

In this paper, we develop a model of international trade and climate change in which emission discharges arising from production have a feedback effect on national production sectors by impacting upon effective factor endowments. With this context, the objectives are, first, to provide a general characterization of Pareto-efficient climate and trade policies and, second, to examine the possibility – starting from non-Pareto-efficient equilibria – for Pareto-improving environmental policies. We provide conditions under which several particular reforms of carbon taxes are welfare improving.     

Energy Embodied in Goods in International Trade of China: Calculation and Policy Implications

Abstract

In recent years, China’s energy demand and Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have grown very fast, quite an amount of which was exported as energy embodied in goods in international trade rather than consumed domestically. Starting from the concept of embodied energy, based on input-output energy analysis approach, in this paper the energy embodied in goods in international trade of China during the period from 2001 to 2006 is calculated. The results show that although China has become a net importer of petroleum since 1993, China is a net exporter of embodied energy due to international trade in goods. In 2002, the total amount of energy embodied in exported goods was about 410 million tce (ton of coal equivalent, hereinafter referred to as “tce”). Eliminating the amount of energy embodied in imported goods of about 170 million tce, the net export of embodied energy was about 240 million tce, accounting for 16% of the aggregate primary energy consumption of that very year in China, and the net export of embodied emissions was about 150 million tons of carbon. With the rapid growth of China’s international trade, assuming no structural input-output changes of among sectors, in 2006 the net export of embodied energy went up to about 630 million tce, an increase of 162 % over 2002. In addition, this paper also analyzes the possible sources of error in calculation, and also discusses the policy implications according to the result of the calculation.     

中国的绿色壁垒措施现状

绿色壁垒已经成为国际贸易中的重要手段 ,日益引起人们的关注。中国目前的绿色壁垒措施 ,主要包括国际环境保护公约、中国的环境法规体系与技术标准、环境认证、商品检疫与检验规定、绿色包装与标签要求、环境成本内在化要求等 6项措施。建议中国尽快构建符合国际贸易发展潮流的绿色壁垒体系。      

Association of reproductive traits with captive- versus wild-sourced birds in trade

The wildlife trade is a billion-dollar global business, involving millions of people, thousands of species, and hundreds of millions of individual organisms. Unravelling whether trade targets reproductively distinct species and whether this preference varies between captive- and wild-sourced species is a crucial question. We used a comprehensive list of all bird species traded, trade listings and records kept in compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and a suite of avian reproductive parameters to examine whether wildlife trade is associated with particular facets of life history and to examine the association between life-history traits and captive- and wild-sourced traded volumes over time. Across all trade, CITES listing, and CITES trade, large birds were more likely to be traded and listed, but their longevity and age at maturity were not associated with CITES listing or trade. We found species across almost the full range of trait values in both captive and wild trade between 2000 and 2020. Captive trade volumes clearly associated with relatively longer lived and early-maturing species; these associations remained stable and largely unchanged over time. Trait–volume associations in wild-sourced trade were more uncertain. Only body mass had a clear association, and it varied from negative to positive over time. Although reproductive traits were important in captive-sourced trade, species-level variation dominated trade, with even congeneric species varying greatly in volume despite similar traits. The collection and incorporation of trait data into sustainability assessments of captive breeding facilities are crucial to ensure accurate quotas and guard against laundering.     

我国环境贸易现状和对外开放对策

从国际＂环保热＂和我国＂复关＂谈判的实际出发,分析了我国环境贸易现状,阐述了我国环境贸易对外开放对策,文章还指出,为了促进我国环境服务业和环保工业跨出国门、参与国际竞争,并使我国的经济贸易向有利于生态环境的方向发展,必须把环保基本国策落实到经济贸易各个环节;组建环保产业集团公司;发挥中介机构的指导和协调作用;积极有效地引进外资;建立全国环保产业质量检测和评估中心;加强经济贸易中环境管理及环保执法。     

Partitioning of organochlorine pesticides from water to polyethylene passive samplers

The mass transfer rates and equilibrium partitioning behaviour of 14 diverse organochlorine pesticides (OCP) between water and polyethylene (PE) passive samplers, cut from custom made PE sheets and commercial polyethylene plastic bags, were quantified. Overall mass transfer coefficients, k_O, estimated PE membrane diffusion coefficients, D_PE, and PE-water partitioning coefficients, K_PE-water, are reported. In addition, the partitioning of three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from water to PE is quantified and compared with literature values. K_PE-water values agreed mostly within a factor of two for both passive samplers and also with literature values for the reference PAHs. As PE is expected to exhibit similar sorption behaviour to long-chain alkanes, PE-water partitioning coefficients were compared to hexadecane-water partitioning coefficients estimated with the SPARC online calculator, COSMOtherm and a polyparameter linear free energy relationship based on the Abraham approach. The best correlation for all compounds tested was with COSMOtherm estimated hexadecane-water partitioning coefficients.     

Differential response of aspen and birch trees to heat stress under elevated carbon dioxide

The effect of high temperature on photosynthesis of isoprene-emitting (aspen) and non-isoprene-emitting (birch) trees were measured under elevated CO₂ and ambient conditions. Aspen trees tolerated heat better than birch trees and elevated CO₂ protected photosynthesis of both species against moderate heat stress. Elevated CO₂ increased carboxylation capacity, photosynthetic electron transport capacity, and triose phosphate use in both birch and aspen trees. High temperature (36-39 °C) decreased all of these parameters in birch regardless of CO₂ treatment, but only photosynthetic electron transport and triose phosphate use at ambient CO₂ were reduced in aspen. Among the two aspen clones tested, 271 showed higher thermotolerance than 42E possibly because of the higher isoprene-emission, especially under elevated CO₂. Our results indicate that isoprene-emitting trees may have a competitive advantage over non-isoprene emitting ones as temperatures rise, indicating that biological diversity may be affected in some ecosystems because of heat tolerance mechanisms.     

经济增长、国际贸易与污染排放的关系研究——基于美国和中国SO2排放的实证分析

在世界经济一体化进程中,国际贸易成为影响各国环境污染变化的重要因素,将其纳入经济增长与环境污染间关系的分析框架是环境学界关注的一个重要问题。本文基于联立方程模型,从经济产出、污染排放、污染治理和国际贸易等四个方面探讨了经济增长与污染排放的相互作用机理,并以美国、中国SO2排放为例进行了实证研究。结果表明:污染排放对经济产出有影响,且对美国和中国分别为正作用和负作用。经济增长增加了两国国内污染排放,且中国增加的相对更多。而污染治理均减少了国内污染排放,美、中的污染减排弹性系数分别为-0.277和-0.417。国际贸易对美国起到污染减排作用,对中国的影响不显著,考虑到贸易对中国经济增长的拉动作用,其经济规模间接污染效应不容忽视。对于中国而言,加大污染治理投资、改善贸易进出口状况、降低经济发展过程中的污染排放是实现经济与环境协调发展的有效途径。     

基于LMDI方法的中国国际贸易隐含碳分解

对国际贸易产生环境影响的定量研究正日益受到关注,特别是对隐含碳的研究.以中国2005年为例,对中国国际贸易隐含碳进行估算,应用对数平均D氏指数法(LMDI)对影响隐含碳净转移的因素进行分解分析.结果显示中国因生产排放碳量远大于其消费需要排放的碳量,从国外净转移到中国的隐含碳为395.66MtC;净转移隐含碳影响因素中强度效应(进出口商品完全碳排放系数差异)贡献率为60%,规模效应(进出额差异)贡献率为55%,结构效应(进出口结构差异)贡献率为-14%,此结果表明中国相比国外的高碳排放强度是造成目前碳转移额外增加的主要因素,分析结构效应发现中国主要净出口行业大部分不是高碳排放强度行业,而净进口行业却主要由高碳排放强度行业构成,特别是与碳排放密切相关的能源行业居净进口行业首位.     

The arrival and discharge of conjugated estrogens from a range of different sewage treatment plants in the UK

The occurrence of free and conjugated estrogens was examined in a survey of eleven sewage treatment plants (STPs) and their discharge water in the United Kingdom using grab sampling. The STPs included trickling filter with and without tertiary treatment, and activated sludge with tertiary treatment. For three activated sludge plants both influent and effluent samples were compared. For a further 8 STPs only the effluent was examined. The estrone-3-sulphate, estradiol-3-sulphate and estriol-3-sulphate concentrations (up to 20 ng L⁻¹) were typically 5-fold that of the respective free estrogen concentration in the effluents. This represents a substantial additional ‘potential’ estrogen load arriving in the receiving waters. Estrone-3-glucuronide was found at 9 ng L⁻¹, estradiol-3-glucuronide at 7 ng L⁻¹, and estriol-3-glucuronide at 32 ng L⁻¹ in sewage influent. Except on one occasion, no glucuronide conjugates could be found in the effluent. The results suggest in most cases glucuronide conjugates will be completely transformed in sewage treatment whilst sulphate conjugates will only be partially removed.