Equity and ecotax reform in the EU: achieving a 10 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions using excise duties

This paper considers the distributional effects of imposing additional excise duties on energy products according to carbon content. The assumed duties escalate from 1999 to 2010 and achieve levels reducing CO2 emissions by 10 per cent below baseline by 2010 for 11 EU member states. By 2010, real personal disposable incomes are 1.6 per cent above baseline and employment is 1.2 per cent above, assuming that the change is tax-revenue-neutral. The study concludes that the changes will be weakly regressive for nearly all the member states in the study if revenues are used to reduce employers’ taxes and strongly progressive if they are given back lump-sum to households.

Achieving the Rio target: CO2 abatement through fiscal policy in the UK

The research reported in this paper is an application of a large energy-environment-economy model2 of the UK to the medium-term issue of stabilising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at their 1990 levels by the year 2000, a commitment by the UK government made at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and taking the form of accession to the Climate Change Convention (the Rio Convention) in June 1992. This commitment has crystallised into a target of reducing emissions in the year 2000 by the equivalent of 10 million tonnes of carbon (mtc) below the level they would otherwise reach under a business-as-usual scenario (Department of the Environment, 1992, 1993 and 1994). Since there is considerable uncertainty in forecasting the level of CO2 emissions in 2000 (157-179 mtc compared with 160 mtc in 1990 — Department of the Environment (1992, p. 7); the 1990 figure has subsequently been revised to 158.6 mtc), it seems sensible to focus on such a target, rather than on achieving a particular level.

Reviews

Authoring‐Systems Software for Computer‐Based Training, edited by William D. Wilheim, Educational Technology Publications, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA, ISBN: 0–87778–274–1, 1994

Reviews

Alan Clarke, Designing Computer‐Based Learning Materials, Aldershot: Gower, 2001. ISBN: 0–566–08320–5. Hardback, xviii+196 pages, £45.00

The winter floods of 2015/2016 in the UK - a review

A remarkably persistent and exceptionally mild cyclonic episode beginning in early-November 2015 and lasting around fourteen weeks brought severe, extensive and protracted flooding which impacted most damagingly on northern Britain, Northern Ireland and parts of Wales. Many existing rainfall and seasonal temperature records were eclipsed during this period and, most notably, maximum recorded river flows were exceeded over a substantial proportion of the country. At the national scale, previous maximum daily and monthly outflows were clearly eclipsed and four relatively discrete episodes of extreme runoff can be recognised. In many areas, the magnitude, persistence and repetitive nature of the flooding had major adverse impacts on communities, infrastructure, agriculture and a host of other sectors of the economy. The extent and duration of the flooding has very few close parallels in the historical record and, overall, it was a hydrometeorological episode which ranks alongside the 1975/1976 drought and 1947 floods as the most extreme broad-scale events captured in observational records during the last 100 years at least. The truly exceptional runoff patterns experienced in 1947 and 1976 had a major impact on flood and drought management strategies but occurred before the exacerbating impact of climate change was generally recognised. The 2015/2016 flooding, together with the impact of other protracted flood events in the 21st century thus far, has underlined the need to adapt engineering design and flood management strategies to accommodate the recent extension in the range of recorded runoff variability

Reviews

Europe In the Round CD‐ROM, Guildford, Vocational Technologies, 1994

Senior Recital: Kent Wehman, Piano; Terry Jares, Violin; Martha Barker, Violin; Helen Zamie, Viola; Dan Bunce, Cello; December 5, 1974

Centennial East Recital HallThursday EveningDecember 5, 19748:15 p.m

Velocity-Specific Relationships Among Eccentric and Concentric Force Velocity Profiles and Jumping Performance

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationships among force velocity profiles during eccentric only movements (eFVP), concentric only movements (cFVP), and dynamic performance during a countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), and drop jump (DJ). Nineteen collegiate baseball players (1.85 ± 0.04 m, 86.4 ± 8.2 kg, 21.1 ± 1.8 years) from a single NCAA Division I team performed CMJ, SJ, and DJ, drop landings from varying heights, and hex bar jumps with varying weights. FVPs were created with a linear regression using the drop landings for eFVP and hex bar jumps for cFVP, which were used to calculate slopes and area under the entire FVP and velocity-specific regions. Correlations analyzed the results with bootstrapping for 95% confidence intervals. Area under eFVP correlated with cFVP at r=0.51 (p<0.05), cFVP slope presented strong correlations with CMJ height and DJ height while eFVP slopes did not relate to jumping performance or metrics. Area under the faster regions of cFVP and eFVP produced moderate and strong relationships to jumping performance. The area under the FVP, especially when separated into velocity-specific bands, may be a key metric which can audit or provide insight into velocity-based training program effectiveness and athlete comparisons