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This paper examined the economic impacts of China's emissions trading system (ETS), implemented in 2013, in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) and per capita GDP. The methodology drew on a difference-in-differences (DID) method using dynamic panel data for 30 provincial regions. The estimation results show that implementing an ETS policy has statistically significant negative effects on economic growth. When considering the additional control variables, these effects are still statistically significant. Furthermore, these negative impacts increase over time with respect to both GDP and per capita GDP. The counterfactual tests confirm the robustness of our DID estimation results. The specific influence mechanism of China's ETS policy was finally discussed. Our findings provide a quantitative decision-making support for popularizing ETS policy in China. Based on our DID model, empirical investigations of the ETS policy, especially concerning economic growth in other regions would produce prolific contributions to the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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With electric generation responsible for 41 percent of U.S anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy use, development of clean energy sources is essential if the United States is to reduce release of greenhouse gases and slow global warming. Many proponents of sustainable energy anticipate that electric generation from renewable sources would thrive in a deregulated market, driven by consumer demand for “green” energy and the end of incentives to build large central power plants under the cost-plus profits guaranteed by state utility commissions. This paper examines the flaws in this expectation. After reviewing the highly cyclical nature of U.S. energy policy making in recent decades, the study links the ineffectiveness of policy with the institutional setting. Under electric utility market restructuring, renewable energy generation (wind, biomass, solar, geothermal, and small-scale hydro) must overcome barriers such as price distortions, lack of storage capability, discriminatory transmission system access, and the end of linked utility rate hikes guaranteed to cover the additional expense of renewable generation. In the absence of strong federal leadership, the state commitment to renewable energy has been uneven under utility restructuring. Moreover, nuclear power—the other leading alternative to fossil fuel use—is beset by serious problems. Only renewable energy options offer long-term hope for sustainability. Along these lines, green marketing, renewable portfolio standards, system benefit charges, carbon taxes, public power, “Community Choice,” and production credits—all based on recent U.S. and European experience—are critically examined and recommendations made for changing course. At present, during this highly fluid period of utility restructuring, and absent more forceful regulation and demand management, it is dubious whether U.S. electricity market reform can encourage sufficient conversion to renewable energy to stem a rising tide of greenhouse gas emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic theory suggests several channels through which financial instability might influence environmental quality. However, the empirical testing of this nexus comprises only few studies with conflicting outcomes on both the presence as well as the direction of this relationship. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing the relationship between pollution emissions, financial instability, output growth, trade openness, gross fixed capital formation and foreign direct investment (FDI) using a large sample of 88 developing economies for the 1980–2014 period. For our short- and long-run estimates, we use the panel vector error correction model (P-VECM) and the panel cointegration method. Our outcomes support the presence of long-run relationships between the selected variables. Moreover, the income, trade openness, investment and financial instability variables augment carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, whereas FDI reduces the latter. The vector error correction model (VECM) models show a bidirectional, short-run connection between income and environmental degradation. Our empirical findings have some important policy implications for developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a need to quantify agriculture's potential to sequester carbon (C) to inform global approaches aimed at mitigating climate change effects. Many factors including climate, crop, soil management practices, and soil type can influence the contribution of agriculture to the global carbon cycle. The objective of this study was to investigate the C sequestration potential of conservation agriculture (CA) (defined by minimal soil disturbance, maintaining permanent soil cover, and crop rotations). This study used micrometeorological methods to measure carbon dioxide (CO2) flux from several alternative CA practices in Harare, central Zimbabwe. Micrometeorological methods can detect differences in total CO2 emissions of agricultural management practices; our results show that CA practices produce less CO2 emissions. Over three years of measurement, the mean and standard error (SE) of CO2 emissions for the plot with the most consistent CA practices was 0.564 ± 0.0122 g CO2 m−2 h−1, significantly less than 0.928 ± 0.00859 g CO2 m−2 h−1 for the conventional tillage practice. Overall CA practices of no-till with the use of cover crops produced fewer CO2 emissions than conventional tillage and fallow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Building Research & Information is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)