Reducing greenhouse gas emissions – Examples from the freight transport sector: Essays on economic growth, public policy instruments, and renewable energy.

The overall aim of this thesis is to improve the understanding of if, and how, we can combat climate change and other non-wanted environmental changes alongside economic development. Paper I address this question by investigating the relationship between CO2 emissions and GDP per capita. Using panel data analysis, an N-shaped relationship is found for lower-middle- and high-income countries, indicating that CO2-emissions increase with economic growth beyond a certain income level. However, no significant relationship is found for upper-middle-income countries. The study also shows that increasing the share of renewable energy is crucial for reducing CO2-emissions.Paper III investigate the performance of European public policy instruments promoting a modal shift of freight transports from road to rail and/or water. Performing a literature review, 93 public policies are identified, whereof ex-post evaluations are found for 20. The evaluated policies are mainly subsidies/grants at national level, or EU-policies. Variation in evaluation methods and performance indicators complicates comparisons of policy performance. However, policies promoting rail are in general more successful than those promoting waterborne transport. Common factors for underachievement include lack of applications, outreach problems, and complicated application processes. Furthermore, broad and general policy targets complicate evaluation as well as fulfilment of objectives.Paper II analyse barriers, opportunities, and potential solutions to renewable energy diffusion, focusing on liquefied biogas for heavy trucks. Interviews with experts and stakeholders in Sweden show that main barriers include financial limits, lacking infrastructure, lacking knowledge, and unstable policy instruments. Yet, several policy instruments already target the barriers to LBG diffusion and given current taxes and subsidies, costs of using LBG trucks are only marginally higher than those for using diesel trucks in Sweden. Thus, continuously evaluating policy performance is important

A framework for barriers, opportunities, and potential solutions for renewable energy diffusion: Exemplified by liquefied biogas for heavy trucks

This study has developed and applied a framework to analyse barriers, opportunities, and potential solutions for the diffusion of alternative fuels, here exemplified by liquefied biogas (LBG) for heavy trucks. The study is based on expert and stakeholder interviews in Sweden. Also, the study estimates a cost example of using heavy duty LBG-trucks instead of conventional diesel trucks. The framework is based on two previously published frameworks to categorise barriers, opportunities, and potential solutions and comprises five categories: financial, technical/commercial/physical, policy, public acceptability, and market structure/interaction barriers. Each category considers both the system and actor levels. The results of this study fit the framework\u27s categories well, and the framework is appropriate for analysing the diffusion of liquefied biogas for heavy trucks, and other technologies with similar characteristics. The results further indicate that a network level, in addition to the system and actor levels, could advance our understanding of renewable energy diffusion. The most mentioned opportunities were climate/environmental benefits, potential profitability, and newly introduced policies. The cost estimates show that given current taxes and policies in Sweden, the costs of using LBG-trucks are only marginally higher than those of using conventional diesel trucks. Commonly cited barriers were financial issues, an unstable policy context, lack of infrastructure, and lack of knowledge. Suggested solutions for overcoming barriers were financial incentives, a stable policy context, demonstration projects, and information campaigns. Improved knowledge and working together throughout the biogas value chain, with a palette of renewable energy options, are important for accelerating a sustainable renewable fuel diffusion. Several policy instruments that currently exists in Sweden already target the mentioned barriers. Thus, it is important to continuously evaluate policy instruments to understand if they are effective and efficient, or if anything need to be changed to reach the targets of the policy instrument

A meta-evaluation of climate policy evaluations: findings from the freight transport sector

Knowledge about how implemented policy instruments have performed is important for designing effective and efficient policy instruments that contribute to reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. This paper carries out a meta-evaluation of ex-post evaluations of climate policy instruments in the freight transport sector. By analysing the outcomes and quality of evaluations, the aim is to identify whether estimated effects of policy instruments can be compared between evaluations and if the results are appropriate to use for evidence-based decision making. To analyse these aspects, commonly applied evaluation criteria are assessed and classified according to an assessment scale. We confirm that few ex-post evaluations are carried out and that there is a gap between evaluation theory and how ex-post policy evaluations are performed in practice, where evaluation criteria recommended in policy evaluation guidelines are found to often be neglected in evaluations. The result is a lack of systematic climate policy evaluation which hinders reliable conclusions about the effect of policy instruments. There is a need for more systematic monitoring and evaluation of implemented policy instruments and we suggest that evidence-based decision making can be improved by adjusting current policy evaluation guidelines and by introducing an evaluation obligation

The effect off pull factors on asylum application shares in EU-25

De senaste åren har världen upplevt den största flyktingkrisen sedan andra världskriget. Inom EU har fördelningen av asylansökningar varit ojämnt fördelad mellan medlemsländerna trots gemensamma asylpolicyer. Genom paneldataanalys undersöker vi i denna studie hur ekonomiska, nätverksrelaterade, attitydrelaterade och policyrelaterade pullfaktorer har påverkat det relativa asyltrycket hos medlemsländerna i EU-25 mellan 2005 och 2014. Resultaten visar att länders pullfaktorer har en påverkan på dess relativa asyltryck. Vi finner stöd för vad tidigare studier dokumenterat men även resultat som pekar i andra riktningar. Låg arbetslöshet, hög lön, migrantnätverk, attityder och att vara ett land som ligger längs de vanligaste flyktvägarna in till EU visar ett signifikant positivt samband med relativt asyltryck. I kontrast till tidigare forskning hittas ett signifikant negativt samband mellan beviljningsgrad och relativt asyltryck. Resultatet kan förklaras med att länder antingen reagerar på högt asyltryck genom att minska andelen asylbeviljningar, eller att asylsökande med låg sannolikhet att få beviljad asyl väljer länder med liberalare asylpolicyer. Inget samband hittas mellan ekonomisk jämlikhet och relativt asyltryck. Det ojämna asyltrycket i EU beror till viss del på faktorer som länder själva inte kan påverka och därför kan politiska regeländringar krävas för en jämnare fördelning.During the last years the world has experienced the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Within the European Union, the asylum shares have been uneven distributed even though member countries share common asylum policies to a certain degree. Using panel analysis, this study examines how policy related, attitude related, economical, and network related pull factors have affected the asylum shares in the EU-25 countries between 2005 and 2014. The results show that pull factors do have an effect on countries asylum shares. Low unemployment, high salaries, network effects, attitudes and countries bordering the most common smuggle routes into EU have a significant positive relationship with asylum shares. We find a significant negative relationship between recognition rates and asylum shares, which is in contrast to previous research. This result can be explained either by countries reacting to a large number of asylum applications by lowering their recognition rates, or by asylum applicants with a low probability of approval choosing countries with more liberal asylum policies. No relationship was found between economic equality and asylum shares. The uneven distribution of asylum shares depend to a certain degree of factors that countries themselves cannot control for and thereby policies might be required to reach an even distribution

En empirisk utvärdering av hypotesen om den N-formade miljökuznetskurvan

In order to combat global warming and climate change issues and facilitate economic prosperity in the same time, it is important to understand the possible tradeoffs between economic growth and environmental degradation. In this thesis, we evaluate the hypothesis of an N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). Using panel data analysis, we investigate the relationship between CO2 emissions, GDP per capita, renewable energy consumption, technological development, trade, and institutional quality for 74 countries over the period of 1994 to 2012. We find (i) evidence for the Nshaped EKC when using pooled OLS regressions for all income groups but upper-middleincome countries; (ii) heterogeneous results regarding the N-shaped EKC across income groups and quantiles when using quantile regressions; and (iii) a clear and consistent negative relationship between renewable energy and CO2 emissions, indicating the importance of promoting greener energy to combat climate change.För att bekämpa klimatförändringar och samtidigt möjliggöra ekonomiskt välstånd är det viktigt att förstå de möjliga avvägningarna mellan ekonomisk tillväxt och miljöförstöring. I denna uppsats utvärderar vi hypotesen om en N-formad miljökuznetskurva (EKC). Med hjälp av paneldataanalys undersöker vi förhållandet mellan koldioxidutsläpp, BNP per capita, förnybar energi, teknologisk utveckling, internationell handel och institutionell kvalitet för 74 länder under perioden 1994 till 2012. Vi finner (i) bevis för en N-formad EKC för alla inkomstgrupper förutom övre medelinkomstländer när poolad OLS används som skattningsmetod; (ii) heterogena resultat gällande en N-formad EKC, både mellan och inom de olika inkomstgrupperna, när vi använder oss av kvantilregressioner; och (iii) ett tydligt och konsekvent negativt förhållande mellan förnybar energi och koldioxidutsläpp, vilket pekar på vikten av att främja grönare energi för att kunna bekämpa klimatförändringar

A review of public policy instruments to promote freight modal shift in Europe : Evidence from evaluations

This paper presents a review of past and present public policy instruments in Europe promoting a modal shift of freight transports. The identified policy instruments are categorized based on several shared characteristics. To the extent that ex-post evaluations are available, policy performance is discussed, and the evaluations are compared. The study identifies 93 public policy instruments in Europe. The most common type of policy is subsidies/grants to rail and/or water implemented at the national level. Most policy instruments only focus on the promotion of one specific transport mode, which most commonly is rail. Evaluations of policy performance were found for 20 policy instruments. The evaluated policy instruments are mainly subsidies/grants at the national level, or policy instruments at EU level. The bias in evaluation towards these types of policy instruments is partly explained by the commitment to evaluation at EU level, and the need for permission by the European Commission to implement and prolong subsidies/grants classified as state aid. The evaluations differ in methodology and regarding what type of performance indicators that are evaluated. The evaluation guidelines and criteria that exist at EU level are often followed to some extent but interpreted differently depending on for example type of policy and data availability. Thus, comparing policy performance is difficult. In general, there seem to be a more positive performance of policy instruments promoting a modal shift to rail than to waterborne transports. Several evaluations of EU-policy instruments describe a poor or a mixed performance of the policy instruments, while the performance of subsidies/grant at national level are often considered positive by the evaluations. A commonly mentioned factor for underachievement of the policy instruments is problems related to outreach of the policy, lack of applications, long and complicated application processes and a high administrative burden for the companies applying for financial support. Targets for the policy instruments are often broad and general, with a lack of clarity, making it difficult to meet all objectives, as well as to evaluate the policy instruments effectiveness and efficiency. Thus, well-defined targets, as well as better outreach and simpler processes could be one way forward in improving modal shift policy instruments in Europe.

A review of policy instruments to promote freight modal shift in Europe: Evidence from evaluations.

This paper presents a review of past and present public policy instruments in Europe promoting amodal shift of freight transports. The identified policy instruments are categorized based on severalshared characteristics. To the extent that ex-post evaluations are available, policy performance isdiscussed, and the evaluations are compared.The study identifies 93 public policy instruments in Europe. The most common type of policy issubsidies/grants to rail and/or water implemented at the national level. Most policy instruments onlyfocus on the promotion of one specific transport mode, which most commonly is rail.Evaluations of policy performance were found for 20 policy instruments. The evaluated policyinstruments are mainly subsidies/grants at the national level, or policy instruments at EU level. Thebias in evaluation towards these types of policy instruments is partly explained by the commitment toevaluation at EU level, and the need for permission by the European Commission to implement andprolong subsidies/grants classified as state aid. The evaluations differ in methodology and regardingwhat type of performance indicators that are evaluated. The evaluation guidelines and criteria thatexist at EU level are often followed to some extent but interpreted differently depending on forexample type of policy and data availability. Thus, comparing policy performance is difficult.In general, there seem to be a more positive performance of policy instruments promoting a modalshift to rail than to waterborne transports. Several evaluations of EU-policy instruments describe apoor or a mixed performance of the policy instruments, while the performance of subsidies/grant atnational level are often considered positive by the evaluations. A commonly mentioned factor forunderachievement of the policy instruments is problems related to outreach of the policy, lack ofapplications, long and complicated application processes and a high administrative burden for thecompanies applying for financial support. Targets for the policy instruments are often broad andgeneral, with a lack of clarity, making it difficult to meet all objectives, as well as to evaluate thepolicy instruments effectiveness and efficiency. Thus, well-defined targets, as well as better outreachand simpler processes could be one way forward in improving modal shift policy instruments inEurope

Triple F etableringsprojekt : Omvärldsanalys Policy

Sverige har målsättningen att minska växthusgasutsläppen från inrikes transporter (exklusive flyg) med 70% till 2030 jämfört med 2010 samt att nå nettonollutsläpp av växthusgaser till atmosfären till 2045. Forsknings-och innovationsprogrammet Triple F syftar till att utveckla kunskap som kan bidra till minskningen av godstransporternas växthusgasutsläpp. Programmets mål är att genom olika typer av projekt bidra med resultat som skapar förutsättningar för en bred implementering av nya och befintliga lösningar samt att skapa en plattform för utveckling och spridning av kompetens mellan aktörer, branscher och regioner.  Denna rapport är en av tre omvärldsanalyser inom Triple F, vilken fokuserar på policyperspektivet om hur den offentliga sektorns styrmedel kan påverka olika aktörers utsläpp av växthusgaser. Det huvudsakliga målet är att identifiera och sammanställa styrmedel som bidrar till minskade växthusgasutsläpp från godstransporterna samt att analysera vilka kunskapsluckor som finns om hur styrmedel kan användas för att bidra till minskade växthusgasutsläpp från godstransporterna i Sverige. Genom en omfattade sökning av styrmedel världen över har 230 styrmedel sammanställts i en databas, vilken har använts som grund för analyserna i denna rapport. Ett flertal slutsatser och kunskapsluckor har identifierats som kan användas som bas för framtida projekt inom Triple F, vilka beskrivs nedan.

Triple F etableringsprojekt : Omvärldsanalys Policy

Sverige har målsättningen att minska växthusgasutsläppen från inrikes transporter (exklusive flyg) med 70% till 2030 jämfört med 2010 samt att nå nettonollutsläpp av växthusgaser till atmosfären till 2045. Forsknings-och innovationsprogrammet Triple F syftar till att utveckla kunskap som kan bidra till minskningen av godstransporternas växthusgasutsläpp. Programmets mål är att genom olika typer av projekt bidra med resultat som skapar förutsättningar för en bred implementering av nya och befintliga lösningar samt att skapa en plattform för utveckling och spridning av kompetens mellan aktörer, branscher och regioner.  Denna rapport är en av tre omvärldsanalyser inom Triple F, vilken fokuserar på policyperspektivet om hur den offentliga sektorns styrmedel kan påverka olika aktörers utsläpp av växthusgaser. Det huvudsakliga målet är att identifiera och sammanställa styrmedel som bidrar till minskade växthusgasutsläpp från godstransporterna samt att analysera vilka kunskapsluckor som finns om hur styrmedel kan användas för att bidra till minskade växthusgasutsläpp från godstransporterna i Sverige. Genom en omfattade sökning av styrmedel världen över har 230 styrmedel sammanställts i en databas, vilken har använts som grund för analyserna i denna rapport. Ett flertal slutsatser och kunskapsluckor har identifierats som kan användas som bas för framtida projekt inom Triple F, vilka beskrivs nedan. Fossilfritt godsstransportsystem (Triple F

The N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve: an empirical evaluation using a panel quantile regression approach

We evaluate the N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) using panel quantile regression analysis. We investigate the relationship between CO2 emissions and GDP per capita for 74 countries over the period of 1994-2012. We include additional explanatory variables, such as renewable energy consumption, technological development, trade, and institutional quality. We find evidence for the N-shaped EKC in all income groups, except for the upper-middle-income countries. Heterogeneous characteristics are, however, observed over the N-shaped EKC. Finally, we find a negative relationship between renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions, which highlights the importance of promoting greener energy in order to combat global warming.Funding Agencies|Jan Wallander Foundation; Tom Hedelius Foundation</p