Impure Public Technologies and Environmental Policy

Analyses of public goods regularly address the case of pure public goods. However, a large number of (international) public goods exhibit characteristics of different degrees of publicness, i.e. they are impure public goods. In our analysis of transfers helping to overcome the inefficient provision of such goods, we therefore apply the Lancastrian characteristics approach. In contrast to the existing literature, we consider the case of a continuum of impure public goods. We employ the example of international conditional transfers targeting to overcome suboptimal low climate protection efforts by influencing the abatement technology choice of countries.Impure Public Goods, Lancastrian Characteristics Approach, Conditional Transfers, Ancillary Benefits of Climate Policy

Environmental Technologies

This book on Environmental Technology takes a look at issues such as air, soil and noise pollution problems, environmental quality assessment, monitoring, modelling and risk as- sessment, environmental health impact assessment, environmental management and envi- ronmental technology development. It represents institutional arrangements, financial mechanisms and some sustainable technologies. The user can always count on finding both introductory material and more specific material based on national interests and problems. The user will also find ample references at the end of each chapter, if additional information is required. For additional questions or comments the user is encouraged to contact the author

Perchlorate environmental occurrences, health effects, and remediation technologies

Perchlorate is a widespread pollutant in the environment. It can be produced naturally by atmospheric photochemical reactions or synthesized in large quantities for industrial, military, and pyrotechnic applications. Perchlorate can affect human thyroid function by interfering with iodide uptake and thus has significant public health ramifications. This presentation will provide the current state of science and technology with respect to the source and occurrence of perchlorate in natural environments, its risk assessment, and recent advances in treatment technologies to remove perchlorate from contaminated water. Although perchlorate is a powerful oxidant, it is highly soluble and stable in water and soil and can thus persist in the environment. The discussion will focus on various treatment technologies such as selective ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and biological reduction which can be used to remove perchlorate from contaminated water and thus to minimize its health risks to the public.peer-reviewe

End-of-Pipe or Cleaner Production? An Empirical Comparison of Environmental Innovation Decisions Across OECD Countries

While both fundamental types of abatement measures mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of production, cleaner production technologies are frequently more advantageous than end-of-pipe technologies for environmental and economic reasons. This paper analyzes a variety of factors that might enhance firms? propensity to implement cleaner products and production technologies instead of end-of-pipe technologies. On the basis of a unique facility-level data set derived from a recent OECD survey, we find a clear dominance of cleaner production in seven OECD countries: Surprisingly, 76.8% of the facilities report that they invest predominantly in cleaner production technologies. With regard to environmental product innovations, the large majority of facilities reports that the measures they have undertaken to reduce environmental impacts were geared at production processes and not so much at products. Our estimation results are based on multinomial logit models which indicate that regulatory measures and the stringency of environmental policies are positively correlated with end-of-pipe technologies, while cost savings, general management systems, and specific environmental management tools tend to favor clean production. We conclude that improvements towards cleaner products and production may be reached by the continuous development and wider diffusion of these management tools. Improvements may also be stimulated by widening the cost gap between the two types of technologies, for instance, by additionally charging for waste and energy use. --Cleaner production,end-of-pipe-technologies,technological innovation,technological change,government policy,discrete choice models

Current, emerging and future technologies for sensing the environment

This paper reviews current technologies that are used for environmental monitoring, and presents emerging technologies that will dramatically improve our ability to obtain spatially distributed, real-time data about key indicators of environmental quality at specific locations. Futuristic approaches to environmental monitoring that employ fundamental breakthroughs in materials science to revolutionise the way we monitor our environment will also be considered. In particular, approaches employing biomimetic and 'adaptive'/'stimuli-responsive' materials will be highlighted, as these could play an important role in the realization of small, low power, low cost, autonomous sensing and communications platforms that could form the building blocks of the much vaunted environmental 'sensor web'

CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES APPLIED TO URBAN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The present work organizes information in a systematized way, on environmental technologies applied to each of the tasks and activities that are performed in the cities, urban planning and development. These technologies are an updated part of all the technologies that can be applied, therefore, it is the state-of-the-art of new technologies applied to urban sustainable development which mostly are processes, instruments of measurement, simulators, equipment, materials, Software and Hardware that are of great help for urbanism designers and promoters of urbanism in the cities development. These technologies, which are described in the present article, have been selected on the basis of their up-to-dateness and application in the main sectors or fields of development and it is important to mention that only the most recent and influential on urban development and environmental technology have been chosen. The main objective is to provide an overview of the state-of-the art of these environmental technologies, and how we, designers, architects and promoters of urban development, can apply and use a number of technologies in urban planning with an environmental approach.sustainable urbanism, new technologies, development, tools.

Identifying the Burdens and Opportunities for Tribes and Communities in Federal Facility Cleanup Activities: Environmental Remediation Technology Assessment Matrix For Tribal and Community Decision-Makers

The cleanup of this country's federal facilities can affect a wide range of tribal and community interests and concerns. The technologies now in use, or being proposed by the Department of Energy, Department of Defense and other federal agencies can affect tribal treaty protected fishing, hunting and other rights, affect air and water quality thereby requiring the tribe to bear the burden of increased environmental regulation. The International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management developed a tribal and community decision-maker's Environmental Remediation Technology Assessment Matrix that will permit tribes and communities to array technical information about environmental remediation technologies against a backdrop of tribal and community environmental, health and safety, cultural, religious, treaty and other concerns and interests. Ultimately, the matrix will allow tribes and communities to assess the impact of proposed technologies on the wide range of tribal and community interests and will promote more informed participation in federal facility cleanup activities

Structural change and performance of the German environmental sector

"The so-called Environmental Sector produces technologies, products and services that prevent or reduce environmental damages. On the background of growing environmental problems such as climate protection this sector seems to be more and more important. Contrary to that, a theoretical model shows that this hypothesis may not be true for all sections of the environmental sector. End-of-pipe solutions that operate independently from production processes are mostly driven by environmental regulation so that the demand for these products reacts rather inelastic. This may not be the case for cleaner technologies that are in most cases an integrated part of the production process. Cost-savings are a major motivation to introduce these technologies and products. Unfortunately, the statistical recording of cleaner technologies is very problematic because these technologies or products can not easily be identified separately. This is also the case for our empirical analysis using data from the establishment panel of the Institute for Employment Research. Our analysis of structural change shows a drastic decline of the number of firms and employment in environmental sectors dominated by end-of-pipe but there are positive employment developments and expectations for those cleaner technologies that are captured by our data. This observation is confirmed by an econometric analysis explaining the driving forces of the market shares of firms in the environmental sector." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))IAB-Betriebspanel, Umweltschutzindustrie, Umweltverträglichkeit, Produktionstechnik, Klimaschutz, Wirtschaftsstrukturwandel, Marktanteil - Determinanten, Unternehmensentwicklung, Beschäftigungsentwicklung, Umsatzentwicklung, Nachfrageentwicklung, Umweltverschmutzung, Wasser, Gewässerschutz, Luft, Luftreinhaltung, Recycling, Abfallbeseitigung, Umweltforschung

Environmental Regulation and the Export Dynamics of Energy Technologies

The pollution haven hypothesis affirms that an open market regime will encourage the flow of low technology polluting industries toward developing countries, due to potential comparative advantages related to low environmental standards. In contrast, the hypothesis suggested by Porter and van der Linde claims for a competitive dynamic behaviour by innovating firms, allowing a global diffusion of environmental-friendly technologies. Environmental regulation may represent a relevant mechanism through which technological change is induced. In this way countries subject to more stringent environmental regulations may become net exporters of environmental technologies. This paper provides new evidence on the evolution of export flows of environmental technologies across different countries for the energy sector. Advanced economies, particularly the European Union, have given increasing attention to the role of energy policies as tools for sustaining the development path. The Kyoto Protocol commitments, together with growing import dependence of energy products, have stimulated the attention on the analysis of innovation processes in this specific sector. The analysis uses a gravity model in order to test the determinants and the transmission channels through which environmental technologies for renewable energies and energy efficiency are exported to advanced and developing countries. Our results are consistent with the existence of the Porter and van der Linde hypothesis, where environmental regulation represents a significant component of comparative advantages. What strongly emerges is that the stringency of environmental regulation supplemented by the strength of National Innovation System is a crucial driver of export performance in the field of energy technologies.Environmental Regulation, Trade and Environment, Energy Technologies

Green Technologies for a More Sustainable Agriculture

For U.S. agriculture to continue along a sustainable path of economic development, further production increases must be generated by technologies that are both profitable and more environmentally benign. In this context, we assess the role of these green or sustainable technologies in steering agriculture along a more sustainable path. However, the lack of markets for the environmental attributes associated with green technologies can limit their development. In addition, simply making a technology available does not mean it will be adopted. Experience with green technologies such as conservation tillage, integrated pest management, enhanced nutrient management, and precision agriculture demonstrates that even when technologies are profitable, barriers to adopting new practices can limit their effectiveness.sustainable agriculture, natural capital, nonrenewable resources, renewable resources, environmental services, green technology, integrated pest management, conservation tillage, enhanced nutrient management, precision agriculture, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management,