Effect of biomass-based carbon capture on the sustainability and economics of pulp and paper production in the Nordic mills

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is one of the key negative emission technologies (NETs). Large-scale implementation of BECCS has been criticized of the associated increase in land use. The existing large Nordic pulp and paper production units enable BECCS deployment without additional land use, as they currently release large amounts of bio-based carbon dioxide (CO2). The application of BECCS in pulp mills has been found technically feasible in earlier studies. This study explores key factors that affect the propensity to invest in BECCS in different types of existing European pulp and paper mills. The results give fresh understanding on the effects of BECCS on the market price of pulp and paper products and the required level of incentives. Based on statistical data, the marginal carbon dioxide credit (€ per ton CO2) to make BECCS profitable was derived. The results show that the required level of credit greatly depends on the mill type and details and that the feasibility of BECCS does not clearly correlate with the economic performance or the measured efficiency of the mill. The most promising mill type, a market kraft pulp mill, would find BECCS profitable with a credit in the range of 62–70 €/tCO2 and a credit of 80 €/tCO2 would decrease pulp production costs by 15 €/tproduct on average if 50% of CO2 emissions was captured. The EU Emission Trading System (ETS) is the main policy instrument to achieve the climate targets related to fossil energy use, but does not yet contemplate bio-based emissions.

Gender Impact of Interregional Trade

After two decades of negotiations, the European Union (EU) and Mercosur celebrated a new Association Agreement in 2019. Structured around three pillars (political dialogue, cooperation, and trade), the deal is still pending ratification but has raised strong criticism. Most concerns address the effect of trade liberalization on social and environmental agendas. This article contributes to this debate, conducting qualitative analysis on the agreement's potential impact on gender equality in the EU and Mercosur. Departing from the feminist scholarship assumption that trade has an unavoidable effect on gender, this article argues that interregional trade agreements can be a helpful policy instrument to promote gender equality. Nevertheless, this research demonstrates that, so far, the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement has neglected this opportunity. The provisional text does not reflect a gender mainstreaming approach, lacking the appropriate mechanisms to manage its effects on women. As a result, the new interregional trade liberalization instrument risks widening gender inequality in both regions. Nevertheless, this research demonstrates that, so far, the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement has neglected this opportunity. The provisional text does not reflect a gender mainstreaming approach, lacking the appropriate mechanisms to manage its effects on women. As a result, the new interregional trade liberalization instrument risks widening gender inequality in both regions.

Investigating environmental regulation effects on technological innovation: A meta-regression analysis

The relationship between environmental regulation (ER) and any associated innovative technologies has been studied in the previous decades; however, the estimated results have varied with no obvious consensus. To analyse what drives the different estimates in existing studies, we investigated the regulation–innovation relationship through a meta-analysis of 1276 estimates reported in 49 studies. In our analysis, 41 aspects of study design were controlled, Bayesian model averaging (BMA), and frequentist model averaging (FMA) methods were used to address model uncertainty problems. Our results suggested that controlling resources and ignoring endogeneity problems both played robust and methodical roles in explaining the differences in individual study results. Additionally, our results also indicated that five factors (middle year, publication year, usage of province-level data, linear model function, and the difference-in-differences (DID) model) consistently explained the differences in the reported estimates. We found that the ER had almost zero influence on technical innovation; more than one flexible policy instrument was required to trigger innovative activities among firms and sectors.

Forecasting Research and Technoscience: Contemporary Status, Specifics and Prospects

The article emphasizes the role of the advancement of modern science and new technologies in forecasting research as a key factor for making prognoses for the future. It presents the concept of technoscience, developed by the author, as a blend and symbiosis of modern science and technologies, converging on the basis of similar purposes, objects of treatment and outcomes, as well as of the rising engagement with social interests and attitudes. Furthermore, the main kinds of forecasting research with their specifics, advantages and limitations are outlined, pointing out the special role of building foresight scenarios for the future as a prognosis and policy instrument. The tendencies in this field of research are identified, revealing the challenges related to modern technoscience, and the possible solutions.

Bringing Emissions Trading Schemes into Mexican Climate Policy

Emissions trading schemes (ETS) have become popular as a policy instrument to tackle climate change. This chapter analyses the decision to deploy carbon markets and their interaction with other instruments in Mexico’s climate policy. Instrument selection has been thoroughly explored in the regulation and public policy literature (Kern et al. in Res Policy 48, 2019; Capano and Lippi in Policy Sci 50(2):269–293, 2016; Wurzel et al. in German Policy Studies 9:21–48, 2013; Harker et al. in Climate Policy 17(4):485–500, 2017; Baldwin et al. in Understanding regulation, Oxford University Press, 2012; Jordan et al. in Policy instruments in practice. Oxford handbooks online 536–549, 2011), but its application to carbon markets is mainly focused on environments such as Europe, the US and, more recently, China. The decision to adopt an ETS relies not only on specific characteristics of each instrument but also on institutional constraints and messy political considerations. A combination of preferences and institutional factors affect the choice of instruments, and the ultimate decision must be legitimate and instrumental for each context. I analyse the considerations involved in the deployment of the ETS pilot project, looking at its distinctive characteristics and those it shares with other available instruments, as well as the requirements for its implementation.

Public Policies for Agricultural Diversification: Implications for Gender Equity

Gender equity is recognized as central to sustainable development, but women still face significant constraints in accessing and controlling productive resources important for agricultural livelihoods. Identifying mechanisms (e.g., policies and interventions) in agriculture that enhance women's empowerment—a critical aspect of gender equity—is of paramount importance for sustainable development. In this study, we investigate how Brazil's flagship targeted public food procurement program, the National School Feeding Program (PNAE), influences women's empowerment in southern Brazil. We conducted household surveys on farm characteristics and practices, women's empowerment (e.g., participation in farm decision-making and control over income), and women's participation in social movements, with farmers (n = 75) who do and do not participate in the PNAE. We found that women were more empowered in households participating in the PNAE, and that this empowerment was associated with diversified farming systems. When women had greater levels of participation in farm management decisions, agrobiodiversity and use of agroecological practices were higher. We also show that women's participation in agroecological social movements was associated with significantly higher empowerment (both in control over income and greater participation in decision-making). This study identifies targeted public food procurement as a promising policy instrument with potential to link cross-sectoral Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to sustainably increase food production (SDG 2), provide economic opportunities for small-scale farmers (SDG 1), and create an economic space that women in agriculture can more easily access (SDG 5).

The role of automatic stabilizers in business cycle: the case of indonesia

TThe use of large fiscal stimulus packages to dampen the impact of Covid-19 recently has raised concerns about the effectiveness of the discretionary fiscal policy. This paper aims at analysing the feasibility of automatic fiscal stabilisers to mitigate economic fluctuations in the case of Indonesia. Using the IMF standard model for quarterly data over the period of 2001(1) to 2019(4), we find that the role of automatic fiscal stabilisers is getting greater both in revenue and spending. This implies that the automatic fiscal stabilisers are feasible as the main fiscal policy instrument for economic stability goals in the future. However, given the existing circumstances, Indonesia has to reform economic, regulatory, and institutional ecosystems in adopting the automatic fiscal stabilisers.