The Ancillary Benefits from Climate Policy in the United States

This study investigates the benefits to human health that would occur in the United States (U.S.) due to reductions in local air pollutant emissions stemming from a federal policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). In order to measure the impacts of reduced emissions of local pollutants, this study considers a representative U.S. climate policy. Specifically, the climate policy modeled in this analysis is the Warner-Lieberman bill (S.2191) of 2008 and the paper considers the impacts of reduced emissions in the transport and electric power sectors. This analysis provides strong evidence that climate change policy in the U.S. will generate significant returns to society in excess of the benefits due to climate stabilization. The total health-related co-benefits associated with a representative climate policy over the years 2006 to 2030 range between $90 and$725 billion in present value terms depending on modeling assumptions. The majority of avoided damages are due to reduced emissions of SO2 from coal-fired power plants. Among the most important assumptions is whether remaining coal-fired generation capacity is permitted to “backslide” up to the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) cap on emissions. This analysis models two scenarios specifically related to this issue. Co-benefits increase from $90 billion, when the CAIR cap is met, to$256 billion if SO2 emissions are not permitted to exceed current emission rates. On a per ton basis, the co-benefit per ton of GHG emissions is projected to average between $2 and$14 ($2006). The per ton marginal abatement cost for the representative climate policy is estimated at$9 ($2006).

An analysis on the convergence of equal-time commutators and the closure of the BRST algebra in Yang-Mills theories

In renormalizable theories, we define equal-time commutators (ETC'S) in terms of the equal-time limit and investigate its convergence in perturbation theory. We find that the equal-time limit vanishes for amplitudes with the effective dimension d_{\em eff} \leq -2 and is finite for those with d_{\em eff} =-1 but without nontrivial discontinuity. Otherwise we expect divergent equal-time limits. We also find that, if the ETC's involved in verifying an Jacobi identity exist, the identity is satisfied. Under these circumstances, we show in the Yang-Mills theory that the ETC of the $0$ component of the BRST current with each other vanishes to all orders in perturbation theory if the theory is free from the chiral anomaly, from which we conclude that $[\, Q\,,\,Q\,]=0$, where $Q$ is the BRST charge. For the case that the chiral anomaly is not canceled, we use various broken Ward identities to show that $[\, Q\,,\,Q\,]$ is finite and $[\,Q\,,\,[\, Q\,,\,Q]\,]$ vanishes at the one-loop level and that they start to diverge at the two-loop level unless there is some unexpected cancellation mechanism that improves the degree of convergence.Comment: 35 page

The economic case for prioritizing governance over financial incentives in REDD+

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the role of public policies and financial incentives in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). It argues that the subordination of policies to results-based payments for emission reductions causes severe economic inefficiencies affecting the opportunity cost, transaction cost and economic rent of the programme. Such problems can be addressed by establishing sound procedural, land and financial governance at the national level, before REDD+ economic incentives are delivered at scale. Consideration is given to each governance dimension, the entry points for policy intervention and the impact on costs. International support must consider the financial and political cost of governance reforms, and use a pay-for-results ethos based on output and outcome indicators. This can be done in the readiness process but only if the latter’s legal force, scope, magnitude and time horizon are adequately reconsidered. In sum, the paper provides ammunition for the institutionalist argument that UNFCCC Parties must prioritise governance reform between now and the entry into force of the new climate agreement in 2020, and specific recommendations about how this can be done: only by doing so will they create the basis for the programme’s financial sustainability

Alle partijen gezamenlijk: Intrabouw stelt voor de uitdaging aan te gaan

De fragmentatie van de Bouw wordt alom als bepalend beschouwd voor tempo, aard en mogelijkheden van innovatie. En dus niet alleen voor de verbetering van efficiëncy en productiviteit van primaire en ondersteunende processen, maar ook voor de verbetering van de ar-beidsomstandigheden en de realisatie van beleidsdoelen als duur-zaam bouwen. De stand van de techniek in Informatietechnologie en Telecommunicatie belooft die fragmentatie te kunnen compenseren

IntraBouw wordt onbetwist de toekomst

'10 jaar bij een architectenbureau, 7 jaar als manager onderzoeksprojecten bij het Ministerie van EZ en 10 jaar bij TNO Bouw. TNO heeft me nu gedetacheerd bij IntraBouw. Ja, ik heb uitgebreide en diepe kennis van de bouw. Met de nadruk op netwerktechnologie, hoe die de productiviteit en kwaliteit van bouwprocessen verder kan verbeteren. Ik ben een echte conceptontwikkelaar.en heb een belang-rijke bijdrage geleverd aan het IntraBouw concept. Het dateert al van 1987