The Evaluation of Life-Saving: A Survey

There has been recent interest, for purposes of public decision-making, in the quantification of certain variables which have no directly observable market price. The quantification or "pricing" of one such variable, the increase or decrease in human mortality, is useful for decisions related to standard-setting and public programs. This paper presents a survey of four basic methodologies which have been suggested for making this quantification. The historical development of each approach is traced, selected case studies are presented and the limitations of the methods are reviewed. Plans for continuing research in this area are summarized

A Short History of the California LNG Terminal

During the last decade, three liquified natural gas (LNG) projects were proposed for California. At this writing, Pacific Lighting Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company are still seeking government permits for two of these projects, involving the import of liquified natural gas from Indonesia and South Alaska. The third LNG project, proposed in 1974 by the El Paso Company, was to bring Alaskan North Slope gas by ocean carriers to a receiving terminal in Southern California. This proposal has been rejected in favor of an overland pipeline. While these three projects are interrelated, this case history will focus on the Indonesian LNG project. The intent of this brief history is to outline the most important events of this decade-long controversy (for more detailed case histories, see Ahern 1978, and Western 1978). A discussion of the issues underlying this controversy follows. (See the Appendix for a Summary of Major Events Timetable.

Hazardous Waste Policy Mangement - Institutional Dimensions. Chapter 5. Government Responsibility for Risk: The Bavarian and Hessian Hazardous Waste Disposal Systems

This paper has been produced as part of IIASA's hazardous waste management work, which is the main component of the Institutional Settings and Environmental Policies project. The overall aim of this work, reflected in this paper, is to systematize our understanding of interactions between institutional and technical factors in policy making and implementation. The influence of institutional processes upon technical knowledge built into policy has been increasingly recognized. However, it has yet to be adequately clarified in comparative research on different regulatory systems. Institutional structures cannot be easily transplanted from one culture to another. Nevertheless, through the normal flux of policy, institutional development slowly occurs anyway, in more or less ad hoc fashion. Comparative insight may help to direct reflection and adaptation in more deliberate and constructive ways. This paper forms one draft chapter of an intended book on hazardous waste management. The reader will therefore notice references to other draft chapters in this study which are also being circulated separately, and which are available from IIASA. At this stage the papers are drafts, and are not intended for publication in present form. They are being circulated for review and revision

Report on evaluation of quantified indicators, detailing the effects of best practices application for policy-makers and stakeholders

This report gives an overview of the quantitative assessment IIASA has conducted about the pilot project SuedLink. It includes an evaluation of the information events and the information material provided

Insurance-related instruments for disaster risk reduction (2011 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction)

Strategies and measures for disaster risk reduction (DRR) are not being implemented at the scale called for by the Hyogo Framework of Action. Part of the problem is that, from the perspective of decision makers with resource constraints, it is risky to invest in something that reaps benefits only in the case of a relatively unlikely event (such as a hurricane or a drought). People and institutions are understandably prone to invest in choices that yield less uncertain benefits. DRR, in itself, can be perceived as a risky endeavor - especially from the financial perspective. One way to circumvent this problem is by promoting DRR through incentives and other features embedded in market-based financial instruments, which offer financial stability or reliable access to funds to help cope with the consequences of extreme events. Since not all risks can be cost-effectively reduced, especially those that occur only very rarely, forward-thinking DRR stakeholders tend to seek options for financing the remaining or residual risks. Insurance and other disaster risk sharing approaches can serve households, national governments and humanitarian or development organizations, not only to complement ex ante DRR by ensuring or accelerating financing for post-disaster activities (like relief, recovery and reconstruction), but also as a conduit for ex ante DRR, guiding investment decisions that would result in fewer losses if a disaster materializes in the future. The objective of this paper is to assist disaster risk reduction stakeholders analyze whether - and how - insurance and other market-based risk transfer instruments can help increase resilience to disasters

Public protests against deployment of electricity transmission infrastructure in Europe: what are successful actions to deal with issues of public acceptance? Evaluation of best practices application, with revisions protocol and action plans

The goal of this work is to identify how successful actions implemented of transmission systems operators in cooperation with non-governmental organizations and academia to address public concerns about the deployment of electricity transmission infrastructure in four pilot projects. This publication includes three sets of results: 1) evaluation of stakeholder concerns according to guiding principles and the group of stakeholders, 2) evaluation of separate actions, 3) to address these concerns and evaluation of BESTGRID as an entire process to address stakeholders concerns

Social Values in Risk Acceptance

Section I outlines the general structure of risk assessment, and in Section II the process of risk assessment as applied to technological systems, such as energy systems, is discussed. The research program of the Joint IAEA/IIASA Project is reported in Section III and some preliminary results are presented. Details of the Joint Project staffing and organization are presented in the Appendix