Search

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the stringency of NO x regulation and environmental technological change in the EU and US glass industry. A time series of patents on NO x primary reduction measures, including oxy-fuel technology drawn from the international patent class 'glass melting furnaces', serves as an indicator of technological change. A qualitative analysis based on patent data and face-to-face interviews with glass industry representatives revealed that NO x-related patent registrations, particularly in Germany and the US, are closely associated with early national NO x regulations and to a more limited extent with international regulation. Quantitative analysis of patent citations as a measure of knowledge spillover between patents showed that the strong environmental knowledge of Germany and the US is not only widely used within these countries, and also in other countries where environmental regulation began at a later stage. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at assessing the likely economic impacts of different approaches to implementation of Directive 96/61/EC on integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) by establishing a conceptual framework and by providing empirical evidence from case studies in the EU electric steel and domestic glass industry. The potential economic implications of the IPPC permitting process are analysed from the point of view of individual plants. Both plant- and sector-specific factors and the institutional and regulatory context of IPPC implementation in different member states are taken into account. The paper finds only limited evidence of any adverse competitiveness impacts arising from IPPC implementation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of integrated environmental product innovations on company competitiveness. In a regional case study about automotive, rail and commercial vehicle firms in Southern Germany it is found that integrated environmental product innovation is driven by factors such as regulatory pressure, the search for competitive advantages and technological lead as well as customer pressure. Regulatory pressure includes sector policies, such as emission standards, and wider non-sector energy conservation issues, at both national and international levels. For instance, EU directives on future use of renewable energy as well as national goals for reaching the Kyoto protocol play an important role in driving innovation. The study finds that integrated environmental product innovations driven by regulatory pressure produce similar competitiveness impacts as innovations undertaken voluntarily by companies. Such results yield supporting evidence for the so-called ‘Porter hypothesis’, which assumes that environmental legislation stimulates innovation and leads to ‘win–win’ situations – the simultaneous reduction of pollution and increase in productivity. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is the general view in the environmental economics literature that many forms of state aid (subsidies, tax allowances, grants, etc)trigger the unintended effect of promoting economic activities whichare not compatible with sustainable development. Moreover some of this state aid, in particular tax allowances, contribute to the maintenance of a complicated tax system accompanied by budgetary losses, a fact which gains importance in periods of severe budget deficits. However, the identification of the linkage between state aid and environmental degradation is difficult because there is often only an indirect connection. Also the quantification of state aid poses problems. This paper is focused on a particular part of environmentally damaging state aid in Germany, i.e. environmentally counterproductive tax allowances. The paper presents an analytical framework for the identification of the tax allowance-environment linkage and for estimating the budgetary effects in the case of a reform. On the basis of a comprehensive study a breakdown of the empirical evidence is given by sectorsfavored by the tax allowances and also by type of tax. It is found that environmentally damaging tax allowances at present exceed DM 45 billion in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]