1,011 research outputs found
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International Spillovers and Carbon Pricing Policies
Globally coordinated climate action has resulted in sub-optimal emissions reductions and unilateral (second-best) climate policies have so far provided the bulk of emissions reductions. This paper argues that the development of new unilateral carbon pricing policies was fostered by international signalling and technological spillover effects. The strength of both effects hinges, for each jurisdiction, on trade relations with other CO2-abating jurisdictions. We provide a stylised theoretical discussion in support of our proposition and investigate it using data on a panel of 121national jurisdictions over the period 1990-2014. Results show a strong positive association between import-weighted exposure to CO2-pricing partners and domestic environmental policy. The analysis also supports the technological spillover channel: trade-weighted installed capacity of wind and solar energy seems to prompt implementation of and more stringent carbon pricing policies
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Identifying Innovative Actors in the Electricicity Supply Industry Using Machine Learning: An Application to UK Patent Data
The recent history of the Electricity Supply Industry (ESI) of major western economies was marked by two fundamental changes: a transition toward liberalised electricity markets and a policy-led push to decarbonise the electricity generation portfolio. These changes not only affected the pace and nature of innovation activity in the sector but also altered the set of innovative actors. The present paper provides a methodology to identify these actors, which we apply to priority patents filed at the UK Intellectual Property Office over the period 1955-2016. The analysis also indicates that (i) the recent increase in innovation activity originates overwhelmingly from upstream Original Equipment Manufacturers and (ii) innovation activity in `green' electricity supply technologies slowed down in recent years
Altered expression of the voltage-gated calcium channel subunit Ī±2Ī“-1: a comparison between two experimental models of epilepsy and a sensory nerve ligation model of neuropathic pain.
The auxiliary Ī±2Ī“-1 subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels is up-regulated in dorsal root ganglion neurons following peripheral somatosensory nerve damage, in several animal models of neuropathic pain. The Ī±2Ī“-1 protein has a mainly presynaptic localization, where it is associated with the calcium channels involved in neurotransmitter release. Relevant to the present study, Ī±2Ī“-1 has been shown to be the therapeutic target of the gabapentinoid drugs in their alleviation of neuropathic pain. These drugs are also used in the treatment of certain epilepsies. In this study we therefore examined whether the level or distribution of Ī±2Ī“-1 was altered in the hippocampus following experimental induction of epileptic seizures in rats, using both the kainic acid model of human temporal lobe epilepsy, in which status epilepticus is induced, and the tetanus toxin model in which status epilepticus is not involved. The main finding of this study is that we did not identify somatic overexpression of Ī±2Ī“-1 in hippocampal neurons in either of the epilepsy models, unlike the upregulation of Ī±2Ī“-1 that occurs following peripheral nerve damage to both somatosensory and motor neurons. However, we did observe local reorganisation of Ī±2Ī“-1 immunostaining in the hippocampus only in the kainic acid model, where it was associated with areas of neuronal cell loss, as indicated by absence of NeuN immunostaining, dendritic loss, as identified by areas where microtubule-associated protein-2 immunostaining was missing, and reactive gliosis, determined by regions of strong OX42 staining
The use of imaging systems to monitor shoreline dynamics
The development of imaging systems is nowadays established as one of the most powerful and reliable tools for monitoring beach morphodynamics. Two different techniques for shoreline detection are presented here and, in one case, applied to the study of beach width oscillations on a sandy beach (Pauanui Beach, New Zealand). Results indicate that images can provide datasets whose length and sample interval are accurate enough to resolve inter-annual and seasonal oscillations, and long-term trends. Similarly, imaging systems can be extremely useful in determining the statistics of rip current occurrence. Further improvements in accuracy and reliability are expected with the recent introduction of digital systems
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The political economy of carbon pricing: a panel analysis
In virtually all jurisdictions that explicitly price carbon, its average (emissions-weighted) price remains low. Our analysis focuses on the political economy of its introduction as well as its stringency in an international panel of national and North American subnational jurisdictions. Results suggest that political economy factors primarily a ected the former and that policy stringency is a highly persistent process. This has two important policy implications. First, successful passage of carbon pricing legislation will either come with contemporaneous compensation of incumbent, CO2-intensive, sectors or occur after their relative weakening. Second, if political economy constraints continue to prevail, a robust rationale for the design of climate change mitigation strategies with multiple instruments exists.ESRC PhD studentshi
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Carbon pricing and the elasticity of CO2 emissions
We study the impact of carbon pricing on CO2emissions across five sectors for a panel of 39 countries over 1990-2016. Using newly constructed sector-level carbon price data, we implement a novel approach to estimate the changes in CO2emissions associated with (i) the introduction of carbon pricing regardless of the price level; (ii) the implementation effect as a function of the price level; and (iii) post-implementation marginal changes in the CO2price.We find that the introduction of carbon pricing has reduced growth in CO2emissions by 1% to 2.5% on average relative to counterfactual emissions, with most abatement occurring in the electricity and heat sector. Exploiting variation in carbon pricing to explain heterogeneity in treatment effects, we find an imprecisely estimated semi-elasticity of a 0.05% reduction in emissions growth per average 1/tCO2 has temporarily lowered the growth rate of CO2emissions by around 0.01%. These are disappointingly small effects. Simulating potential future emissions reductions in response to carbon price paths, we conclude that āin the absence of complementary non-pricing policy interventions ā carbon pricing alone, even if implemented globally, is unlikely to be sufficient to achieve emission reductions consistent with the Paris climate agreement
Optical identification of the companion to PSR J1911-5958A, the pulsar binary in the outskirts of NGC 6752
We report on the identification of the optical counterpart of the binary
millisecond pulsar PSR J1911-5958A, located in the outskirts of the globular
cluster NGC 6752. At the position of the pulsar we find an object with V=22.08,
B-V=0.38, U-B=-0.49. The object is blue with respect to the cluster main
sequence by 0.8 magnitudes in B-V. We argue that the object is the white dwarf
companion of the pulsar. Comparison with white dwarf cooling models shows that
this magnitude and colors are consistent with a low-mass white dwarf at the
distance of NGC 6752. If associated with NGC 6752, the white dwarf is
relatively young, <2 Gyr, which sets constraints on the formation of the binary
and its ejection from the core of the globular cluster.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A Letters (September 1st, 2003
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The Productivity Puzzle in Network Industries: Evidence from the Energy Sector
What accounts for the recent widespread slowdown in the productivity in advanced economies has remained a puzzle. One plausible explanation has been attributable to regulation, particularly anti-competitive regulations and environmental regulations. Thi
RR Lyrae stars in four globular clusters in the Fornax dwarf galaxy
(Abridged) We have surveyed four globular clusters in the Fornax dwarf galaxy
for RR Lyrae stars, using archival HST observations. We identify 197 new RR
Lyrae stars in these four clusters. Despite the short observational baseline,
we derive periods, light-curves, and photometric parameters for each. The
Fornax clusters have exceptionally large RR Lyrae specific frequencies compared
with the Galactic globular clusters. Furthermore, the Fornax cluster RR Lyrae
stars are unusual in that their characteristics are intermediate between the
two Galactic Oosterhoff groups. In this respect the Fornax clusters are similar
to the field populations in several dwarf galaxies. We revise previous
measurements of the HB morphology in each cluster. The Fornax clusters closely
resemble the ``young'' Galactic halo population defined by Zinn. The existence
of the second parameter effect among the Fornax clusters is also confirmed.
Finally, we determine foreground reddening and distance estimates for each
cluster. We find a mean distance modulus to Fornax of (m-M)_0 = 20.66 +/- 0.03
(random) +/- 0.15 (systematic). Our measurements are consistent with a line of
sight depth of 8-10 kpc for this galaxy, matching its projected dimensions, and
incompatible with tidal model explanations for the observed high velocity
dispersions in many dSph galaxies. Dark matter dominance is suggested.Comment: 26 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS. Table 2 and
Figure 2 will only be available in the electronic version. On-line data will
soon be available at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/STELLARPOPS/Fornax_RRlyr
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