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An emerging Green Economy is glimpsed in the latest United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) Year Book as growing numbers of companies embrace environmental policies and investors pump hundreds of billions of dollars into cleaner and renewable energies.

Climate change, as documented in the Year Book, is increasingly changing the global environment from the melting of permafrost and glaciers to extreme weather events.

But it is also beginning to change the mind-sets, policies and actions of corporate heads, financiers and entrepreneurs as well as leaders of organized labour, governments and the United Nations itself.

Increasingly, combating climate change is being perceived as an opportunity rather than a burden and a path to a new kind of prosperity as opposed to a brake on profits and employment, the new report shows.

The UNEP Year Book 2008 says the emerging green economy is also driving invention, innovation and the imagination of engineers on a scale perhaps not witnessed since the industrial revolution of more than two centuries ago.

It includes the growing interest in novel 'geo-engineering' projects such as giant carbon dioxide (C02) collectors that absorb greenhouse gases from the air rather like trees do during photosynthesis.

"Based on technology used in fish tank filters and developed by scientists from Colombia University's Earth Institute, this method called 'air capture'.can collect the C02 at the location of the ideal geological deposits for storage," says the report.

Meanwhile scientists in Iceland and elsewhere are looking at injecting C02 into that country's abundant basalt rocks where it is claimed the pollutant reacts to form inert limestone.

Similar "sequestration rocks" exist in geological formations across much of the world and may provide a safe and long term disposal option for the main greenhouse gas emissions.

Elsewhere, scientists are helping to unravel both the uncertainties and the opportunities posed by the enormous quantities of methane trapped in the sea bed and in arctic permafrost.

As a greenhouse gas methane is 25 times more potent than CO2 so the possibility of dramatic increases in methane emissions from these deposits is a global warming 'wildcard' - a growing source of concern.

At the same time methane hydrates are a potentially large stockpile of clean-burning fuel, if ways can be found of mining them safely and economically.

Despite a great deal of activity and action, formidable challenges remain if all these fledgling transformations are to be sustained and embedded in the global economy over the coming years and decades.

Barriers include subsidies that favour fossil fuels over cleaner energies; tariff and trade regimes that make cleaner technologies more expensive and the risk-averse lending patterns of banks and other financial institutions when it comes to solar and wind power loans for poorer communities, the new report says.

The Year Book's findings were presented today at the opening of the largest gathering of environment ministers since the climate convention meeting in Indonesia late last year which gave birth to the Bali Road Map.

The Road Map is the climate negotiation agreement scheduled to be completed by the climate convention meeting in Copenhagen in 2009 in order to deliver a post 2012 climate regime.

The ministers, joined by senior figures from the worlds of business, organized labour, science and civil society, are attending UNEP's Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum under the theme "Mobilizing Finance for the Climate Challenge".

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, said: "Hundreds of billions of dollars are now flowing into renewable and clean energy technologies and trillions more dollars are waiting in the wings looking to governments for a new and decisive climate regime post 2012 alongside the creative market mechanisms necessary to achieve this."

"Formidable hurdles remain as to whether these funds will ultimately seek out new, climate-friendly investments for the future or whether they will seek the lowest common denominator by flowing into the polluting technologies of the past," he said.

"Designing an attractive, creative and equitable investment landscape which rewards those willing to invest in tomorrow's economy today is the challenge before ministers here in Monaco and the challenge for the international community over the next two years in the run up to Copenhagen," said Mr Steiner.

"However I am optimistic that we can shift gears to a Green Economy. If humans can go to the Moon; submarines sent under the Arctic; liver and heart transplants perfected; the mysteries of the human genome deciphered and tiny nano-machines designed then managing a transition to a low carbon society must be within humanity's grasp and intellect," he added.

Some Key Findings

The findings here are based on the UNEP Year Book 2008 with some additional supporting facts and figures from documents prepared by UNEP for the GC/GMEF

Responsible Investing Takes Off

The UNEP Year Book, an annual report requested by ministers, underlines some of the elements of a Green Economy which are already falling into place.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting including environmental concerns is now found among corporations in over 90 countries with the number of such statements mushrooming from virtually zero in the early 1990s to well over 2,000 now.

. The Investor Network on Climate Change, launched in November 2003, now has some 50 institutional investors with assets of over $3 trillion.

. The Principles for Responsible Investment, jointly facilitated by UNEP's Finance Initiative and the UN Global Compact in 2006, now has 275 institutions with $13 trillion of assets.

Many companies now perceive that 'going' Green also improves their bottom line. The Year Book 2008 underlines a study by the investment bank Goldman Sachs.

A survey of companies in six sectors-ranging from mining and energy to food and media-indicates that those with pioneering environmental, social and governance strategies are out-performing the general stock market by 25 per cent.

Over 70 per cent out-perform their peers in similar sectors, the Year Book 2008 notes.

Meanwhile a survey of some 150 companies with CSR strategies in the United States as well as France, Germany and the United Kingdom underlines corporations' growing environmental priorities.

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions and boosting energy efficiency ranked number one among 54 per cent of those questioned followed by recycling, 52 per cent and waste reduction, 27 per cent.

Bottom of the list are 'making shipping and transport more efficient and eco-friendly, eight per cent; environmental education and research, seven per cent and supporting employees use of alternative transportation, six per cent.

Industrial Emission Reductions Remain Mixed

Meanwhile, some of the globe's most carbon-intensive industries are leading the way in publicly disclosing their carbon footprint under an eight year-old initiative called the Carbon Disclosure Project.

Disclosure is seen as one powerful route towards companies taking responsibility and acting to reduce their emissions.

The Project, aimed also at empowering shareholders to better understand the current and future economic risks facing the companies they support, estimates that:-

. Close to 80 per cent of the Financial Times 500 corporations are disclosing their carbon performance.

. Over three quarters of those who are disclosing such information are now also implementing greenhouse gas reductions via direct emissions reductions or via the emerging carbon markets. This is up from nearly half the year before.

Interestingly the highest rate of achievement in terms of carbon disclosure is among the carbon-intensive industries such as metals, mining and steel sectors alongside oil and gas and the power sector.

However the Year Book 2008 indicates that despite these promising steps, more needs to be achieved.

A survey by Innovest, a research company whose findings are in the report, shows that some sectors are making in-roads into greenhouse gas emissions.

These include electric power companies in North America; international automobile manufacturers and metals and mining companies.

But other sectors appear to be either treading water or seeing emissions continue to rise including oil and gas and chemicals.

Carbon Markets

The best known carbon markets are those established under the Kyoto Protocol of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

These include International Emissions Trading; Joint Implementation and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

The CDM allows industrialized countries to offset some of their domestic emissions via cleaner and renewable energy schemes alongside afforestation and reforestation projects in developing countries.

As of November 2007, over 850 projects had been registered in close to 50 countries worth just over $1 billion in what are known as certified emission reductions.

A further $1.4 billion are in the pipeline and the CDM could, if fully exploited eventually trigger investment flows for some $100 billion from North to South.

A recent survey of the CDM, published in the Year Book, indicates that close to 30 per cent of such projects are currently aimed at tackling the refrigerant by-product HFC-23 followed by:-
. Reductions in the nitrous oxide gas adipic acid, 10 per cent
. Waste methane from landfills into electricity, 11 per cent
. Biomass fuels, seven per cent
. Wind power, installation of combined gas turbines and hydro-power six per cent each
. Emissions reductions from oil-fields and coal mining, four per cent each.

The Year Book also chronicles the rise of voluntary emission reduction markets such as the Chicago Climate Exchange and the Over the Counter offsets.

The Chicago exchange now has over 330 companies, cities, states and other participants despite the decision of the United States not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol. And while it is deemed a voluntary exchange, those involved are required to sign legally-binding contracts.

Since 2003, the volume of carbon traded has risen from zero to around 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2006. The exchange is also involved in a wider suite of offsets when compared with the formal Kyoto-inspired markets.

For example, participants in the Chicago exchange can invest in reducing emissions from livestock and animal wastes including biogas; agricultural soil carbon sequestration and grass planting; urban tree planting and forest conservation projects.

The voluntary Over the Counter offsets market is also evolving after suffering a measure of criticism and concern that some projects were flawed, counter-productive or even environmentally and socially-damaging.

"Schemes are emerging to guarantee to purchasers that carbon offsets represent genuine emission reductions, without harmful environmental side effects," says the Year Book.

The Voluntary Carbon Standard was introduced in November 2007 and is endorsed by the International Organization for Standards under its ISO 14064 and ISO 14065 series.

The latest figures indicates that the total voluntary carbon market was, in 2006, worth around $90 million with most projects in North America and dominated by forestry schemes, followed by Asia where the lion's share of projects are for renewable energies.

This compares with close to $30 billion from the formal Kyoto markets and mechanisms in the same year.

Payments for Ecosystem Services

The formal and voluntary carbon markets are triggering new market mechanisms for including the carbon removing value of forests alongside other benefits such as water management, biodiversity conservation and the preservation of traditional livelihoods.

Some countries and communities are already pursuing these multiple goals under the voluntary markets by finding buyers interested in more than just carbon.

The Year Book cites the case of the Grupo Ecologico Sierra Gorda and the organization Bosque Sustentable of Mexico. In 2006, they completed a sale of land to the United Nations Foundation which was keen to reduce its carbon footprint via a project that will also alleviate poverty.

A similar sale is the final stages to the World Land Trust, a UK-based organization who will be selling the Sierra Gorda Carbon and Environmental Offsets to a range of European buyers.

These developments are also underlined by a project funded by the Government of the Netherlands in Tanzania called Kyoto: Think Global, Act Local.

The project has involved training people on hand-held Geographic Information Systems in order to assist local forest communities estimate the amount of carbon being sequestered by their trees.

Each village forest was found to be sequestering 1,300 tonnes of carbon per year-equivalent to an income of $6,500 per village per year at the then prevailing market price for carbon.

By bundling in the added value of water and biodiversity conservation, the actual incomes could be even higher.

The chance to realize such incomes is becoming a growing possibility. Late last year, the World Bank announced the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility to conserve standing forests and to begin avoiding the estimated 20 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation.

A further development emerged at the Bali climate convention in December 2007 when Norway announced $2.7 billion of funding for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD).

Adapting Insurance to Vulnerability

Creative market mechanisms are also emerging to try and deal with adaptation to climate change.

Extreme weather events are on the rise and are likely to become more prevalent in a climate constrained world. Yet many of those at risk have little access to formal insurance markets.

The Year Book cites a new study by Munich Re, one of the world's leading re-insurance companies. This estimates that cover for catastrophic events such as hurricanes and storm surges, is virtually non-existent for billions of people in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.

"Of the 2.5 billion people world-wide who have less than two dollars a day at their disposal, it has been estimated that only ten million are able to purchase insurance," says the report.

Some developments are underway however including micro-insurance. In Africa, pilot projects that pay out to farmers when rainfall drops below a key threshold, are being tested.

. For example the UN's World Food Programme have partnered with the re-insurer AXA to develop weather derivatives that pay out to Ethiopian farmers in the event of severe drought.
. Swiss Re, a member of the UNEP Finance Initiative, has launched a Climate Adaptation Development Programme to provide financial protection to up to 400,000 people in 10 countries in Africa from drought.

The UNEP Year Book 2008 concludes that "for new developments to reach the scale and scope that is needed, governments must play a stronger stimulation and facilitation role".

Some of the measures that governments might wish to consider include

Subsidies
. Removing fossil fuel subsidies could reduce C02 emissions by five to six per cent annually. Currently, fossil fuel subsidies amount up to $200 billion a year versus support for low-carbon technologies of an estimated $33 billion annually.

Research and Development (R+D)
. Boosting research and development. The International Energy Agency estimates that R+D for low emission innovations such as renewables and energy savings declined by 50 per cent between 1980 and 2004.
. In order to achieve a C02 stabilization target of 550 parts per million, support for innovation needs to rise from just over $30 billion to $90 billion by 2015 and to $160 billion by 2025 according to some experts.

Energy Savings
. Increase global targets for energy efficiency improvements to 2.5 per cent annually.
. These should be supported by policies including stronger energy savings building codes for new and existing structures; penalties or disincentives for builders to choose the cheapest, least energy efficient designs, materials and gadgets; policies that promote mass transit especially rail and international minimum performance standards for industrial and household appliances.
. Other measures include the promotion of utility pricing that favours energy efficiency; promotes combined heat and power and improves energy savings in existing power plants and electricity transmission infrastructure.

Renewables

. Policies that increase the uptake of renewables may include 'feed-in laws' that guarantee a fixed price for each unit of renewable electricity generated; regulations that boost access to the Grid; incentives for second generation biofuels and ones that address other barriers including resource mapping-UNEP/GEF's Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment is a good example of the latter.
. Government agencies and donors need to develop and deploy new forms of 'end-user' credit schemes to assist consumers to purchase climate mitigation technologies and systems.
. New approaches are needed to assist small to medium-sized enterprises innovate including enterprise development services and seed capital.
. Attention needs to be paid to new financial and regulatory solutions that address the lack of local currency financing in least developed economies-this is effectively shutting out such economies from low C02 emitting infrastructure developments.
. Harnessing the 'green procurement' potential of local authorities through financial incentives that stimulate voluntary low carbon investments.

Adaptation

. Public investments are needed to mobilize finance for adaptation given that market mechanisms are in their infancy.
. Other actions for adaptation include regulations to limit the vulnerability of new investments and infrastructure such as bans on building in flood prone areas and new, labour intensive, programme to 'climate proof' rural areas that improve resilience of local populations; address poverty; boost incomes and increase the skills base.

The UNEP Year Book 2008 can be found at www.unep.org
This press release is also based on a UNEP report to ministers that can be found under Official Documents http://www.unep.org/gc/gcss-x/info_docs.asp
The meeting will be preceded on 19 February by the 9th Global Civil Society Forum http://www.unep.org/civil_society/GCSF/indexGCSF9.asp

United National Environment Program www.unep.org
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=528&ArticleID=5748&l=en
February 20, 2008

A new study of energy efficiency opportunities in Maryland by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) confirms that reducing electricity consumption is the quickest, cheapest, and cleanest way for policymakers to bring consumer bills down and keep the lights on in a state where the demand for electricity has grown rapidly since 1999.

ACEEE deputy director Bill Prindle, presenting conclusions and recommendations of the study, said ACEEE's analysis confirms that the Governor's goal to achieve a 15 percent reduction in per capita energy use by 2015 "is attainable cost-effectively with the energy efficiency and demand response resources we have in Maryland today."

In addition to programs that promote installation of energy-saving light bulbs and appliances, the ACEEE report recommends a suite of energy efficiency policies including:

* More stringent residential and commercial building energy codes;
* Energy efficiency standards for new appliances and equipment not already covered by current state or federal standards;
* A clean energy Research, Development, and Deployment (RD&D) initiative funded by the state to meet the state's unique needs while helping to build a "green collar" energy industry in the state;
* Policies to encourage new Combined Heat and Power (CHP) systems in the industrial, institutional and commercial sectors; and
* Expanded demand response programs by electric utilities to reduce peak demand for electricity.

Guided by these recommendations, said Maryland Energy Administration director Malcolm Woolf, the state could potentially go well beyond the Governor's "15 by 2015" target. Woolf emphasized that "the full potential, if we are able to take advantage of every energy efficiency opportunity in Maryland, is a 32% reduction in peak demand by 2015 and a staggering 47% by 2025." ACEEE's report, said Woolf, gives the Governor and state lawmakers "a roadmap that will help us identify the most cost-effective ways to reach our goal to provide reliable, affordable, and clean energy for all Marylanders." The analysis "pinpoints where the energy efficiency opportunities lie," added Woolf, and praised the ACEEE research team for using a study methodology that "looked at actual programs other states have implemented, and analyzed real-world results."

Prindle focused on the following key findings in presenting ACEEE's analysis:

* Energy efficiency and demand response are the only resources that can be mobilized immediately, forestalling the prospect of power curtailments in the next few years and keeping the lights on for consumers in the state.
* Every dollar invested in efficiency yields an impressive return of $4 in reduced consumer electricity bills. Energy efficiency policies and programs recommended by ACEEE will cut consumer electricity bills by a net $860 million in 2015 and $2.6 billion in 2025.
* By 2015, residential efficiency programs will reduce an average household's monthly electricity bill by a net $8. Including the benefits of lower wholesale prices, an average household will save a net $10 on monthly bills in 2015, or a 7% savings compared to forecasted bills. These savings grow substantially by 2025.
* All consumers benefit from energy efficiency. By reducing electricity demand, energy efficiency creates a downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices. By 2015, a typical residential consumer can save about $24 a year on monthly electricity bills from lower wholesale prices.
* Investments in energy efficiency create new, high-quality "green-collar" jobs for the state. These investments will create more than 8,000 net new jobs by 2015 and 12,000 by 2025. "That's about the same level of employment we would see if Maryland were able to attract 100 small-sized manufacturing plants," observed Prindle. This would yield more than $450 million in new wages, he said, growing to almost $800 million by 2025.

One of the fundamental conclusions of the ACEEE study, Prindle cautioned, is that there are "no free or even cheap solutions" to the supply and demand challenges in energy markets across the country. "Everything costs money," he stressed. "What we found in Maryland, as we have found in Florida, Texas, and other states, is that the cost of doing nothing is the most expensive and riskiest strategy to take. Focusing first on energy efficiency and other resources on demand side of the market is in fact the lowest cost and least risky way to address the energy problems we're facing today."

Commenting on the demand-side approach recommended by ACEEE, Senator Brian Frosh (D-Montgomergy) observed, "Increasing energy efficiency makes sense from a financial perspective and it makes enormous sense from an environmental perspective. Every kilowatt that you are not generating by burning fossil fuels eliminates greenhouse gases, it reduces pollution of the Chesapeake Bay, and it makes us healthier."

Paula Carmody, People's Counsel for the State of Maryland, serves as the voice for Maryland consumers in two million households statewide. For more than two years, she said, the consumers she represents "have been hammered by dramatic increases in electricity prices." During the past year, Carmody said her office has been helping an increasing number of Maryland residents and businesses deal with new issues related to the reliability of the state's power supply. Carmody said her office "has looked at this issue over the years and we are convinced that relying on energy efficiency and conservation programs is a cheaper, faster, and healthier way of meeting our energy needs. This approach provides a single solution to the multitude of energy-related problems and challenges we are currently facing in Maryland - price, reliability, environmental, and health. Energy efficiency is an integrated solution to all of these challenges."

Energy Efficiency: The First Fuel for a Clean Energy Future—Resources for Meeting Maryland's Electricity Needs can be downloaded for free at http://aceee.org/pubs/e082.htm or purchased for $50 plus $5 postage and handling from ACEEE Publications, 1001 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 801, Washington, D.C. 20036-5525, phone: 202-429-0063, fax: 202-429-0193, e-mail: aceee_publications@aceee.org.

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) www.aceee.org
http://www.aceee.org/press/e082-final.htm
February 19, 2008

Abstract: In this paper we present a microsimulation model to calculate the effects of a tax levied on Spanish energy-related CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions in order to comply with EU (Kyoto-mandated) targets. The model uses the results of our prior estimation of a demand system with Spanish household data from 1973 to 1995, which is especially designed for simultaneous analysis of different energy goods. Our objective is to obtain in-depth information on the behavioural responses by different types of households, which will allow us to determine the welfare effects of tax-induced price changes, their distribution across society and the environmental consequences within the residential sector. The results show a significant response by households, sizeable emission reductions, important tax revenues, moderate welfare changes and distributional effects. The simulated policy can therefore be considered a feasible option for tackling some of the current and severe inefficiencies in Spanish energy and environmental domains.

Keywords: Energy demand, carbon tax, distribution, Spain

by Xavier Labandeira 1, José M. Labeaga 2 and Miguel Rodríguez 1
1. FEDEA and rede, Universidade de Vigo. Xavier Labandeira, FEDEA, Jorge Juan 46,
28001 Madrid (Spain), Telephone: +34914350401, email: xlabandeira@fedea.es; url:
http://webs.uvigo.es/xavier.
2. FEDEA and Department of Economic Analysis II, UNED.

Fundacion de Estudios de Economia Aplicada www.fedea.es
Documento de Trabajo 2008-02; January, 2008
Serie Energía y Cambio Climático
FEDEA – DT 2008-02 by Xavier Labandeira et al. 1
http://www.fedea.es/pub/Papers/2008/dt2008-02.pdf

Abstract: This paper analyses empirically the extent to which environmental regulation is an influence on industry location in Europe. Particular focus is given to weighing environmental regulation vis-à-vis other location determinants, mainly the traditional Heckscher-Ohlin factor endowment forces. The analysis is based on a general empirical trade model that captures the theoretically-emphasized joint role of country and industry characteristics in determining industry location. The model is applied to data on 18 manufacturing industries from 13 European countries. The results indicate that while the oft elusive pollution haven effect can be uncovered, the relative strength of such an effect is smaller than other determinants of industry location. This is interpreted, à la M. Scott Taylor, as finding the pollution haven effect but failing to support the pollution haven hypothesis.

Keywords: pollution haven hypothesis, comparative advantage, industry location

by Abay Mulatu; Economics, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, UK; E-mail: abay.mulatu@manchester.ac.uk

The University of Manchester School of Social Sciences Department of Economics
http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/disciplines/economics
Economics Discussion Paper Series EDP-0803; February, 2008
Manchester M13 9PL
http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/disciplines/economics/research/discussionpapers/pdf/EDP-0803.pdf

Abstract: This paper challenges the idea that emissions of greenhouse gases simply increase over time with income. It adopts a 200-year perspective and includes the important flows of greenhouse gases related to agriculture, not just the CO2 from fossil fuels. The result is that the pattern of Swedish total greenhouse gas emissions over time resembles an N. In contrast, when only emissions from fossil fuels are counted, the pattern over time resembles an inverted U. Among the most important factors generating emissions in agriculture, forest management was especially important, but in addition, draining of wetlands for agriculture played a substantial role.

by Astrid Kaner; Department of Economic History, Lund University

The Economic History Review via Blackwell Publishing www.Blackwell-Synergy.com
Online Early Articles
doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.2007.00389.x
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-0289.2007.00389.x

All new homes built in Germany from January 1st 2009 will be required to install renewable energy heating systems under a new law called the Renewable Energies Heating Law (Erneubare-Energien-Warmegesetz).

The government is allocating 350 million euros [US $517 million] each year in grants for homeowners to install renewable energy systems such as solar panels, wood pellet stoves and boilers and heat pumps.

Homeowners will have to use renewable energy sources to meet 14% of a household's total energy consumption for heating and domestic hot water.
..
Heating buildings accounts for 40% of the total energy consumption in the country. Renewables currently account for about 6% of the energy sources used for heating buildings.
...
It is estimated that updating energy performance in buildings could save 50 billion euros [US $73.9 billion] in heating costs in Germany up to 2020....

According to a German government source, houses built in the 1960s use on average four times more energy for heating than updated, energy-efficient houses, which need 5 to 6 liters of heating oil for each square meter a year.
...
Most homeowners are expected to choose solar panels.
...
Fines of up to 500,000 euros [US $739,000] will face anyone who fails to switch their heating systems.
..
The ... law ... is part of a comprehensive package of measures that aims to reduce the country's carbon emissions by 40% by 2020 when compared to 1990.

It is estimated that the package will cost 31 billion euros [US $45.8 billion] a year to implement. But the costs will be offset by savings of 36 billion euros [US $53.2 billion] a year from lower bills for coal, oil and gas.

by Jane Burgermeister, freelance writer based in Vienna, Austria.
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=50746
Renewableenergyworld.com
December 10, 2007

Abstract:
Rationale, aims and objectives: The diabetic foot is a common late complication among diabetic patients and due to its consequences an important financial burden for society. Intensified treatment has proved to reduce amputation rates, but in Austria so far no data have been available about financial implications and long-term effects of intensified treatment. The objective was to retrieve cost data for intensified treatment of diabetic foot ulcers and to estimate the long-term outcome.

Methods: A retrospective data analysis of 119 ulcers was done to get outcomes and costs for intensified treatment in a specialized outpatient hospital department in an Austrian setting. One-year results were categorized according to the San Antonio wound classification. Using a Markov model upon these data, long-term outcomes and costs for intensified treatment and for standard care were calculated.

Results: Costs for intensified treatment until healing vary from €1071 (range: 99–4089) per case to €7844 (range: 104–25 615) depending on the lesion’s grade. One-year healing rates are 85.2% for grade A and 71.7%, 84.6% and 33.3% for the grades B, C and D respectively. The model-based comparison for treatment costs shows a cost reduction of 29.8% per patient year in grade A ulcerations and 49.7% in grade D for intensified versus standard treatment due to lower amputation rates.

Conclusions: These results are the first cost data for diabetic foot care in Austria and demonstrate the advantages of intensified care over standard care in terms of patient-oriented outcome and financial impact pleading for the implementation of specialized foot care facilities and referral guidelines to standardize and improve treatment.

by Wolfgang Habacher MSc 1, Ivo Rakovac MSc, Evelyn Görzer MD, Waltraud Haas RsN, Robert J. Gfrerer PhD MPH, Paul Wach PhD Prof and Thomas R. Pieber MD
1. MSc, Health Management Researcher, Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Institute of Medical Technologies and Health Management, Graz, Austria; E-mail: wolfgang.habacher@joanneum.at
2. MSc, Statistician, Health Management Researcher, JOANNEUM RESEARCH Forschungsgesellschaft mbH, Institute of Medical Technologies and Health Management, Graz, Austria
3. MD, Diabetologist, Department of Internal Medicine, Diabetes and Metabolism, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
4. RsN, Diabetes Nurse, Department of Internal Medicine, Diabetes and Metabolism, Medical University Graz, Graz, Austria
5. PhD MPH,General Manager, Human.technology. Styria GmbH, Graz, Austria
6. PhD Prof66Professor, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria and
7. MD Prof, Head of Institute of Medical Technologies and Health Management, Joanneum Research Forschungsgesellschaft MbH, Institute of Medical Technologies and Health Management, Graz, Austria and Medical Director, Graz University Clinics, Department of Internal Medicine, Diabetes & Metabolism, Medical University Graz, Austria

Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice
Volume 13, Issue 6; December, 2007; Pages 906-912
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2753.2006.00770.x
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2006.00770.x?journalCode=jep

Xiang Yu was a Chinese general in the third century B.C. who took his troops across the Yangtze River into enemy territory and performed an experiment in decision making. He crushed his troops’ cooking pots and burned their ships.

He explained this was to focus them on moving forward — a motivational speech that was not appreciated by many of the soldiers watching their retreat option go up in flames. But General Xiang Yu would be vindicated, both on the battlefield and in the annals of social science research.

He is one of the role models in a new book by Dan Ariely, professor of Behavioral Economics at MIT “Predictably Irrational,”.
...
In a series of experiments, hundreds of students could not bear to let their options vanish, even though it was obviously a dumb strategy (and they weren’t even asked to burn anything).
...
You can play it yourself at tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com.
...

by John Tierney
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/science/26tier.html?em&ex=1204347600&en=bf8b21f9fbee36d7&ei=5087%0A
The New York Times www.NYTimes.com

Summary
1. Understanding the productivity–diversity relationship (PDR) is a key issue in biodiversity–ecosystem functioning research, and has important implications for ecosystem management. Most studies have supported the predominance of a hump-shaped form of PDR in which species richness peaks at an intermediate level of productivity. However, this view has been challenged recently on several grounds.
2. Based on data from 854 field sites across the Inner Mongolia region of the Eurasian Steppe, we tested the form of PDR at different organizational levels (association type, vegetation type and biome) and multiple spatial scales (local, landscape and regional).
3. Our results showed that a positive linear, rather than hump-shaped, form was ubiquitous across all organizational levels and spatial scales examined. On the regional scale, this monotonic PDR pattern corresponded closely with the gradient in mean annual precipitation (MAP) and soil nitrogen. Increasing species dissimilarity with productivity could also contribute to the positive linear form of PDR.
4. Our results also indicated that grazing decreased both primary productivity and species richness but, intriguingly, not the form of PDR.
5. Synthesis and applications. This study provides the first direct test of the productivity–diversity relationship for the world's largest contiguous terrestrial biome – the Eurasian Steppe. The predominance of a positive linear relationship in this region defies the commonly held view that a unimodal form of PDR dominates terrestrial ecosystems, supported mainly by studies in Africa, Europe and North America. It suggests that precipitation has a greater control on the productivity–diversity relationship in the Eurasian Steppe than grasslands elsewhere. Also, the positive linear relationship is surprisingly robust to grazing. Our results provide new insight into the productivity–diversity relationship and have several implications for restoring degraded lands and understanding ecological consequences of climate change in the Eurasian Steppe.

Keywords: ecosystem management, Eurasian steppe, grazing land, Inner Mongolia grassland, precipitation gradient, productivity–diversity relationship, spatial scale, species dissimilarity

by Yongfei Bai 1, Jianguo Wu 1 and 2, Qingmin Pan 1, Jianhui Huang 1, Qibing Wang 1, Fusheng Li 3, Alexander Buyantuyev 2 and Xingguo Han 1
1. State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; Tel: (86) 10 6283 6636; Fax: (86) 10 8259 5771: E-mail: xghan@ibcas.ac.c
2. School of Life Sciences and Global Institute of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA
3. Grassland Management Station, Xilinhot 02600, China

Journal of Applied Ecology via Blackwell Publishing www.Blackwell-Synergy.com
Volume 44, Issue 5; October, 2007; Pages 1023-1034
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01351.x
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01351.x

Abstract: This paper uses a data set collected among inhabitants of Amsterdam, to study whether wages of prime-age male workers are affected by cannabis use. The analysis shows that recent cannabis use has a negative effect on wages. The size of the wage effect depends on the age of onset. The earlier the start of cannabis use the larger the negative wage impact.

by Jan C. van Ours; Department of Economics, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands, CentER (Tilburg, The Netherlands), IZA (Bonn, Germany), CEPR (London, UK); e-mail: vanours@uvt.nl

Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics via Blackwell Publishing www.Blackwell-Synergy.com
Volume 69, Issue 5; October, 2007; Pages 619-634
doi:10.1111/j.1468-0084.2007.00480.x
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-0084.2007.00480.x

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced that the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) will require black cars that service corporate clients to increase fuel efficiency standards to a level currently achievable only by using hybrid technology. The plan to improve the fuel efficiency of the 10,000 black car fleet was envisioned as part of the Mayor's PlaNYC 2030, a comprehensive set of 127 initiatives aimed at reducing New York's carbon emissions and meeting the challenges of the City's growing population. In December, the TLC voted unanimously to approve regulations that will require all yellow taxis licensed after October 1, 2008, to meet fuel efficiency standards currently only achievable through the use of hybrid technology. Black cars currently release 272,000 tons of CO2 equivalents annually, which make up 2% of the City's transportation related emissions. Under the new standards, emissions from black cars will be cut in half. To help drivers finance the down payment associated with buying a new car, the City has worked with partners in the financial sector, auto dealers, and black car fleets to develop a range of solutions that will finance the higher down payment.

Approximately 10,000 black cars operate through bases that typically contract with corporate clients. Many black cars line up, idling in front of office buildings in Midtown and Lower Manhattan awaiting customers. Hybrid automobiles switch to battery power while idling, significantly reducing emissions of both carbon dioxide and dangerous pollutants.

Currently, black cars average 12-15 mph. The TLC will require fuel efficiency standards for new licensed black car vehicles of 25mpg in 2009 and 30mpg in 2010. Also included in the proposed rule change is a requirement for vehicle retirement. The TLC currently does not set a vehicle retirement age for for-hire vehicles like it does for the yellow taxis. There will be a retirement phase-in cycle that will ensure almost all vehicles associated with black car bases are more fuel-efficient by 2013. Black cars currently contribute 272,000 tons of CO2 equivalents annually, which make up 2% of the City's transportation related emissions. Under the new standards, emissions from black cars will be cut in half.

Hybrid cars will save owner-operator drivers upwards of $5,000 per year in gasoline expenses - approximately 50% of their current fuel costs. These savings will allow drivers to cover, in just one year, the additional cost of purchasing a new hybrid car over the currently used Lincoln Town Car. As part of PlaNYC, the City proposed a State law to waive the City portion of the sales tax for vehicles that meet the EPA Elite standards for energy efficient vehicles, and the City is looking forward to working with State Legislators this year to enact that proposal. The City is also working with the Partnership for New York City and several financial institutions on a program to provide financing.

In addition to the Investment Fund spearheaded by the Partnership, SmartTransportation.org and Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers has partnered with Executive Transportation Group (ETG), the largest black car supplier in New York, to jointly fund a first-of-its-kind lending company, Green Car Funding Corp. to provide low interest loans to ETG black car owner operators to purchase new hybrid vehicles.

Through extensive consultation with users, fleets, and drivers - including demonstrations of the new vehicle types - the Mayor's Office of Long-term Planning and Sustainability and the TLC have identified several efficient vehicle models that will have widespread acceptance, including: Toyota Camry Hybrid, 33mpg (city); Toyota Highlander Hybrid, 27mpg (city); Nissan Altima Hybrid, 35 mpg (city); and Mercury Mariner Hybrid FWD, 34 mpg (city). In addition, other models may include: Lexus Rx400h AWD, Ford Escape Hybrid AWD, and Toyota Prius. Outreach to dealerships indicates that there will be an adequate supply of vehicles. In addition, two networks of dealers of the most promising vehicles - Best Ford Taxi and Hudson Toyota / Penske Automotive Group - have committed to making financing packages available to black car drivers. TLC will not penalize drivers who show proof that they have ordered a vehicle that meets the standard, but the vehicle has not yet arrived.

The City of New York www.NYC.gov
Press Release PR-067-08; February 27, 2008
http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2008a%2Fpr067-08.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1

Abstract: It is well known that ethanol has less energy per unit volume than gasoline. Differences in engine design and fuel characteristics affect the efficiency with which the chemical energy in gasoline and ethanol is converted into mechanical energy, so that the change in fuel economy may not be a linear function of energy content. This study analyzes the fuel economy tests performed by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on 2007 model year E85-compliant vehicles and finds that the difference in average fuel economy is not statistically different from the differential in energy content.

Keywords: Biofuels policy; Ethanol; Fuel efficiency

by Matthew C. Roberts; Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, The Ohio State University, 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus, OH 43210, USA; Tel.: +1 614 688 8686; fax: +1 614 292 0078.

Energy Policy via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 36, Issue 3; March, 2008; Pages 1233-1235
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2007.11.006

Abstract:
In recent years, economic and environmental constraints have forced governments and energy policy decision-makers to change many prominent characteristics of electricity markets. Accordingly, depending on local conditions on the demand side, usage of integrated resource planning approaches in conjunction with renewable technologies havegained more importance.
...
In this paper, an integrated resource planning case is studied for an educational campus, located in Gebze, Turkey. It is found that for the considered campus, the integrated resource planning scenario that includes renewables as a supply-side option with existing time-of-use tariff may provide a cost-effective energy production, particularly for the high penetration level of renewables.

Keywords: Integrated resource planning; Energy efficiency; Renewable energy sources

by Pelin Yilmaz 1, M. Hakan Hocaoglu 2, and Alp Er S. Konukman 3
1. Department of Natural Sciences, Maritime Faculty, Istanbul Technical University, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey; 1 Tel.: +90 216 395 45 01.
2. Department of Electronics Engineering, Gebze Institute of Technology, Gebze, 41400 Kocaeli, Turkey; 2 Tel.: +90 262 605 24 17
3. Department of Energy Systems Engineering, Gebze Institute of Technology, Gebze, 41400 Kocaeli, Turkey

Energy Policy via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 36, Issue 3; March, 2008; Pages 1223-1232
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2007.12.007

Prospects for the solar power sector are puzzling investors juggling on one hand a possible dotcom-style bust and on the other fresh support in Europe, home to a third of the world's market.
...
Solar companies saw their share prices skyrocket last year but many endured a steep fall in January, halving in the case of one market leader Oslo's Renewable Energy Corporation.

Such falls reflected a view that solar power valuations had run ahead of themselves. High profits plus low barriers to entry have attracted new manufacturers from China and the prospect of more serious over-capacity looms is now dividing opinions.
...
Germany, the world's largest solar market, recently revamped its renewable energy law to reduce subsidies from next year.
...
Solar panel prices must fall if governments were to continue to back the industry, said Jefferies investment bank analyst Michael McNamara. "Otherwise you're just financing wealth creation. Governments are worried they may have made (premiums) too generous," he said.
...
A Reuters poll of four companies showed British installers Solar Century and Dulas charged 7-8 euros per watt compared to 5 euros by two counterparts in Germany, or more than 4000 euros ($5,797) more for a small, household 2 kWp unit.

Keywords: Solar, global

By Gerard Wynn and Eva Kuehnen
FOR FULL STORY GO TO:
http://www.reutersinteractive.com/Carbon/89855
Reuters Interactive Carbon Market Community www.reutersinteractive.com
February 11, 2008

Many decisions concerning long-lived investments need to take into account climate change. But doing so is not easy for at least two reasons. First, due to the rate of climate change, new infrastructure will have to be able to cope with a large range of changing climate conditions, which will make design more difficult and construction more expensive. Second, uncertainty in future climate makes it impossible to directly use climate model outputs as inputs for infrastructure design, and there are good reasons to think that the needed climate information will not be available soon. Instead of optimizing based on the climate conditions projected by models, therefore, future infrastructure should be made robust to most possible changes in climate conditions. This aim implies that users of climate information must also change their practices and decision-making frameworks, for instance by adapting the uncertainty-management methods they currently apply to exchange rates or R&D outcomes. Five methods are examined: (i) introducing long-term prospective exercises; (ii) selecting “no-regret” strategies; (iii) favouring reversible options; (iv) reducing decision time horizons; and (v) promoting soft adaptation strategies. I argue that adaptation strategies should not be assessed in an isolated context. In particular, it is essential to consider both negative and positive side-effects, including possible changes in future energy costs.

by Stéphane Hallegatte
Reg-Markets Center (AEI Center for Regulatory and Market Studies) www.Reg-Markets.org (formerly AEI-Brookings Joint Center)
http://www.reg-markets.org/publications/abstract.php?pid=1253
February, 2008

In 2003, Kathleen A. McGinty became the first woman to head the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Previously, she chaired the White House Council on Environmental Quality and was a deputy assistant to President Bill Clinton. She also created and headed the first-ever White House Office on Environmental Policy. In 1999, McGinty completed a year-long stay in India as a senior visiting fellow with the Tata Energy Research Institute, where she forged new business ventures between U.S. and Indian advanced-energy technology companies and helped to craft a historic environmental cooperation compact between the United States and India.

In 1996, she was designated a "Global Leader for Tomorrow" by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She has served as a senior policy advisor to the Democratic National Committee, as vice president for asset management at Natsource, LLC, and as a director of Proton Energy Systems Inc. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of St. Joseph's University. She earned a chemistry degree from St. Joseph's University and a law degree from Columbia University.

The Hans Landsberg Memorial Lecture honors the memory of Landsberg, a pioneer in energy and mineral economics who was a devoted member of the RFF staff for nearly 40 years. Hans was a friend and mentor to many individuals, motivating them to pursue careers as diverse as his many interests. His contributions include a lead-authorship of Resources in America's Future, a 1963 landmark volume examining the multiplicity of natural resource requirements to sustain the nation's economic growth, and Energy: The Next Twenty Years (1979), a major research effort he directed to probe the nation's energy dilemmas in the wake of emerging environmental concerns.

Hans was one of RFF's founding fathers. His friends, family, and colleagues established the Hans Landsberg Memorial Fund, proceeds from which underwrite the annual Lecture, to ensure that his legacy of scholarship--rooted in solid knowledge and analysis, yet widely accessible and policy relevant--lives on. Additional contributions are welcomed. For more information on the Lecture or on how to contribute to the Fund, please contact Barbara Bush, Director of Major Gifts, at 202-328-5030 or bush@rff.org.

Introduction: Phil Sharp, President, Resources for the Future
Kathleen A. McGinty, Secretary, Department of Environmental Protection
Question and Answer Session
Closing Remarks
http://www.rff.org/rff/Events/Landsberg-McGinty.cfm

Abstract: Urbanization and economic development have important implications for many environmental processes including global climate change. Although there is evidence that urbanization depends endogenously on economic variables, long-term forecasts of the spatial distribution of population are often made exogenously and independent of economic conditions. It is common for research concerning long-run projections of global environmental change to use population density as the primary means to spatially distribute emissions projections. However, researchers typically utilize year 1990 cross-sectional population data to distribute their emissions projections for both the short- and long-term, without projecting any changes in population density. Thus, a beta distribution for individual countries/regions is estimated to describe the geographical distribution of population using a one-degree-by-one-degree latitude–longitude global population data set. Cross-sectional country/regional data are then used to estimate an empirical relationship between parameters of the beta distribution and macroeconomic variables as they vary among countries/regions. This conditional beta distribution allows the simulation of a changing distribution of population, including the growth of urban areas, driven by economic forecasts until the year 2100.

Keywords: Computable general equilibrium model, Emissions distribution, Population distribution, Spatial econometric, Urbanization

by Malcolm O. Asadoorian; Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1 Amherst Street, Building E40-407, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307, USA; Email: malcolma@mit.edu

Journal Environmental and Resource Economics via Springer Publishing www.SpringerLink.com
Volume 39, Number 3; March, 2008; Pages 199-221
DOI: 10.1007/s10640-007-9105-8
http://www.springerlink.com/content/06u533861488v778/

Abstract: Valuing biodiversity is a key challenge to environmental economics, put into focus by policy developments everywhere, now increasingly focusing on habitat preservation. This paper addresses two questions as part of this challenge. Firstly, habitats as such - often in the form of particular landscapes - may be of value to people, i.e. independently of the value adhered to the species at risk in the particular habitat. Secondly, the question of how to present the biodiversity at risk to respondents is addressed. We design a choice experiment to investigate these questions in a setting where respondents are asked to evaluate the preservation of the Danish heath and its endangered species. Results indicate that the value of the habitat, the landscape itself, can be captured reasonably well in a specific attribute representing size of the habitat, and the parameter estimate of this attribute was little affected by changes in the biodiversity protection attribute. By simply naming and hence ‘iconising’ only a few species we received dramatically higher value estimates than when using a quantitative description. We conclude that using ‘iconised’ species for valuing biodiversity at habitat level may lead to very high, potentially overestimated, values of species preservation and we discuss which estimates to use in real-world conservation planning. The paper also contributes to the ongoing debate on embedding-issues, and the inclusion of a CV-question in the questionnaire allows an in-sample comparison with the choice experiment with regard to respondents’ ability to respond to scale.

Keywords: Choice experiment, Biodiversity, Environmental economics, Heath, Stated Preferences

by Jette Bredahl Jacobsen, John Halfdan Boiesen, Bo Jellesmark Thorsen and Niels Strange all of Forest & Landscape, Faculty of Life Sciences, Copenhagen University, Rolighedsvej 23, Frederiksberg C, 1958, Denmark; Email: jbj@life.ku.dk

Environmental and Resource Economics via Springer Publishing www.SpringerLink.com
Volume 39, Number 3; March, 2008; Pages247-263
DOI: 10.1007/s10640-007-9107-6
http://www.springerlink.com/content/66q6426263275666/

Abstract: This paper discusses theories that can explain the zig-zags of oil prices in general and in particular the recent jump. More precisely, the following explanations are discussed: Homo oeconomicus (pure profit maximization if demand is dynamic and convex), price reaction function (price increases and respectively declines depend on capacity utilization), cartelization contingent on output or revenues of which the latter can lead to backward bending supply segments and multiple equilibria, statistical descriptions (mean reversion), homo politicus, i.e., arguments for price hikes that are rational (Public Choice) despite the (long-run) economic loss. Finally two approaches are presented that emphasize demand uncertainty: one extending the above-mentioned dynamic demand framework and the other considers a dynamic game of non-competitive suppliers with lumpy investments. Summing up, a demand shock seems to be the most suitable explanation of today's high prices (indeed a shock given that International Energy Agency (IEA) and Department of Energy (DoE) were promising just a couple of years ago that we are going to have lots of oil at low prices), while others and in particular politics have surprisingly little or no explanatory power.

Keywords: Dynamic; Uncertainty; Politics

by Franz Wirl; Industry, Energy & Environment, University of Vienna, Brünnerstr. 72, 1210 Vienna, Austria; Tel.: +43 1 4277 38101; fax: +43 1 4277 38104.

Energy Policy via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 36, Issue 3; March, 2008; Pages 1029-1043
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2007.11.024