Commercial energy efficiency and the environment

The production and use of energy create serious, extensive environmental affects at every level, in every country, argue the authors. That impact may be more serious in developing than in developed countries as developing countries depend more on natural resources and lack the economic strength to withstand environmental consequences. At the same time, a reliable energy supply is vital to economic growth and development. Energy consumption and economic growth have been somewhat delinked at high income levels, but increased energy consumption (especially of electricity) is inevitable with higher GDP. Greater energy efficiency in developing countries and Eastern Europe is a high-priority way to mitigate the harm to the environment of growing energy consumption, say the authors. They outline four advantages of greater energy efficiency. It requires measures that are in the economic self-interest of those regions. Political obstacles make these measures difficult, but there are well-established techniques for addressing concerns about low-income consumers (such as direct income support or life-line rates). It will help conserve the world supply of nonrenewable (especially fossil) fuels. It will encourage appropriate fuel switching. It addresses every level of concern, up to the global effects of global warming. Any strategy to make energy use and production more efficient must rely more extensively than before on markets that are allowed to function with less government interference. The crucial components of such a straetegy (also crucial to economic development generally) are: more domestic and external competition; the gradual elimination of energy pricing distortions; the reduction of macroeconomic and sectoral distortions (for example, in foreign exchange and credit markets); the reform of energy supply enterprises - reducing state interference, providing more financial autonomy and a greater role for the private sector; consumer incentives to select more efficient lights, space heating, and so on. The authors are not convinced of the need for nonmarket approaches beyond those geared to correct externalities, provide essential information, support basic research and development, and possibly promote pilot projects. They also conclude that a government is far more likely to take action to reduce an environmental externality if it captures benefits within its own national boundaries that exceed the cost of the action. Reducing the large difference between energy prices and economic costs in developing countries and Eastern Europe is a more immediate issue than carbon taxes. The developed countries, say the authors, have an indispensable role to play in improving energy efficiency in the developing countries and Eastern Europe. They can encourage the flow of efficient technology, they can increase conventional aid, and they must accept a greater share of the burden of protecting the global commonalities.Energy and Environment,Environmental Economics&Policies,Energy Demand,Transport and Environment,Power&Energy Conversion

Off-Grid Electrification and its Impacts on the Waste Management System – the Case of Bangladesh

By the end of 2010 more than 1.6 billion people lacked access to modern energy services. To overcome this situation the United Nations started the “sustainable energy for all initiative” with the objective to provide access to modern energy services for all until 2030. Especially for off-grid areas in the least developed countries decentralized systems based on renewable energies and in particular solar energy are seen as the most promising solution for electrification. Lack of access to modern energy services goes in general along with a lack of a proper waste management system for the expected future waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The main lessons learned from a waste management perspective, is that prequalification of the suppliers can change industry standards. Local battery producers and recyclers and a working collection system are needed to guarantee that lead acid batteries are recycled properly

A multi-scale method to assess pesticide contamination risks in agricultural watersheds

The protection of water is now a major priority for environmental managers, especially around drinkingpumping stations. In view of the new challenges facing water agencies, we developed a method designedto support their public policy decision-making, at a variety of different spatial scales. In this paper, wepresent this new spatial method, using remote sensing and a GIS, designed to determine the contami-nation risk due to agricultural inputs, such as pesticides. The originality of this method lies in the useof a very detailed spatial object, the RSO (Reference Spatial Object), which can be aggregated to manyworking and managing scales. This has been achieved thanks to the pixel size of the remote sensing, witha grid resolution of 30 m × 30 m in our application.The method – called PHYTOPIXAL – is based on a combination of indicators relating to the environmen-tal vulnerability of the surface water environment (slope, soil type and distance to the stream) and theagricultural pressure (land use and practices of the farmers). The combination of these indicators for eachpixel provides the contamination risk. The scoring of variables was implemented according knowledgein literature and of experts.This method is used to target specific agricultural input transfer risks. The risk values are first calculatedfor each pixel. After this initial calculation, the data are then aggregated for decision makers, accordingto the most suitable levels of organisation. These data are based on an average value for the watershedareas.In this paper we detail an application of the method to an area in the hills of Southwest France. Weshow the pesticide contamination risk by in areas with different sized watersheds, ranging from 2 km2to 7000 km2, in which stream water is collected for consumption by humans and animals. The resultswere recently used by the regional water agency to determine the protection zoning for a large pumpingstation. Measures were then proposed to farmers with a view to improving their practices.The method can be extrapolated to different other areas to preserve or restore the surface water

Better access to urban opportunities: accessibility policy for cities in the 2020s

The world has entered the 2020s facing three intertwined crises that demand immediate attention: the COVID-19 pandemic, a new rise in poverty and inequality and the climate emergency. The urgency is particularly great in cities, where people and economic activities are concentrated. This calls for a critical rethinking of whether urban areas are meeting people’s needs – and how policies could help transform them for the better

A Perspective on Fisheries Sector Interventions for Livelihood Promotion

The distinctive features of fisheries resources, fishers and their geographic contexts, on the one hand, and broad stylized features of the existing lacklustre performance of this sector, on the other, call for specialized and sustained efforts to promote livelihood of usually poor, backward and unorganized fisher communities, which are nevertheless and often the most intimate stakeholder of this sector and its underlying resources. To develop a perspective on intervention strategies for livelihood promotion of most intimate stakeholders – that is, the fisher folk, in a sustainable manner, this paper uses clues from recent economic theories and management tools on property rights, Coase Theorem, stakeholder cooperation and public-private-community partnership in an effort towards resolving the multi-dimensional problems of this sector. It stratifies and brings out the pros and cons of the existing fishing efforts into four categories of models – the traditional marketing model, state-led models of livelihood promotion and fisheries development (including cases of para-statal cooperatives), entrepreneur or leader-driven models, and technology-driven models, through selected illustrations from different parts of the country and covering both marine and inland (including brackish water) segments of fisheries. The paper, after identifying the major ingredients for sustainable livelihood development around fisheries, finally articulates Dr. APJ Kalam’s concept of PURA to recommend a rural entrepreneur-led hybrid model of fisheries development to solicit sustainable and growth oriented cooperation among the suppliers of land (i.e., stakeholders to fishery resources, which are available through Nature), labor (including fishers) and capital (including professionals). The ultimate goal of this paper is to derive inspiration from Coase Theorem and the Japanese model of Keiretsu to empower the producers and suppliers of fish – namely, the fisher folk and to place them at the centre stage of control of rural entrepreneur-led private organizations, wherein the fisher community will not be deemed as mere consumers or vendors of fish, but will enter as dignified co-producer partners with significant shares in residual claim and residual control in those organizations.

An Evaluation and Development of the Potentials of Photovoltaic Systems for Water Pumping and Electricity Services in Rural Areas of Nigeria

Rural electrification has been a priority for many governmental and international donor organisations. Grid extension and various renewable energy technology (RET) options are recognised as viable means of providing enhanced energy and water services to isolated rural communities, and these have been successfully deployed in many regions across the world. In Nigeria, decentralized energy generation systems based on solar PV systems are often used to meet the low energy demands of rural areas and they have also been widely adopted for water pumping purposes in these places. However, the failure or underperformance of many of these installations is in stark contrast to their theoretical viabilities as asserted in many academic papers; this suggests deep underlying problems. Such failures have discouraged government and policy makers from supporting solar PV and, as an extension, other forms of RE projects as viable options for isolated rural locations, even when grid extensions to these places often remain economically and practically challenging. Hence, whereas a number solar PV projects have been implemented in rural communities in the country, appraisal of their success and failures has moved at a much slower pace. Evidence is needed, not only about the factors that contribute to the deployment of these RE installations, but also on issues that took place after such installations have been completed: if the technology fulfils people’s needs and priorities, if the equipment remained in working order and for how long, and the particular and general decisions and actions that may have contributed to the success or failure of the installations. The aim of this study is therefore two-fold. Firstly, to reveal and understand the fundamental issues and factors that mitigate against the proper deployment, diffusion and performance of solar PV installations in isolated rural locations in Nigeria and, secondly, to develop a framework and set of recommendations that could lead to improved deployment processes and better performance of such installations. In order to understand and address these fundamental issues, a systematic analysis of relevant literatures on renewable energy technologies and technology diffusion is initially undertaken. In addition, multiple methods including site visits, observation and physical evaluation of installations, interviews and discussions with stakeholders and key players, and seven exploratory studies of rural communities are utilised to collect primary data on the performance and effectiveness of solar PV installations. Thirty-Eight indicators across five core sustainability dimensions of Technical, Economical/Financial, Environmental Impact, Social-Ethical Development, and Institutional Development and Government Policies are used to assess and evaluate the study cases, revealing diverse and interconnected pre- and post-installation factors that contribute to both successful and failed installations. A main finding of the study is that involvement of private energy providers in the deployment and running of solar PV installations in rural communities in the country is more effective than the sole use of government agencies or contractors. It was also revealed that a number of factors including weak or absence of post-installation maintenance arrangements, non-existence of local representative authorities, failure to enlighten local residents on limitations of the installation and to train them on basic maintenance practices, weak implementation and low success of government policies, weak institutions and overlapping functions of government agencies impacted negatively on the performance of the installations. In addition, the study provides insights into the interrelationships between the factors; how the presence or absence of some can strengthen or weaken others. Finally, a framework and set of recommendations are generated that could support improved deployment procedures and enhanced performance of solar PV installations in rural communities. Although the study deals with the Nigerian situation, some of the findings can be readily extended to other developing countries with similar challenges in the provision of energy and water services to isolated rural communities.Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND

Accounting for changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services from a business perspective

Biodiversity refers to the dynamics of interactions between organisms in changing environments. Within the context of accelerating biodiversity loss worldwide, firms are under increasing pressures from stakeholders to develop appropriate tools to account for the nature and consequences of their actions, inclusive of their influences on ecosystem services used by other agents. This paper presents a two-pronged approach towards accounting for changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services from a business perspective. First, we seek to analyze how Environmental Management Accounting (EMA) may be used by firms to identify and account for the interactions between their activities and biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES). To that end, we use dairy farming as a case study and propose general recommendations regarding accounting for changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services from a management accounting perspective. Secondly, after discussing the corporate reporting implications of the main environmental accounting approaches, we propose the underlying principles and structural components of a Biodiversity Accountability Framework (BAF) which would combine both financial and BES data sets; hence, suggesting the need for changes in business accounting and reporting standards. Because this would imply significant changes in business information systems and corporate rating practices, we also underline the importance of making the associated technological, organizational and institutional innovations financially viable. The BAF should be designed as an information base, coconstructed with stakeholders, for setting up and managing new modes of regulation combining tools for mitigating BES loss and remunerating BES supply.Accounting, business, biodiversity, ecosystem services, indicators, management accounting, financial accounting, reporting, corporate social responsibility, standards, biodiversity accountability framework.

Fine scale spatialised prospective modelling - a methodological approach. Application to water management in Brittany

International audienceThe main objective of this work is to elaborate a generic methodological approach to build prospective scenarios spatially explicit at a local scale. This approach is based on the scenario method used in prospective studies, and uses methodological techniques developed for the modelling of complex systems. The scenario-development process comprises four steps: construction of the basis, scenario building, giving a spatial dimension to the scenarios, and their evaluation. Applied in the framework of water planning in the Brittany region and more precisely of the application of the Water Planning and Management Schemes (WPMS) on the Blavet watershed, the approach is illustrated here by the example of one explanatory scenario and one normative scenario, both aiming at evaluating the potential impact of the 2006 Common Agricultural Policy and farms enlargement on futures land uses