Biological Carbon Sequestration and Carbon Trading Re-Visited

Biological activities that sequester carbon create CO2 offset credits that could obviate the need for reductions in fossil fuel use. Credits are earned by storing carbon in terrestrial ecosystems and wood products, although CO2 emissions are also mitigated by delaying deforestation, which accounts for one-quarter of anthropogenic CO2 emissions. However, non-permanent carbon offsets from biological activities are difficult to compare with each other and with emissions reduction because they differ in how long they prevent CO2 from entering the atmosphere. This is the duration problem. It results in uncertainty and makes it hard to determine the legitimacy of biological activities in mitigating climate change. Measuring, verifying and monitoring the carbon sequestered in sinks greatly increases transaction costs and leads to rent seeking by sellers of dubious sink credits. While biological sink activities undoubtedly help mitigate climate change and should not be neglected, it is shown that there are limits to the substitutability between temporary offset credits from these activities and emissions reduction, and that this has implications for carbon trading. A possible solution to inherent incommensurability between temporary and permanent credits is also suggested

MODELING THE EFFECT OF UNCERTAINTY ON TIMBER HARVEST: A SUGGESTED APPROACH AND EMPIRICAL EXAMPLE

A method is suggested for modeling uncertainty when there is a lack of information concerning the effect of forest management decisions on tree growth. Dynamic programming is used to investigate the optimality of alternative management strategies. The model is illustrated with an empirical example for a boreal forest region of western Canada. Three tentative conclusions follow: (a) silvicultural strategies to reduce uncertainty or to increase stand growth may not be worth pursuing, at least in northern forests; (b) the discounted cost of ignoring uncertainty may be substantial if taken over the entire forest; and (c) given uncertain forest growth, flexible harvest policies are preferred to a fixed harvest age.Agricultural Finance, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Risk and Uncertainty,

Broadening the New Perspective on Paul: Paul and the Ethnographical Debate of His Time—The Criticism of Jewish and Pagan Ancestral Customs (1 Thess 2:13-16)

George H. van Kooten, “Broadening the New Perspective on Paul: Paul and the Ethnographical Debate of His Time—The Criticism of Jewish and Pagan Ancestral Customs (1 Thess 2:13-16),” in Abraham, the Nations, and the Hagarites: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Perspectives on Kinship with Abraham (ed. Martin Goodman, George H. van Kooten, and Jacques T.A.G.M. van Ruiten; Themes in Biblical Narrative 13; Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2010), 319-344.

Philosophical Criticism of Genealogical Claims and Stoic Depoliticization of Politics: Greco-Roman Strategies in Paul's Allegorical Interpretation of Hagar and Sarah (Gal 4:21-31)

George H. van Kooten, “Philosophical Criticism of Genealogical Claims and Stoic Depoliticization of Politics: Greco-Roman Strategies in Paul’s Allegorical Interpretation of Hagar and Sarah (Gal 4:21-31),” in Abraham, the Nations, and the Hagarites: Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Perspectives on Kinship with Abraham (ed. Martin Goodman, George H. van Kooten, and Jacques T.A.G.M. van Ruiten; Themes in Biblical Narrative 13; Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2010), 361-385.

Wind Power: The Economic Impact of Intermittency

Wind is the fastest growing renewable energy source for generating electricity, but economic research lags behind. In this study, therefore, we examine the economics of integrating large-scale wind energy into an existing electrical grid. Using a simple grid management model to investigate the impact of various levels of wind penetration on grid management costs, we show that costs of reducing CO2 emissions by relying more on wind power depend on the generation mix of the existing electrical grid and the degree of wind penetration, with costs ranging from $44 to well over$1000 per tonne of CO2 reduced. Costs are lowest if wind displaces large amounts of fossil fuel production and there is some hydroelectric power to act as a buffer. Hydro capacity has the ability to store wind generated power for use at more opportune times. If wind does nothing more than replace hydro or nuclear power, however, the environmental benefits (reduced CO2 emissions) of investing in wind power are smal

Biological Carbon Sinks: Transaction Costs and Governance

Activities that remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it in forest and agricultural ecosystems can generate CO2-offset credits that can thus substitute for CO2 emissions reduction. Are biological CO2-uptake activities competitive with CO2 offsets from reduced fossil fuel use? In this paper, it is argued that transaction costs impose a formidable obstacle to direct substitution of carbon uptake offsets for emissions reduction in trading schemes, and that separate caps should be set for emissions reduction and sink-related activities. While a tax/subsidy scheme is preferred to emissions trading for incorporating biologically-generated CO2 offsets, contracts that focus on the activity and not the amount of carbon sequestered are most likely to lead to the lowest transaction costs.carbon sequestration; transaction costs; climate change