This report analyses the impacts of the EU ETS on the competitiveness of various types of aircraft operators by means of micro-economic analysis and by extensive short-term and long-term modelling. Because of political negotiation processes on the geographical scope of the EU ETS we analyse the impacts for two scenarios: 1. A scenario in which all emissions from flights between airports in the European Free Trade Association are covered (Stopping the Clock scenario). 2. A scenario in which all emissions from flights in the European airspace are covered (European airspace scenario). The second scope is larger, as it also includes emissions from flights between airports in Europe and airports on other continents are partly included in the EU ETS. The study shows that the EU ETS has only a small impact on competitiveness. Veröffentlicht in Climate Change | 22/2016.
The declared objective of the planned free trade agreement with the US (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – TTIP) is to unify EU and USA standards as much as possible by regulatory cooperation. However, an improper design of regulatory cooperation carries considerable risks for environmental protection in the EU: environmental standards might be lowered and environmental properties of products may be endangered. Veröffentlicht in Position.
Das Projekt "Tackling Leakage in a world of unequal carbon prices" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von International Network To Advance Climate Talks, c,o Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP) durchgeführt. For the future changes of the EU emission trading scheme (ETS) the competitiveness and carbon leakage effects are amongst the most controversial issues in the debate an stricter caps and auctioning of emission rights. While carbon leakage is of major concern to climate policy makers, industry and industrial policy makers pronounce competitive disadvantages from carbon pricing for energy-intensive industry with trade exposure. Leakage effects are becoming increasingly relevant for the next unilateral climate policy steps in the EU and in a number of countries (Australia, New Zealand, regions and provinces within the United States and Canada). Producers who cannot pass through carbon costs may adjust by reconsidering investment and production locations. If carbon pricing through stricter policies at home gives room for more emissions abroad, this clearly needs to be addressed by the governments that have or will be committed to mitigation in their territory. Moreover, in a world of unequal carbon prices, industries with carbonintensive production need certainty about the policies that address leakage, and remedies should be considered at an early planning stage. Any of such measures, including free allocation, sectorspecific agreements an emission standards, and border cost adjustments, need to be coordinated with trade partner countries and in the general negotiation process an a global climate regime under the UNFCCC. The focus of the Climate Strategies Project an 'Tackling Leakage in A World of Unequal Carbon Prices' is to come up with 1. Framing the debate an leakage from the EU emission trading scheme after 2013. 2. Giving special attention to border cost adjustments and their role for major EU trade partners. 3. Providing insights by comparing border cost adjustments to free allocation and sectoral agreement, and their effectiveness in contributing to reduction of price differentials between different countries committed to GHG mitigation. 4. Delivering legal, institutional and quantitative analysis of border taxes. 5. Connecting the debate an border measures against leakage to the international negotiations an a new global climate regime after 2012. Further information available under www.climatestrategies.org.
Das Projekt "E 4.1: Quality and food safety issues in markets for high-value products in Thailand and Vietnam" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Hohenheim, Institut für Agrar- und Sozialökonomie in den Tropen und Subtropen durchgeführt. The production and marketing of high-value agricultural commodities - such as fruits, vegetables, and livestock products - has been an important source of cash income for small-scale farmers in the northern mountainous regions of Thailand and Vietnam. However, against the background of recent free trade agreements and market liberalization, there is increasing national and international competition, partly leading to significant price decreases. Given structural disadvantages of farmers in northern Thailand and Vietnam, it will be very difficult for them to achieve and maintain a competitive position in markets for undifferentiated high-value products. Therefore, product differentiation - in terms of health attributes (e.g., low-pesticide residues, free from diseases and pathogens), taste (e.g., indigenous livestock breeds), time (e.g., off-season production), or processing characteristics (e.g., packaging, drying, canning) - could be a promising alternative. Quality and safety attributes play an increasing role in domestic and international food trade. The additional value generated could lead to sustainable income growth in the small farm sector, but this potential will only materialize when appropriate institutional mechanisms help reduce transaction costs and allow a fair distribution of benefits. This subproject seeks to analyze how the production and marketing of high-value agricultural products with quality and safety attributes can contribute to pro-poor development in northern Thailand and Vietnam. Quality and safety attributes can only generate value when they directly respond to consumer demand. Furthermore, since they are often credence attributes, the product identity has to be preserved from farm to fork. Therefore, the analysis will cover the whole supply chain, from agricultural production to final household consumption. Interview-based surveys of farmers, intermediate agents, and consumers will be carried out in Thailand, and to a limited extent also in Vietnam. The data will be analyzed econometrically with regard to the structure of high-value markets, trends and their determinants, and efficiency and equity implications of different institutional arrangements (e.g., contract agriculture, supermarket procurement). Since in northern Vietnam, the marketing of high-value products is a relatively recent activity, markets for more traditional crops will be analyzed as well, to better understand the linkages between different cash-earning activities in the semi-subsistent farm households. Apart from their direct policy relevance, the results will contribute to the broader research direction of the economics of high-value agricultural markets in developing countries. Moreover, they will generate useful information for other subprojects of the Uplands Program.
Das Projekt "Phase 1: Earth and Space Based Power Generation Systems" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Institut für Technische Thermodynamik, Abteilung Systemanalyse und Technikbewertung durchgeführt. This study has to be understood in the frame of the global Energy Policy. A great part of world energy production is currently based on non-renewable sources: oil, gas and coal. Global warming and restricted fossil energy sources force a strong demand for another climate compatible energy supply. Therefore, fossil energy sources will nearly disappear until the end of this century. The question is to find a viable replacement. By using viable' it is meant a low-cost and environmental friendly energy. In other words, the question is to find an alternative to nuclear energy among all proposed but still not mature renewable energies. One of the solutions proposed is solar energy. Yet, two major concerns slow down its development as an alternative: first, it lacks of technological maturity and secondly it suffers from alternating supply during days and nights, winters and summers. The idea proposed by Glaser in the sixties to bypass this inconvenient is to take the energy at the source (or at least, as near as possible): in other words, to put a solar station on orbit that captures the energy without problems of climatic conditions and to redirect it through a beam to the ground. That is the concept of Solar Power Satellites. Its principal feasibility was shown by DOE / NASA in 1970 years studies (5 GW SPS in GEO). Project objectives: This phase 1 study activity is to be seen as the initial step of a series of investigations on the viability of power generation in space facing towards an European strategy on renewable, CO2 free energy generation, including a technology development roadmap pacing the way to establish in a step-wise approach on energy generation capabilities in space. The entire activity has to be embedded in an international network of competent, experienced partners. As part of this, an interrelationship to and incorporation of activities targeting the aims of the EU 6th FP ESSPERANS should be maintained. In particular, the activities related to following objectives are described: The generation of scientifically sound and objective results on terrestrial CO2 emission free power generation solutions in comparison with state-of-the-art space based solar power solutions The detailed comparison and trades between the terrestrial and the space based solutions in terms of cost, reliability and risk The identification of possible synergies between ground and space based power generation solutions The assessment on terrestrial energy storage needs by combining ground based with space based energy generation solutions The investigation of the viability of concepts in terms of energy balance of the complete systems and payback times.
Das Projekt "Freihandel und Umweltschutz im EG-Binnenmarkt und Welthandel" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Tübingen, Forschungsstelle Weltwirtschaftsrecht durchgeführt. Die rechtliche wie wirtschaftspolitische Beurteilung der 'gruenen' Handelshemmnisse wird im Ende der 90er Jahre zu einem erstrangigen Thema weltwirtschaftlichen Interessenausgleichs. Exportindustrien sowohl der Entwicklungslaender (z.B. tropische Hoelzer) als auch der Industriestaaten (z.B. Kfz-Industrie) prallen auf zunehmende Umweltsensibilitaet vor allem innerhalb Westeuropas und der USA, die sich in immer weiter gesteigerten Umweltstandards aeussert (vor allem EG- und USA-Werte). Anhand eines bei der Behandlung der EG-Materie gewonnenen Prinzipiensystems sollen die GATT-Regeln de lega lata analysiert und ihre Fortentwicklung vorgeschlagen werden.
Das Projekt "Entwicklung von Entwuerfen europaeischer Standards im Rahmen von CEN/TC 312 'Thermo-Solarsysteme und -komponenten'" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Stuttgart, Fakultät für Energietechnik, Institut für Thermodynamik und Wärmetechnik durchgeführt. Within the framework of CEN standardization work mandated by the European Commission and the European Free Trade Association ITW helps to prepare the following three draft European Standard: 1) Thermal Solar Systems and Component-Custom built systems: General requirements, 2) Thermal Solar Systems and Component-Custom built systems: Test methods for small systems, 3) Thermal Solar Systems and Component-Custom built systems: Test methods for large systems
This systematic literature review aimed to provide an overview of the characteristics and methods used in studies applying the disability-adjusted life years (DALY) concept for infectious diseases within European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA)/European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries and the United Kingdom. Electronic databases and grey literature were searched for articles reporting the assessment of DALY and its components. We considered studies in which researchers performed DALY calculations using primary epidemiological data input sources. We screened 3053 studies of which 2948 were excluded and 105 studies met our inclusion criteria. Of these studies, 22 were multi-country and 83 were single-country studies, of which 46 were from the Netherlands. Food- and water-borne diseases were the most frequently studied infectious diseases. Between 2015 and 2022, the number of burden of infectious disease studies was 1.6 times higher compared to that published between 2000 and 2014. Almost all studies (97%) estimated DALYs based on the incidence- and pathogen-based approach and without social weighting functions; however, there was less methodological consensus with regards to the disability weights and life tables that were applied. The number of burden of infectious disease studies undertaken across Europe has increased over time. Development and use of guidelines will promote performing burden of infectious disease studies and facilitate comparability of the results. Quelle:© The Author(s)
By means of regulatory cooperation, TTIP is to increase the depth of cooperation between the EU and the USA on regulatory issues. This article sketches out the envisioned regulatory cooperation as far as this is possible based on the EU negotiating texts and assesses it from an environmental perspective. In this perspective particular attention need to be paid to differences in the stringency of regulation of sectors of environmental relevance (e.g. food, chemicals and cosmetics) in the US and the EU. As a result, adverse environmental impacts can only be avoided if harmonization takes place at a high level. Sub-statutory regulations and private sector standardization such as ISO standards may also be of considerable environmental relevance. The example of manipulated vehicle emissions of nitrogen oxides shows how important even the apparently technical issue of effective verification of exhaust emissions can be for environmental protection. The criteria used to assess risks and deal with uncertainties are highly relevant. The precautionary principle embodied in German and European law can be found neither in US nor in international trade law. In should remain a part of TTIP (and more prominently so) and not be sacrificed in last minute negotiations. Quelle: http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com
This report analyses the impacts of theEU ETS on the competitiveness of various types of aircraft operators by means of micro-economic analysis and by extensive short-term and long-term modelling. Because of political negotiation processes on the geographical scope of the EU ETS we analyse the impacts for two scenarios: 1. A scenario in which all emissions from flights between airports in the European Free Trade Association are covered (Stopping the Clock scenario). 2. A scenario in which all emissions from flights in the European airspace are covered (European airspace scenario). The second scope is larger, as it also includes emissions from flights between airports in Europe and airports on other continents are partly included in the EU ETS. The study shows that the EU ETS has only a small impact on competitiveness.Quelle: https://www.umweltbundesamt.de