Ecosystem services in infrastructure planning – a case study of the projected deepening of the Lower Weser river in Germany

We consider how ecosystem services can be incorporated into water infrastructure planning by studying the projected deepening of the Lower Weser river channel in Germany. We recalculate the project's benefit–cost ratio by integrating the monetary value of changes in different ecosystem services, as follows: (1) the restoration costs of a mitigation measure for a loss in fresh water supply for agricultural production in the estuary region, (2) the costs of a loss in habitat services, transferring the willingness to pay from a contingent valuation study to the area assessed in the environmental impact assessment, and (3) the benefits of emissions savings induced by more efficient shipping, taking a marginal abatement cost approach. We find that including monetary values for ecosystem service changes leads to a substantial drop in the benefit–cost ratio. On this basis, we argue for a reform of the standard cost–benefit analysis to facilitate more complete welfare assessments.     

我国流域横向生态补偿机制的制度经济学分析

本文结合近期案例,分析我国的流域横向生态补偿试点在科斯范式基础上结合中国国情进行的制度创新。当上下游的博弈难以同时满足参与约束和激励相容约束时,合约中引入了纵向补偿来填平双方的"价格"鸿沟,形成了"纵横"交织的嵌套式合约;以奖罚并举的双向补偿来化解上下游的"产权"争议;借助中央政府的支持和地方政府的环保"锦标赛"机制克服了科斯定理对交易成本过度敏感的难题。最后,本文针对横向生态补偿试点中存在的问题提出了若干政策建议。     

处理印染废水的厌氧-好氧系统技术经济分析

对印染废水采用厌氧-好氧(A/O)处理系统与好氧处理系统的实际运行数据进行数理统计与回归运算,建立两种系统的费用函数.着重对A/O处理系统的基建投资、占地面积、电耗及运行成本等技术经济指标进行分析,并与好氧处理系统作比较,以供工程技术人员进行方案评估时参考.     

环境成本内在化的数学模型及其对贸易与环境的影响

论述了环境成本内在化的理论依据,建立了数学模型。环境成本P等于自然资源价值P₁与人类劳动产生新价值P₂和恢复环境的价值P₃之和。总的来看,环境成本内在化有利于环境保护工作,但要防止发达国家利用＂环境＂问题反对发展中国家的发展。     

环境成本核算研究综述

在全面总结国内外环境成本核算研究进展的基础上,对有关环境成本核算研究的内容和核算方法做了概述,并指出和分析了目前环境成本核算研究中存在的主要问题.     

太阳能光伏发电成本及展望

针对太阳能电池的昂贵发电成本,分析和预测了国内外的太阳能光伏产业链的现状与发展;指出研制高效率、低成本太阳能光伏发电系统将是今后的任务。     

基于成本分析的西部生态补偿法律机制研究

建立和实施西部生态补偿机制,是加强西部生态建设和强化西部生态功能专业化服务的必由之路。生态系统服务补偿理论和自然资本理论为我们分析西部生态补偿提供了新的分析范式,西部生态补偿包括国家补偿、区域和流域补偿、自力补偿三个层次。其内部的成本关系包括生态服务利用成本关系、跨区域资源调配成本关系、生态工程实施成本关系、内部补偿成本关系等,基于成本分析基础上的三层次补偿关系协同发展是完善西部生态补偿法律机制的基本内容。     

湿法烟气脱硫系统运行经济分析

对国电九江发电有限公司6号锅炉尾部烟气湿法脱硫工程进行了经济分析,并列出了脱硫系统运行成本的构成。要降低脱硫系统运行成本,关键是要优化系统设计、优化运行管理、降低电耗。     

Chemical plant innovative safety investments decision-support methodology

Introduction

This article examines the extent to which investing in safety during the creation of a new chemical installation proves profitable.

Method

The authors propose a management supporting cost-benefit model that identifies and evaluates investments in safety within a chemical company. This innovative model differentiates between serious accidents and less serious accidents, thus providing an authentic image of prevention-related costs and benefits. In classic cost-benefit analyses, which do not make such differentiations, only a rudimentary image of potential profitability resulting from investments in safety is obtained.

Results

The resulting management conclusions that can be drawn from such classical analyses are of a very limited nature. The proposed model, however, is applied to a real case study and the proposed investments in safety at an appointed chemical installation are weighed against the estimated hypothetical benefits resulting from the preventive measures to be installed at the installation.

Conclusion

In the case-study carried out in question, it would appear that the proposed prevention investments are justified.

Impact on industry

Such an economic exercise may be very important to chemical corporations trying to (further) improve their safety investments.     

Biodiversity on Swedish pastures: estimating biodiversity production costs

This paper estimates the costs of producing biological diversity on Swedish permanent grasslands. A simple model is introduced where biodiversity on pastures is produced using grazing animals. On the pastures, the grazing animals create a sufficient grazing pressure to lead to an environment that suits many rare and red-listed species. Two types of pastures are investigated: semi-natural and cultivated. Biological diversity produced on a pasture is estimated by combining a biodiversity indicator, which measures the quality of the land, with the size of the pasture. Biodiversity is, in this context, a quantitative measure where a given quantity can be produced either by small area with high quality or a larger area with lower quality. Two areas in different parts of Sweden are investigated. Box-Cox transformations, which provide flexible functional forms, are used in the empirical analysis and the results indicate that the biodiversity production costs differ between the regions. The major contribution of this paper is that it develops and tests a method of estimating biodiversity production costs on permanent pastures when biodiversity quality differs between pastures. If the method were to be used with cost data, that were more thoroughly collected and covered additional production areas, biodiversity cost functions could be estimated and used in applied policy work.