Valuation of environmental public goods and services at different spatial scales: a review

To manage environmental problems in an adequate way, it is essential to take different spatial scales into consideration. As a tool for decision making, it would be beneficial if valuation methods take spatial scales into account as well. In this article, we review the valuation literature with regard to the spatial scales of environmental public goods and services to which the contingent valuation method, hedonic pricing method, and travel cost method have been applied in the past. We classified 117 environmental case studies to the local, landscape/watershed, regional, and global scales. These case studies cover a broad range of environmental goods and services, such as green space in a city, air quality, rivers, natural areas, and a stable climate system. Additionally, we took into account the year of publication of the case studies. Our results show that the majority of the environmental case studies are related to the local and landscape/watershed scales. However, the number of case studies on the regional and global scales has been increasing in recent years. This article argues that such a change in spatial scale calls for a debate on scaling issues in the field of environmental valuation.

Accounting for Environmental Damage by Material Production and Use:A Comparison of Seven Western European Countries

The environmental damage related to the production and use of materials is one of the main motives behind the wide interest in the transition to a circular economy. This study investigates the monetary damage related to emissions to the atmosphere in seven EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) to find out which materials caused what and how much damage along the chain, from extraction to waste, in 2008 and 2015

Differential requirement of a distal regulatory region for pre-initiation complex formation at globin gene promoters

Although distal regulatory regions are frequent throughout the genome, the molecular mechanisms by which they act in a promoter-specific manner remain to be elucidated. The human β-globin locus constitutes an extremely well-established multigenic model to investigate this issue. In erythroid cells, the β-globin locus control region (LCR) exerts distal regulatory function by influencing local chromatin organization and inducing high-level expression of individual β-like globin genes. Moreover, in transgenic mice expressing the entire human β-globin locus, deletion of LCR-hypersensitive site 2 (HS2) can alter β-like globin gene expression. Here, we show that abnormal expression of human β-like globin genes in the absence of HS2 is associated with decreased efficacy of pre-initiation complex formation at the human ɛ- and γ-promoters, but not at the β-promoter. This promoter-specific phenomenon is associated with reduced long-range interactions between the HS2-deleted LCR and human γ-promoters. We also find that HS2 is dispensable for high-level human β-gene transcription, whereas deletion of this hypersensitive site can alter locus chromatin organization; therefore the functions exerted by HS2 in transcriptional enhancement and locus chromatin organization are distinct. Overall, our data delineate one mechanism whereby a distal regulatory region provides promoter-specific transcriptional enhancement

Unconventional Gas and the European Union:Prospects and Challenges for Competitiveness

This article studies the likely impact of unconventional gas developments in the U.S. on EU competitiveness. We find, first of all, little evidence for a prosperous unconventional gas development in Europe. Second, the U.S. boom has already a strong impact on both world and European energy markets. In particular, lower U.S. gas and coal prices have changed relative energy prices both at home and abroad. Finally, competitiveness impacts in some (sub)sectors will be considerable. These impacts are not only related to production based on gas use as a feedstock but also on the ‘byproducts’ from unconventional gas production, such as ethylene, propane and butane. However, several indirect impacts, such as lower coal import prices, may soften the adverse competitiveness impact in the EU

Unconventional Gas and the European Union: Prospects and Challenges for Competitiveness

This article studies the likely impact of unconventional gas developments in the U.S. on EU competitiveness. We find, first of all, little evidence for a prosperous unconventional gas development in Europe. Second, the U.S. boom has already a strong impact on both world and European energy markets. In particular, lower U.S. gas and coal prices have changed relative energy prices both at home and abroad. Finally, competitiveness impacts in some (sub)sectors will be considerable. These impacts are not only related to production based on gas use as a feedstock but also on the ‘byproducts’ from unconventional gas production, such as ethylene, propane and butane. However, several indirect impacts, such as lower coal import prices, may soften the adverse competitiveness impact in the EU

Klimaatverandering in de Prijzen?:Analyse van de Beprijzing van Broeikasgasemissies in Nederland in 2018

De studie “Klimaatverandering in de prijzen? - Analyse van de beprijzing van broeikasgasemissies in Nederland in 2018” laat zien wie in Nederland precies wat betaalt voor welke broeikasgasuitstoot en hoeveel. Ook wordt nagegaan of de betaalde prijs wel in verhouding staat tot de aangerichte klimaatschade. Dit rapport maakt dit inzichtelijk voor de industrie, mobiliteit, gebouwde omgeving, landbouw en elektriciteit. Met deze studie draagt PBL bij aan de besluitvorming over de (aanpassing van) instrumenten om het fossiel energieverbruik terug te dringen

Klimaatverandering in de Prijzen?: Analyse van de Beprijzing van Broeikasgasemissies in Nederland in 2018

De studie “Klimaatverandering in de prijzen? - Analyse van de beprijzing van broeikasgasemissies in Nederland in 2018” laat zien wie in Nederland precies wat betaalt voor welke broeikasgasuitstoot en hoeveel. Ook wordt nagegaan of de betaalde prijs wel in verhouding staat tot de aangerichte klimaatschade. Dit rapport maakt dit inzichtelijk voor de industrie, mobiliteit, gebouwde omgeving, landbouw en elektriciteit. Met deze studie draagt PBL bij aan de besluitvorming over de (aanpassing van) instrumenten om het fossiel energieverbruik terug te dringen

Accounting for Environmental Damage by Material Production and Use: A Comparison of Seven Western European Countries

The environmental damage related to the production and use of materials is one of the main motives behind the wide interest in the transition to a circular economy. This study investigates the monetary damage related to emissions to the atmosphere in seven EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) to find out which materials caused what and how much damage along the chain, from extraction to waste, in 2008 and 2015