Carbon-reducing innovation as the essential policy frontier – towards finding the ways that work

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Frank J. Convery
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Price ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Innovation Ecosystem ◽  
Price Ceiling ◽  
Priority Area ◽  
The Us ◽  
Small Countries ◽  
Economics Profession ◽  
Policy Systems ◽  
Enterprise Community

Abstract Finding the ways that work to deliver the innovation needed should be given parity of esteem with getting the prices right as a focus of the economics profession and policy systems. Learn from experience as regards carbon pricing and carbon-reducing innovation; insights from the latter coming mainly from the US, China and Europe; demographically relatively small countries – Denmark (wind) and Australia (solar PV) – can make outsize contributions. A carbon price ceiling is too low to drive innovation; generating carbon-reducing innovation requires that it be explicitly recognized as a priority, and nurtured accordingly: identify the priority area(s) where innovation at scale will be necessary to make progress; baseline the elements of the innovation ecosystem which are already in place, and the gaps that need to be filled. Key elements include institutions and incentives that promote innovation, a research and enterprise community that make it happen, and a supportive public.

scholarly journals Why the Economics Profession Must Actively Participate in the Privacy Protection Debate

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 ◽  
pp. 397-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Abowd ◽  
Ian M. Schmutte ◽  
William N. Sexton ◽  
Lars Vilhuber
Keyword(s):  
Privacy Protection ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Census Bureau ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Technical Problems ◽  
Public Data ◽  
The Us ◽  
Economics Profession ◽  
Computer Scientists ◽  
Us Census

When Google or the US Census Bureau publishes detailed statistics on browsing habits or neighborhood characteristics, some privacy is lost for everybody while supplying public information. To date, economists have not focused on the privacy loss inherent in data publication. In their stead, these issues have been advanced almost exclusively by computer scientists who are primarily interested in technical problems associated with protecting privacy. Economists should join the discussion, first to determine where to balance privacy protection against data quality--a social choice problem. Furthermore, economists must ensure new privacy models preserve the validity of public data for economic research.

scholarly journals A theory of the US innovation ecosystem: evolution and the social value of diversity

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashish Arora ◽  
Sharon Belenzon ◽  
Andrea Patacconi
Keyword(s):  
Social Value ◽  
Innovation Ecosystem ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us ◽  
Ecosystem Evolution

scholarly journals RENEWABLE ENERGY AND TRADE DISPUTES: IMPLICATIONS ON SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC MANUFACTURING IN MALAYSIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nee Au Yong Hui ◽  
Lim Tan Kock
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
The United States ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Green Jobs ◽  
Trade Disputes ◽  
Energy Mix ◽  
The Us

Malaysia has realised the importance of renewable energy (RE) in the energy mix and continuously reviewing its energy policy to ensure sustainable energy supply. The use of RE is among the options although the RE capacity is still underutilized. Malaysia achieves 5.5% share of RE in the energy mix by 2015, and the RE sector is expected to double by 2020 with strong growth in the solar photovoltaic (PV), biomass and biogas markets. Beyond 2020, it is predicted that solar energy will surpass all other forms of RE for Malaysia and other countries, and the solar power will be the long term source of energy supply. After an investigation on the RE policy, the domestic solar PV manufacturing scenario is elaborated in this paper. This includes the solar PV manufacturing, issues and trade disputes, and the way forward. Among the key findings from this paper include: the foreign direct investment (FDI) related to RE sector especially from the US and lately China, have increased rapidly, and more ‘green' jobs in the solar PV manufacturing and installation sectors have been created. With the existence of trade disputes between the United States and the European Union with China, Malaysia has the potential to reap benefits with the inflow of direct investments from China. Nevertheless, the future incidence of RE trade disputes is still uncertain.

Evaluating the Cost of Food in a Carbon Constrained Economy

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly M. Twomey ◽  
Michael E. Webber
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Marginal Cost ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Carbon Price ◽  
Beef Production ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Potential Carbon

Although consensus has not been reached regarding the most efficient mechanism to curb anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, rising concern over the consequences of global climate change and consequent shifts in public and political sentiment suggest that carbon legislation will be instituted in the US in the near future. The recent climate change bill passed in the House of Representatives titled The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (HR 2454) includes provisions for a cap-and-trade system intended to reduce the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions 83% by 2050. Consequently, it is likely that some means of carbon pricing will take effect that will make it more expensive to emit greenhouse gases. In a carbon constrained economy, it will become increasingly important to consider every stage of food production and consumption in order to evaluate the potential opportunities for emission reductions. This analysis uses Life-Cycle Assessment to estimate the social cost of food production by quantifying the associated negative externalities under a range of potential carbon prices, using meat and grain as examples. It concludes that 0.42 and 16.0 kg of lifecycle CO2e are embedded in 1 kg of grain and beef production, respectively. Consequently, the marginal cost associated with the emissions caused by grain production under a carbon price range of $10 and $85 per t CO2e is estimated to be between $.004 and $0.036 per kg of grain. By comparison, the estimated marginal cost associated with beef production over the same range of carbon pricing is $0.16 and $1.36 per kg of beef. Considering that the US produces 12 billion kg of beef per year, this range indicates that the carbon cost of beef production alone might fall anywhere between $1.9 and $16.3 billion per year, depending on whether and how a carbon price is applied. This uncertainty and potential carbon price could significantly impact the cost of carbon-intensive foods.

scholarly journals Solar PV as a mitigation strategy for the US education sector

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 044004
Author(s):  
Nichole L Hanus ◽  
Gabrielle Wong-Parodi ◽  
Parth T Vaishnav ◽  
Naїm R Darghouth ◽  
Inês L Azevedo
Keyword(s):  
Mitigation Strategy ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
The Us

Solar PV Residential Grid-Tie System for Optimizing Installation and Performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael White ◽  
Ahad Ali
Keyword(s):  
Green Technology ◽  
Residential Home ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Pv System ◽  
Cost Performance ◽  
Resource Investment ◽  
The Us ◽  
Solar Pv System ◽  
And Performance

With the greening of the US power grid most of the available landscape and resource investment lays with residential home owners. Historically homes were not built with green technology in mind. Roof faces do not always face south, nor are they always at optimum angles. Existing homes are often shaded by old growth trees. This paper covers decision-making tools for cost, performance, layout, and labor optimization. It also includes a case study from a residential solar PV system in suburbia Detroit, Michigan; and goes further into possible improvements to the system after initial installation and their cost effectiveness.

USING A CARBON TAX TO MEET US INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE PLEDGES

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. 1950002 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUNGUANG CHEN ◽  
MARC A. C. HAFSTEAD
Keyword(s):  
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ◽  
Greenhouse Gas ◽  
Computable General Equilibrium ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Emissions ◽  
Carbon Tax ◽  
Carbon Price ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
The Us ◽  
International Climate

The United States is currently on pace to fall well short of its promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26–28%, relative to 2005, by 2025, under the UN Framework and Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement, even if President Trump did not eliminate most Obama-era climate regulations. However, there still exists interest in reducing emissions, especially from some members of Congress, and there are a number of federal policy options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if Congress (or a new administration in 2021) so chooses. In this paper, we show that a federal economy-wide carbon tax on US carbon dioxide emissions could significantly contribute to the reductions necessary to fulfill the US international climate commitments. Using a detailed multi-sector computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, we predict the carbon price paths that would be necessary to meet the 28% emissions target and show the economic costs of such carbon-pricing policies. We then demonstrate how both the price paths and associated costs change if action is delayed.

scholarly journals RENEWABLE ENERGY AND TRADE DISPUTES: IMPLICATIONS ON SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC MANUFACTURING IN MALAYSIA

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nee Au Yong Hui ◽  
Lim Tan Kock
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Supply ◽  
The United States ◽  
Solar Photovoltaic ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Solar Pv ◽  
Green Jobs ◽  
Trade Disputes ◽  
Energy Mix ◽  
The Us

Malaysia has realised the importance of renewable energy (RE) in the energy mix and continuously reviewing its energy policy to ensure sustainable energy supply. The use of RE is among the options although the RE capacity is still underutilized. Malaysia achieves 5.5% share of RE in the energy mix by 2015, and the RE sector is expected to double by 2020 with strong growth in the solar photovoltaic (PV), biomass and biogas markets. Beyond 2020, it is predicted that solar energy will surpass all other forms of RE for Malaysia and other countries, and the solar power will be the long term source of energy supply. After an investigation on the RE policy, the domestic solar PV manufacturing scenario is elaborated in this paper. This includes the solar PV manufacturing, issues and trade disputes, and the way forward. Among the key findings from this paper include: the foreign direct investment (FDI) related to RE sector especially from the US and lately China, have increased rapidly, and more ‘green' jobs in the solar PV manufacturing and installation sectors have been created. With the existence of trade disputes between the United States and the European Union with China, Malaysia has the potential to reap benefits with the inflow of direct investments from China. Nevertheless, the future incidence of RE trade disputes is still uncertain.

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