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Trade-induced carbon transfer generates significant impacts on global carbon emissions, leading to carbon inequality (CI). This paper introduces a novel indirect metric, the trade-induced domestic carbon share (TDCS), designed to quantify economies' carbon benefits from international trade. Based on data from 17 manufacturing sectors in 66 major economies, this study compares the impact of developed and developing economies' participation in global value chains (GVCs) on TDCS, offering insights into trade-related carbon inequality. Our analysis reveals that GVCs participation by developed economies generally decrease their TDCS, in contrast to an increase in developing economies, thereby exacerbating carbon inequality. Notably, backward participation in GVCs reduces TDCS across all economies, whereas forward participation in GVCs results in increased TDCS in developing economies but a decrease in developed ones. Additionally, our study indicates that developed economies enhance their position in both forward and backward GVCs but experience a decline in the ratio of domestic value added (DVAR). In contrast, developing economies strengthen their forward GVCs position and DVAR but weaken their backward GVCs position. These findings offer new perspectives on carbon inequality in international trade and provide valuable guidance for policymakers in devising industrial trade and carbon reduction strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To mitigate climate change, individual greenhouse gas emissions need to decline substantially. This paper empirically explores the relationship between individual carbon footprints and carbon literacy as well as socio-economic and attitudinal factors. To operationalize carbon literacy, we distinguish between carbon knowledge and carbon engagement. Our econometric analysis uses widely representative survey data for 1000 individuals in Germany and distinguishes between components of an aggregate carbon footprint and of carbon footprints related with electricity consumption, heating, motorized individual transport, aviation, and dietary choices. We find a negative and sizeable correlation between carbon engagement and the aggregate footprint, as well as the footprints related to electricity consumption and diet. For example, a one-unit increase in our index reflecting carbon engagement corresponds to a decrease in the aggregate carbon footprint of about 4%. Furthermore, for carbon knowledge we find a negative correlation with the carbon footprint from diet. We also find significant correlations between the carbon footprints and gender, age, income, education, environmental preferences, and policy orientation, which generally exhibit the intuitively expected signs, but differ somewhat across activities. Overall, our findings support the notion that fostering carbon engagement represents a more effective strategy for reducing individuals' carbon footprints than enhancing carbon knowledge. • We study the relationship between carbon literacy and carbon footprints. • We break down carbon literacy into carbon knowledge and carbon engagement. • Individual-level carbon footprints calculated from representative data in Germany. • Carbon footprints calculated for electricity use, heating, transport, and diet. • Econometric findings stress role of carbon engagement for carbon footprints. • Carbon footprints are correlated with socio-economic factors and policy orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change economics is now four decades old. Much of what it has achieved as a field of academic enquiry can be linked back to issues of integrated assessment modelling. This paper shows that the standard approach is going through a major change in scope as of the last five years. The conventional focus on determining optimal mitigation paths based on modelling the social cost of carbon is being enlarged to embrace promising new waves of research. These are: (1) the economics of insurance against catastrophic risks; (2) the economics of trade and climate; and (3) the economics of climate change adaptation. The paper helps to bridge the gap between economics and climate policy by showing that the analytical toolkit of climate change economics has shifted towards more realistic representations of climatic policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Household carbon emissions account for a significant proportion of the national total emissions. Using a unique nation-wide survey data, this paper investigates the impact of different subjective measures of social awareness on household carbon emissions in China. Subjective variables are found to have significant impacts on household carbon emissions. Feeling secure, compliance with rules, and happiness have negative and significant effects on household carbon emissions, whereas the impact of interest in social issues is positive, which indicates the existence of a gap between awareness and behavior. The impacts of consumer lifestyles on the relationship between awareness and household emissions are also explored and are found to play a significant role in the relationship between awareness and emissions. People with a frugal lifestyle not only associate with lower emissions but also reinforce the role of social awareness. Furthermore, substantial differences are found across rural/urban areas and regional and income groups in China. The government should further promote a green lifestyle and give households more incentives to engage in green consumption behavior. Highlights • Household emissions are studied based on China Household Finance Survey. • Subjective factors are found to have significant impacts on household emissions. • Lifestyles matter in the relationship between awareness and household emissions. • Regional and income differences are considered in the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Various environmental footprint concepts have already been developed and applied in sustainability research. However, these analyses tend to remain restricted to historical observation samples. At least in comparison with related research activities in other environmental policy domains (like, e.g., climate policy), it seems that applications of integrated assessment tools represent rather seldom exceptions within the resource policy domain. Our paper is, therefore, intended to strengthen the related evidence base. We present recent projections from the dynamic Multi-Region Input-Output (MRIO) simulation model GINFORS (Global Inter-Industry Forecasting System), which provide an outlook on global development trends until the year 2050. Our detailed material footprint and climate policy assessment indicates that a global agreement on a policy mix will allow a clear turnaround towards climate protection and a sustainable use of natural resources without deteriorating economic performance. If the EU decides unilaterally to lead the way, then this turnaround could also be achieved for the EU while the EU would also benefit economically from this pioneering role. A third pathway towards a resource efficient and low-carbon Europe quantifies the environmental and economic impacts of a strong transitional change induced by European citizens' commitments to far-reaching sufficiency objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Global trends in production and consumption and the associated use of natural resources are far from sustainable. There is a growing recognition of the need to tackle overexploitation of resources, including materials, land, water and carbon. However, transformations to a more resource-efficient economy and society are complex. This paper elaborates three possible scenarios for a resource-efficient economy in Europe. We describe three scenarios and characterize the key differences between them. The basis of the three scenarios - Global Cooperation, Europe Goes Ahead and Civil Society Leads - is very different governance models, worldviews and actors who drive the process. Each scenario encompasses a number of challenges, which are also described. A resource-efficient economy could be advanced through top-down agreements, through market-based mechanisms driving technological solutions, and through bottom-up behavioural changes and community based initiatives focusing on both efficiency and sufficiency. In reality, a combination of these approaches is likely to be required for the achievement of ambitious resource-efficiency targets in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are generating a lot of attention among conservationists because they have the potential to create new funding opportunities for biodiversity protection and other ecosystem services that contribute to human well-being. A number of recent publications have suggested ways to target and implement PES projects in order to maximize their cost-effectiveness and efficiency, and the Heredia Declaration (this issue) sets forth a list of agreed-upon principles concerning the use of PES schemes. One of those principles concerns the “bundling” of joint products of intact ecosystems in PES schemes in order to maximize the benefits to society. There have been several recent studies focusing on the degree of overlap between biodiversity and other ecosystem services and therefore the opportunities and constraints to bundling these services. Building on this idea, the bulk of this paper focuses on developing a method for selecting sites for PES where the main interest is to bundle biodiversity with other ecosystem services. We focus our analysis on Madagascar, a country with globally important biodiversity that is also beginning to explore the utility of PES as a conservation mechanism. Specifically, we assess the opportunities for bundling biodiversity conservation with carbon and water services at the national scale and identify where using PES to protect these areas of multiple benefits would be most cost-effective and efficient. This analysis identifies almost 30,000 km2 — out of 134,301 km2 — of natural habitat that could potentially meet biodiversity conservation goals and protect additional ecosystem services through a PES scheme. One of the places identified by our methodology corresponds to an ongoing conservation project that has already begun using payments from carbon emission reductions to protect standing forests and restore important biodiversity corridors — the Ankeniheny-Mantadia-Zahamena Biodiversity Conservation and Restoration Project. This project site was selected for its high biodiversity and carbon values, lending credibility to our spatial targeting methodology and providing a case study to draw insights on how multiple-benefit PES schemes can be implemented in biodiversity “hotspots”. In the discussion section of this paper we draw on experiences from this project to consider how many of the principles outlined in the Heredia Declaration affect implementation of PES schemes in Madagascar, providing lessons for similar countries experimenting with PES for biodiversity conservation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Fossil-fuel based electricity generation produces the largest proportion of human-related carbon pollution in the United States. Hence, fuel choices by steam plants are key determinants of the industry's impact on national and global greenhouse gas emissions, and key foci for climate change policy. Yet, little research has been done to examine the economic and environmental tradeoffs among the different types of fuels that are used by these plants. This paper applies a Data Envelopment Analysis procedure that incorporates the materials balance principle to estimate the allocations of coal, gas and oil inputs that minimize carbon emissions and costs. Using EIA 906 and FERC 423 data, the paper estimates cost/carbon tradeoffs facing two sets of plants: those that use coal and gas inputs, and those that use coal, gas and oil inputs. Findings for our three-input sample show that there would be a 79% increase in cost for moving from the cost-efficient point to the carbon efficient point, while there would be a 38% increase in carbon for moving from the carbon efficient point to the cost-efficient point. These conclusions indicate that, in general, the gap between efficient cost and efficient environmental production is wide, and would require substantial policy intervention, technological change or market adjustment before it could be narrowed. However, our examination of individual plants shows that what is true in general is often not true for specific plants. Some plants that are currently less efficient than those on the production frontier could produce the same amount of electricity with less carbon output and less fuel input. Additionally, many plants on the production frontier could improve both cost and carbon efficiency by changing their mixture of fossil-fuel inputs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article proposes a multi-dimensional framework for understanding the development and effectiveness of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes, framed around the notions of institutional design, performance and interplay. The framework is applied in the context of Mexico''s Programme of Payments for Carbon, Biodiversity and Agro-forestry Services (PSA-CABSA), with an emphasis on its carbon component. The analysis shows that PSA-CABSA was promoted by civil society and its rules have been subject to continuous modifications over time. In the case of the carbon component, changes have been due to an original misunderstanding of how carbon projects should be designed, implemented, and carbon traded in actual markets. From a performance point of view, the paper shows that the programme has been well received by rural communities, and carbon payments have contributed to increase household income and to enhance forest management practices and organisational skills. The paper also highlights sources of institutional interplay with local institutions and international climate policy, and it reveals the importance of capacity and scale issues in securing an effective and fair implementation of PES. The conclusion provides some policy recommendations for the future development of PES initiatives in Mexico and elsewhere. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: While discussions about global sustainability challenges abound, the financial risks that they incur, albeit important, have received less attention. We suggest that corporate risk assessments should include sustainability-related aspects, especially with relation to the natural environment, and encompass the flux of critical materials within a company''s value chain. Such a comprehensive risk assessment takes into account input- as well as output-related factors. With this paper, we focus on the flux of carbon and define carbon constraints that emerge due to the disposition of fossil fuels in the input dimension and due to direct and indirect climate change effects in the output dimension. We review the literature regarding the financial consequences of carbon constraints on the macroeconomic, sector, and company level. We conclude that: a) financial consequences seem to be asymmetrically distributed between and within sectors, b) the individual risk exposure of companies depends on the intensity of and dependency on carbon-based materials and energy, and c) financial markets have only started to incorporate these aspects in their valuations. This paper ends with recommendations on how to incorporate our results in an integrated carbon risk management framework. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As environmental impacts continue to rise, the need to identify and quantify the underlying causes of these impacts has prompted important research questions. This is heightened by the fact that the production of goods and services is becoming increasingly global with countries relying on each other through trade. As such, it is important to have a mechanism in place to understand the environmental burden shifts from one country to another. To this end, this paper exploits a paradox in global environmental analysis, which stems from a false decoupling between economic and production systems as observed in most developed nations, which results in improved territorial emissions of these developed countries at the expense of developing countries. Ecological unequal exchange is one such contemporary ecological economic concept that is used to highlight such asymmetric transfer of embodied natural resources and biophysical indicators between countries. Attempts at environmental impacts reduction efforts has largely focused on carbon emissions but given the complex supply chain created through globalisation and international trade, it is important to consider other important metrics such as land and water use alongside carbon emissions to drive environmental policies that will holistically address ecologically unequal exchanges. For developing countries in Africa where the dependence on land use and water use for agricultural activities are crucial to the development of national economies and in combating poverty, an assessment of these metrics has become even more paramount. Against this backdrop, the current work draws upon the theoretical constructs of multi-regional input-output (MRIO) framework to trace country specific sectorial-level flows of the aforementioned metrics between a representative developed nation, UK, and 27 African regions in order to fully examine their ecological exchanges. Key findings in the study suggest that for water consumption and land use, there is a net externalisation of these impacts for all the 27 African regions by the UK. It was also determined that the extent of the imbalance between the UK and the African region is exceedingly far greater for water consumption. It is recommended that in formulating a robust multi-national environmental policy where so many factors are at play, country specific and industry targeted approach to ecological unequal exchange between nations provides better and improved insight into addressing ensuing environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-regional trade contributes to the expansion of built-up land and carbon storage loss, which results in inequality in unequal exchange. Revealing this inequality can help socio-environmental sustainability be better achieved. This paper uses a multi-regional input-output model to analyze the virtual built-up land flows embodied in the inter-provincial trade in China, and calculates the carbon storage loss caused by the expansion of built-up land. The inter-provincial trade inequality in China is discussed subsequently. The results show that regional unfair trade exists in China, and less developed regions are in an inferior position. Compared to less developed regions, developed regions obtain more benefits from inter-provincial trade, in both economic and environmental aspects. Regionally, the expansion of built-up land mainly occurs in the eastern and southern regions, which lost much carbon storage, especially Guangdong and Yunnan. Coastal regions had a high built-up land utilization efficiency, followed by the central regions. The built-up land interactions are mainly concentrated in the central and eastern regions, and the degree of trade participation in less developed regions is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of new domestic properties contributes 2% of UK territorial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The UK government aims to increase construction of new homes in England by almost a third, to 300,000 per year by the mid-2020s, whilst simultaneously reducing emissions in line with its net zero 2050 commitment. In this paper, for the first time, the upfront embodied carbon cost of constructing domestic properties in the UK by 2050 is quantified. A bottom-up analysis modelling seven domestic building typologies was used, with the material use for each based on current UK practice. Possible interventions to reduce the embodied carbon cost are then analysed. The results show that maintaining today's levels of construction will use the remaining 2050 carbon budget apportioned to house building (160 MtCO 2 e) by 2036, and cause a substantial increase in domestic floor area per capita. However, construction could reduce and cease entirely by 2035 without reducing today's living floor area per capita (37.5 m 2), resulting in a substantially reduced cumulative embodied carbon of 88 MtCO 2 e by 2050. Increasing living floor area per capita to the EU average of 40.5 m2, can be achieved within the carbon budget and with zero emissions by 2050. In contrast, increasing house building to government targets will result in double the cumulative emissions than the budget allows. A number of carbon reduction interventions were then investigated. It was found that of to 75% embodied carbon savings can be achieved by simultaneously changing the typology share, increasing material efficiency, increasing conversion from non-residential buildings and increasing the use of timber for structural purposes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global trade not only brings about the exchange of goods and services, but also stimulates the transfer of carbon emissions. Given different economic development stages and industrial structures, global carbon inequality occurs due to the mismatch between trade-related carbon emissions and value added. Combining the multi-regional input-output model and regional environmental index (REI), this paper constructs an integrated research framework to trace the embodied carbon emissions and value-added among six regions from 2010 to 2015 to shed light on global carbon inequality from a multi-regional perspective. The results indicate that major carbon exporters are placed in inferior positions in global trade, rendering them victims of carbon inequality. The EU, Japan and the USA have been favored by global trade from both economic and environmental perspectives, and the advantaged position of the EU has improved whereas the positions of Japan and the USA have slightly decreased. For disadvantage regions, China and ASEAN10 has improved their situations, yet the inequality suffered by the RoW148 has deteriorated. Adjusting the export structure from primary to advanced products is an effective measure to mitigate global carbon inequality. Our major implications help strike thinking on the rationality of global trade and offer integral solutions towards sustainable development. • Embodied carbon emissions and value added are traced based on the MRIO model • An optimized REI index is established to identify carbon inequality from a multi-regional perspective • Carbon inequality in global trade and its sectoral contributors are explored • Export structure changing from primary to advanced products can alleviate carbon inequality [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories underpinning the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kyoto Protocol report each country's net annual emissions, that is GHG flows. Yet the UNFCCC's goal is defined as a stock (atmospheric GHG concentration). Flow inventories are apt for the fossil fuel sector where flows are effectively one way, stock changes are almost entirely anthropogenic, and stocks are stable in the absence of human perturbation. For the land sector, flow-based GHG inventories obscure fundamental differences between ecosystems: in their carbon stock stability, restoration capacity, and density. This paper presents a national carbon accounting framework that is comprehensive and includes stocks as well as flows for reservoirs, lands and activities continuously over time. It complements current flow-based inventories under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol. The framework differentiates reservoirs by their role in the global carbon cycle, distinguishing between geocarbon (carbon in the geosphere), biocarbon (carbon in the biosphere) and anthropogenic carbon (stockpiles, products and waste). A reservoir ranking system is proposed based on longevity, reversibility of carbon loss, and carbon density. This framework will support policy makers and researchers grappling with mitigation strategies and competing demands on agricultural land and natural ecosystems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we study how international trade allows the geographical separation between the place where carbon emissions occur and the place where income from those emissions is derived. We do so by studying the carbon emissions enabled by the primary inputs of products downstream along the production chain. We find that 18% of global carbon emissions are enabled abroad and that Developed Economies, Fossil Fuel Exporters and Asia account for 80% of the downstream emissions enabled by international trade. Both Developed Economies and Fossil Fuel Exporters exhibit a positive trade balance of enabled emissions while for Asia the opposite is true. Developed Economies and Fossil Fuel Exporters enable emissions mainly through the export of manufactured products (690Mt) and fossil fuels (684Mt), respectively, while Asia exhibits an outflow of enabled emissions through the import of fossil fuels (209Mt). The measurement of enabled emissions allows the understanding of how a region's income is derived from carbon emissions occurring abroad. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recent papers by Wagner and Vollebergh et al. point out some fundamental econometric problems with traditional methods of estimating the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and propose alternative approaches that avoid these issues. Wagner notes that traditional methods do not take into account the presence of powers of unit root variables and cross-sectional dependence in the data while Vollebergh et al. point out that the time effects are not uniquely identified in the EKC model. The between estimator is a simple estimator that also addresses the concerns of these authors. It makes no a priori assumption about the nature of the time effects and is likely to provide consistent estimates of long-run relationships in real world data situations. I apply several common panel data estimators including the between estimator to OECD and global carbon and sulfur emissions datasets. The between estimates of the sulfur-income elasticity are 0.732 in the OECD and 1.067 in the global data set and the estimated carbon-income elasticity is 1.612 in the OECD and 1.509 globally. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The paper presents a combined simulation–optimization approach to model forest conversion planning taking the values of timber, carbon and biodiversity into account. The development of a virtual age-class forest was predicted by adopting a single tree forest growth tool, “TreeGrOSS”. The effects of different conversion regimes with continuous variables describing silvicultural prescriptions were monitored for a finite conversion period of forty years in stand level. Dynamic linear programming was employed to adaptively solve the multi-period large-scale optimization problem of a forest enterprise encompassing five different age-classes of pure Norway spruce (Picea abies, L. Karst) stands. The global net present values of biodiversity, carbon sequestration and timber production along with the wood even flow constraint, were considered simultaneously. The obtained optimal sylvicultural pathway differed not only among different stands but also sometimes within a given stand. The integration of the utility of biodiversity into the optimization procedure favoured conversion strategies that foresee the establishment of beech regeneration in all forest stands. The simultaneous consideration of all mentioned utilities resulted in a global utility of 27451 €/ha consisting of 14499 (53%), 3412 (12%), 764 (3%), and 8777 (32%) €/ha for the value of timber, carbon, biodiversity, and standing volume respectively. The sensitivity analysis showed that the threshold from which no major changes in the relevant silvicultural parameters occurred was observed at 30 €/t carbon price with an interest rate of 2%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A new momentum is underway to account for emissions from “avoided deforestation and degradation” at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This paper assesses the feasibility of one of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) mechanisms currently discussed, namely that of “Compensated Reduction”, in the case of Cameroon. Here we assess the differential revenues that a farmer could get from 1 ha of land out of two alternative land-uses: shifting cultivation, the traditional land-use pattern in southern Cameroon, or carbon credits as compensation for the conservation of primary forest. It is found that a break-even price of $2.85/t of carbon dioxide equivalent would level shifting cultivation with “Compensated Reduction”. This result suggests that at current carbon prices, and independently form variations in the discount rate, it could already be more profitable to preserve the primary forest rather than to log it in order to grow crops. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A central question addressed is whether emerging carbon markets have the potential to provide an economic incentive for private landholders to reforest without recourse to subsidy. A second question is whether bio-sequestration in the Wet Tropics of Queensland is cost-competitive with southern Australia. A third, given that plantations of monocultures also provide carbon sinks, is: are the goals of carbon sequestration and biodiversity mutually exclusive or complementary? Australia intends to meet its Kyoto greenhouse gas emissions target even though it has not ratified the Protocol. While a national system of carbon emission cap and trade does not exist, unilateral action by some states to mandate industry caps has generated a demand for offsets. However, it is the voluntary market for offsets, stimulated by demand by companies and government departments that is most active. The favourable climate and soils of the Wet Tropics Region of north Queensland have enabled the evolution of unique ecosystems. Deforestation of these has been greatly reduced by World Heritage listing of the Wet Tropics. Nevertheless much of the landscape remains fragmented. An official priority is the encouragement of rainforest plantations on private land with the aim of augmenting endangered ecosystems and the habitat of iconic species, but reforestation is heavily subsidised by the Australian government. Using methodology that allows the comparison of uneven streams of costs and benefits, it is found that – at present prices – payments for sequestered carbon defray only a small proportion of costs, providing a level of incentive insufficient to stimulate restoration. Comparative analysis shows that monocultures sequester carbon at a much lower price per tonne. However, despite the relatively high growth rates of monocultures in the region, their cost per tonne of carbon are greater than costs in southern Australia. A decreasing supply of suitable land for bio-sequestration offsets in southern Australia may well force brokers to look to the Wet Tropics. In this event – the economic analysis suggests – land in areas that carried endangered or threatened ecosystems will be devoted to monocultures rather than restored rainforest. The paper highlights the asymmetry between the availability of credits for carbon and of credits for biodiversity and the need for public investment in conservation and restoration. Requiring further investigation is the potential demand for carbon offsets with high biodiversity benefits – so called “boutique abatements” – that could readily be supplied in the Queensland Wet Tropics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: China experienced sustainable, rapid economic growth over the period 1980–2003 but, at the same time, energy-related carbon intensity showed a downward trend. It begs the question, therefore, what factors were driving this decline in carbon intensity and will this decline be maintained in future? Moreover, what measures can be adopted to ensure a continual decline in carbon intensity? These questions led to increased research in the factors governing CO2 emission in China. This paper quantifies the driving force behind China''s primary energy-related carbon intensity and measures the material production sectors'' final energy-related carbon intensity. Our results show that the overwhelming contributor to the decline of energy-related carbon intensity was the reduction in real energy intensity. However, policies that focus only on the decline in energy intensity are insufficient to further decrease carbon intensity. The change of primary energy mix can improve the decline of carbon intensity. This should focus on the material production sectors'' development strategies and final energy use. Greater emphasis should be given to secondary industry, which needs national and regional governments'' policy support. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of energy consumption and output on carbon emissions in the United States. Earlier research focused on testing the existence and/or shape of an environmental Kuznets curve without taking energy consumption into account. We investigate the Granger causality relationship between income, energy consumption, and carbon emissions, including labor and gross fixed capital formation in the model. We find that income does not Granger cause carbon emissions in the US in the long run, but energy use does. Hence, income growth by itself may not become a solution to environmental problems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper explores the tradeoff between resource extraction and net carbon sequestration in managing representative timber stands in the state of New Hampshire in the northeastern United States. In the absence of policies to promote forest carbon storage, land owners have incentives to employ clear-cut harvesting regimes with relatively short rotation periods. Under conservative assumptions regarding the social benefits of carbon storage, optimal rotation periods are extended by between 16 and 133 years depending on the forest type under consideration. If policy-makers pursued a cost-effective strategy to stabilize atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations at twice the pre-industrial norm, optimal rotation periods would be extended by a full 180–347 years. The analysis suggests that partial harvesting regimes (in which approximately 35% of timber volume is removed at 15-year intervals after the timber stand reaches an initial age of 45 years) provide relatively high net benefits under a variety of circumstances. This finding is relevant because partial harvesting is an accepted and relatively common practice that could be adopted more widely. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we account for forest wealth in India. Changes in the timber and carbon wealth embodied in these forests are related to important green national accounting aggregates such as genuine saving and the change in wealth per capita. Important accounting issues include the timing of carbon releases that occur when forests are disturbed, as well as the valuation of these releases. Our empirical findings suggest that while India''s forest wealth is substantial, net changes in this wealth are arguably not so large at least in relation to GNP. However, when viewed in the context of the wealth-diluting effects of population growth this implies a far larger additional savings effort is required to cover the (net) loss in forest values than otherwise appears to be the case. Finally, we examine ways in which the accounting approach that we adopt can be reconciled with approaches which stress conserving forest wealth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a carbon-accounting method for forests that is implementable in the sense that it makes use of observable information. The valuation of the effects of carbon dioxide is based on asset values rather than rental values. With minor differences due to the treatment of such accidents as fires and pestilence, the method corresponds to the flow method of the physical carbon-accounting literature. The stock-change method of carbon accounting, however, is incompatible with economic principles. Rather than set carbon values to their optimal levels in the Pigovian tradition we use current societal standards. We also present a discussion of how to implement the scheme in the face of uncertainty. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper presents a case study in which the effects of agri-environmental policy on two Mediterranean-type farming systems, grazing dominant and cropping dominant, are contrasted. Two greenhouse gas abatement policies are examined; an emissions taxation policy and an emissions restrictions policy. The study seeks to determine firstly, how the policy impacts on the farming systems, and from that, how the nature of the farming systems impact on the effectiveness of the policy. It is shown that relative costs of abatement are higher for the grazing-dominant farming system. However, in the absence of technological change to aid abatement, the cost of substitution from high emitting enterprises, such as livestock, to low emitting enterprises, such as crop production, will determine the cost of abatement. For both farming systems the restriction policy is found to be more effective and economically efficient than the taxation policy. The analysis found that crediting trees as carbon sinks can significantly reduce the costs of abatement. At predicted emissions permit prices, trees would be adopted by both farming systems to offset farm greenhouse gas emissions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Carbon sequestration is a temporal process in which carbon is continuously being stored/released over a period of time. Different methods of carbon accounting can be used to account for this temporal nature including annual average carbon, annualized carbon, and ton-year carbon. In this paper, starting by exposing the underlying connections among these methods, we examine how the comparisons of sequestration projects are affected by these methods and the major factors affecting them. We explore the empirical implications on carbon sequestration policies by applying these accounting methods to the Upper Mississippi River Basin, a large and important agriculture area in the US. We found that the differences are significant in terms of the location of land that might be chosen and the distribution of carbon sequestration over the area, although the total amount of carbon sequestered does not differ considerably across programs that use different accounting methods or different values of the major factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Drought is a source of stress that affects forest growth, resulting in financial losses for forest owners and amenity losses for society. Due to climate change, such natural events will be more frequent and intense in the future. In this context, the objective of this paper is to compare, from an economic perspective, different forest adaptation strategies towards a drought-induced risk of decline. For that purpose, we focused on a case study of a beech forest in Burgundy (France) and we studied several adaptation options: density reduction, reduction of the rotation length, and substitution with Douglas-fir. We also considered two levels of drought risk (intermediate and low soil water capacity) and two climate scenarios from the IPCC (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). We combined a process-based forest-growth simulator (CASTANEA) with a traditional forest economics approach. The results showed that adaptation provided the best economic return in most of the scenarios considered. Combining strategies appears as a relevant way to adapt forests in view of a drought-induced risk of forest decline. We also demonstrated the importance of considering two disciplinary fields. Beneficial scenarios in an ecological perspective were not necessarily beneficial in an economic one and vice versa. • Drought affects forest growth resulting in timber production and carbon losses. • We combined a forest growth simulator with a classical forest economics approach. • We compared and combined different options of forest adaptation under two climates. • Forest needs adaptation and combining strategies provided the best economic return. • Ecological results and economics ones can coincide or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent paper in this journal, Azar and Schneider present carbon abatement costs as a few years delay in an increasing path of welfare and they suggest the adoption of stricter abatement policies to avoid climate change. We show that the same argument can be used to derive the opposite conclusion. In most studies, not only abatement costs, but also climate change costs represent a small loss in future welfare. The reason for this is the implicit assumption of perfect long-term substitutability between man-made and environmental goods that many of these models adopt. We argue that, instead of downplaying the costs of abatement measures, we should try to better understand the substitutability possibilities between man-made and environmental goods, that is, the character of long-term costs of climate change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]