Biofuels are a renewable source of energy used mainly for transportation. They link together food, energy and natural resources sectors, and involve ecological, social and inequality issues. They are an emblematic example of the interactions between economic, environmental, social and political decisions and, as a recent and complex issue, require updated and detailed information to be understood. This book aims to shed light on several economic, social and environmental issues connected to biofuel production and policies. The Economics of Biofuels adopts detailed descriptions, rigorous data analysis and precise econometric methods to estimate the effects of biofuel on different socio-economic factors, avoiding complicated and sometimes ineffective models based on context-specific parameters. In particular, the book focuses on the impact of bioenergy policy on biocommodity production and trade, and on the related phenomenon of land acquisitions to grow biofuel commodities. The book's main findings are derived by an original and unique dataset collecting information on the investors acquiring land in Africa and on the voluntary standard, certification and labelling schemes adopted by them as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy. The analysis links together in an original way public and private initiatives to make biofuel sustainable. Therefore, this book represents an improvement in the understanding of biofuel production and policy's sustainability. This book is of interest to those who study environmental economics, agricultural economics and sustainable development. It is also suitable for those in the renewable energy sector, with a particular focus on biofuel sustainability.

The carbon markets are in the middle of a fundamental crisis - a crisis marked by collapsing prices, fleeing actors, and ever increasing greenhouse gas levels. Yet carbon trading remains at the heart of global attempts to respond to climate change. Not only this, but markets continue to proliferate - particularly in the Global South. The Politics of Carbon Markets helps to make sense of this paradox and brings two urgently needed insights to the analysis of carbon markets. First, the markets must be understood in relation to the politics involved in their development, maintenance and opposition. Second, this politics is multiform and pervasive. Implementation of new techniques and measuring tools, policy development and contestation, and the structuring context of institutional settings and macro-social forces all involve a variety of political actors and create new forms of political agency. The contributions study the total extent of the carbon markets, from their prehistory to their contemporary expansion and wider impacts. This wide-ranging political perspective on the carbon markets is invaluable to those studying and interested in ecological markets, climate change governance and environmental politics.

This wonderful book demonstrates how rural livelihoods - as well as diets, health and ways of life - are enhanced by the so-called neglected and underutilized plant species which, in the book s Syrian case study, include such deliciously interesting things as capers, laurel, jujube and figs. Using value chain analysis the author illuminates the opportunities for strengthening arid land economies with attention to such species, while simultaneously maintaining the diversity and integrity of those plant genomes, landscapes and cultures. And keeping the world worth tasting. KEN WILSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CHRISTENSEN FUND Alexandra Giuliani delivers a convincing and very practical account of how biodiversity products derived from neglected and underutilized plant species enter the markets in Syria. By highlighting the value of these plant products for the family income and health status of marginal farmer families in rural drylands and semi-arid areas, she brings the message home as to why it is so important to maintain biodiversity of the genetic resources not by protection alone, but rather through their judicious use. KATHARINA JENNY, SENIOR ADVISOR, FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, SWISS AGENCY FOR DEVELOPMENT AND COOPERATION Just four crops - maize, potatoes, rice and wheat - provide more than 90 per cent of the world s food. Old varieties of even these crops are disappearing as farmers and consumers strive for more uniformity in food products. This in turn affects less obvious elements, such as insects that play a role in pollinating plants or controlling pests and the soil organisms that help plants extract nutrients from the soil. Also, farmers need a broad base of agrobiodiversity to be able to respond and adapt to environmental changes and to improve their production. This is especially important in the face of climate change and changing economic and political pressures. This book from Bioversity International describes a study conducted in Syria of how communities are developing markets for local products derived from neglected and underutilized plants. Based on concrete case studies, the data and processes documented in this book show the potential of biodiversity to make a significant contribution to livelihood security in communities that inhabit difficult environments with unique resources. The study also highlights the importance of local cultural knowledge and institutions in sustainable development of biodiversity markets. Published with Bioversity International.

The 1997 Kyoto Conference introduced emissions trading as a policy instrument for climate protection. Bringing together scholars in the fields of economics, political science and law, this book, which was originally published in 2005, provides a description, analysis and evaluation of different aspects of emissions trading as an instrument to control greenhouse gases. The authors analyse theoretical aspects of regulatory instruments for climate policy, provide an overview of US experience with market-based instruments, draw lessons from trading schemes for the control of greenhouse gases, and discuss options for emissions trading in climate policy. They also highlight the background of climate policy and instrument choice in the US and Europe and the foundation of systems in Europe, particularly the EU's directive for a CO2 emissions trading system.

Community forestry is an expanding model of forest management around the world. Over a quarter of forests in developing countries are now owned by or assigned to communities and there is a growing community forestry movement in developed countries such as Canada and the USA. There is, however, no economic theory of community forestry and no systematic treatment of the potential economic advantages of promoting Community forestry in developed countries. As a result much of the policy debate over forest management and forest tenure rests on confused and often erroneous views held by policy makers and encouraged by the dominant forestry industry. The Economic Theory of Community Forestry aims to address this gap and provides the tools for understanding community forestry movement as an alternative form of ownership that can mobilize community resources and encourage innovation. It uses a wide range of economic principles to show how community forestry can be economically superior to conventional forestry; provides examples from Canadian practice; and discusses the regulatory regime that policy makers must put in place to benefit from community forestry. This book will be of interest to policy makers, activists, community forestry managers and members, foresters and forestry students.

Acid Rain and Environmental Degradation is a succinct yet comprehensive survey of emission trading - a significant research and policy field of increasing importance for both Europe and the USA.Against the background of environmental policy instruments in general, Dr Klaassen presents a state-of-the-art survey of both the theory and actual applications of tradable permits. This survey also analyses international theory and experience. Later chapters examine the European acid rain issue and discuss how it can be addressed by means of tradable permits with particular relevance to sulphur emissions. Acid Rain and Environmental Degradation responds to current European policy discussions to apply emission trading on a continental scale. Because of its unique blend of theory and practice, this volume not only sets the tone for future discussions in Europe on transboundary pollution control, but also offers something for the academic economist, the environmentalist and the policymaker.

This essential two-volume collection contains the most influential articles written over the past eight decades that contribute to an understanding of the economics of traffic congestion. The first volume explores the classic contributions on congestion and road pricing and includes papers in dynamic models and second-best congestion pricing. The second volume analyses ownership arrangements such as private roads, investment and financing, urban land use, social acceptability and distributional aspects of road pricing. Erik Verhoef has written an insightful introduction which provides a clear overview of a problem which is of major importance in both developed and developing countries.

Experiments in geoengineering - intentionally manipulating the Earth's climate to reduce global warming - have become the focus of a vital debate about responsible science and innovation. Drawing on three years of sociological research working with scientists on one of the world's first major geoengineering projects, this book examines the politics of experimentation. Geoengineering provides a test case for rethinking the responsibilities of scientists and asking how science can take better care of the futures that it helps bring about. This book gives students, researchers and the general reader interested in the place of science in contemporary society a compelling framework for future thinking and discussion.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Because cities are such complex systems, creating sustainable urban environments is a challenging goal. No single strategy-or even several strategies-will be enough to achieve tomorrow's healthy and sustainable cities. The challenges resist compartmentalization, because the factors intersect and overlap. The articles in this compendium were chosen to expand the understanding of these complicated issues in a non-linear way. The editor has selected research in the following topics: improving urban air quality; municipal solid waste alternatives; municipal water management; reducing urban energy consumption.

The 2nd edition of An Introduction to Climate Change Economics and Policy explains the key scientific, economic and policy issues related to climate change in a completely up-to-date introduction for anyone interested, and students at all levels in various related courses, including environmental economics, international development, geography, politics and international relations. FitzRoy and Papyrakis highlight how economists and policymakers often misunderstand the science of climate change, underestimate the growing threat to future civilization and survival and exaggerate the costs of radical measures needed to stabilize the climate. In contrast, they show how direct and indirect costs of fossil fuels - particularly the huge health costs of local pollution - actually exceed the investment needed for transition to an almost zero carbon economy in two or three decades using available technology.

"Energy is the go of things," as James Clerk Maxwell pointed out. This th simple truth was largely overlooked during the first 70 years of the 20 century, because in the industrial world most politicians, civil servants, and opinion makers were inclined to believe that virtually an infinite supply of reasonably priced energy would always be available, and so things would continue to 'go' in the manner to which many of their constituents and admirers had become accustomed. Similar opinions were held about fresh air, and water for consumption and agricultural uses. As a result, it was not until the last two decades of the century that serious courses in energy and environmental economics began to be offered at institutions of higher learning around the world. This book is intended as a comprehensive introductory text and/or reference book for courses of this nature having to do with energy economics. (I have also attempted to make the book useful for self study. ) As far as I know, there are no energy economics text or reference books on the level of this book in the English language. Needless to say, if I am wrong then I apologise to their authors; but right or wrong, I would like to see more energy economics books of all descriptions now. We cannot afford to have the same kind of mistakes made with energy policy that (in much of the world) are being made with e. g. employment policy.

There is a fundamental denial at the centre of why we have an environmental crisis - a denial that ignores that endless physical growth on a finite planet is impossible. Nature provides the ecosystem services that support our civilisation, thus making humanity unavoidably dependent upon it. However, society continues to ignore and deny this dependence. A Future Beyond Growth explores the reason why the endless growth economy is fundamentally unsustainable and considers ways in which society can move beyond this to a steady state economy. The book brings together some of the deepest thinkers from around the world to consider how to advance beyond growth. The main themes consider the deep problems of the current system and key aspects of a steady state economy, such as population; throughput and consumerism; ethics and equity; and policy for change. The policy section and conclusion bring together these various themes and indicates how we can move past the growth economy to a truly sustainable future. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of economics, sustainability and environmental studies in general.

Which level of government is most appropriate for environmental policy making in a confederal or federal system? How does the level of government at which policy is made and implemented affect the choice of policy instruments? This important new volume addresses these problems by comparing environmental policies and practices in the European Union and the United States.In Environmental Policy with Political and Economic Integration, a distinguished group of authors discusses how environmental policy in a federal or confederal system may differ both in theory and practice from that found in a unitary government system. After examining the framework for environmental policy in the EU and US, the authors present papers on their federal institutions, the economic forces affecting environmental governance, the choice of policy instruments, linkages between trade and environmental policy and environmental regulations within international trade negotiations. The final part brings together a series of case studies which sheds new light on the research questions formulated earlier in the book. Issues discussed include the regulation of agricultural pollution, global warming, ozone pollution and environmental security. In addition to its detailed discussion of environmental policy in the EU and the US, Environmental Policy with Political and Economic Integration will be essential reading for both scholars and policymakers concerned with designing and implementing regulations to protect the environment.

Contingent valuation analysis is both a difficult and controversial means of environmental resource valuation. Yet many economists regard it as the only valid means of measuring values in environmental policy.This major new book contains a collection of papers that examine the current state-of-the-art in the valuation of environmental resources. In particular, they assess the meaningfulness of environmental resource values obtained through the contingent valuation method. An internationally prominent group of scholars develops a fuller understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the methodology and discusses a research agenda to improve estimates of environmental resource values. Economic value and the ability to obtain it through the survey measurement of consumer preferences is central to their discussion. Issues covered include the need for a broad perspective in valuation research, support for replication studies, the relationship between survey structure and survey responses, the processes by which environmental resources affect individual well-being, specific issues regarding environmental goods in surveys, and better tests of internal and external validity. The current state-of-the-art is outlined in a series of core papers and then debated in discussion papers. This major book describes how practitioners, critics, and users of contingent valuation have framed the fundamental issues that must be solved if the approach is to gain wider acceptance.

This volume includes chapters by a number of leading researchers in the area of reading and spelling development. They review what is currently known about both normal and impaired development of decoding, comprehension, and spelling skills. They also consider recent work on the remediation of reading and spelling difficulties in children and discuss effective remedial strategies.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

If Greek tragedy is sometimes regarded as a form long dead and buried, both theatre producers and film directors seem slow to accept its interment. Originally published in 1986, this book reflects the renewed interest in questions of staging the Greek plays, to give a comprehensive account and critical analysis of all the important versions of Greek tragedy made on film. From the 1927 footage of the re-enactment of Aeschylus' Prometheus in Chains at the Delphi Festival organised by Angelos Sikelianos to Pasolini's Notes for an African Oresteia, the study encompasses the version of Oedipus by Tyrone Guthrie, Tzavellas's Antigone (with Irene Papas), Michael Cacoyannis's series which included Electra, The Trojan Women, and Iphigeneia, Pasolini's Oedipus and Medea (with Maria Callas), Miklos Jancso's Elektreia, Dassim's Phaedra and others. Many interesting questions are raised by the transference of a highly stylised form such as Greek tragedy to what is often claimed to be the 'realistic' medium of film. What becomes clear is that the heroic myths retain with ease the power to move the audiences in very different milieux through often strikingly different means. The book may be read as an adjunct to viewing of the films, but enough synopsis is given to make its arguments accessible to those familiar only with the classical texts, or with neither version.

In 1990, energy in the UK underwent a unique and fundamental transformation, with the privatization of the electricity supply industry. This is the first book to fully assess the experiment. It first explains how - and why - the British electricity supply industry was privatized. It then identifies the subsequent changes in electricity prices, profits, employment, investment, nuclear power and renewable, and the extent to which each of these was due solely to privatization or to other factors, or could have come about by reform of the previous model, rather than privatization. Finally, the authors analyse the key unresolved issues of regulation, introducing competition into the domestic energy market in 1998, supply security, and other long-term strategic considerations. Throughout, the distinguish between the uniquely British elements of the experience and those which can be drawn upon by other countries embarking upon similar reforms. Today, governments throughout the world are looking to the UK's experience as a potential prototype for the restructure of their own electricity supply industries. For them, and for electricity utilities, fuel and power plant suppliers, regulation authorities, financial analysts, international agencies, journalists and academics alike, this thorough and pragmatic study will be essential reading. 'This is likely to become the definitive book on the first six years of the great British electricity experiment' Walt Patterson The British Electricity Experiment is the result of a detailed study undertaken by the Energy Programme at the science Policy Research unit (SPRU). Professor John Surrey was head of SPR's Energy Programme between 1969 and 1986. He has worked with the central Electricity Generating Board, as a government Economic Adviser, and as a Specialist Adviser to numerous House of Commons Select Committee inquiries on energy matters. Originally published in 1996

This 800-page premier book on energy focuses on energy sources, utilizations, legislations and sustainability as it relates to a state, a province, or a country, or a community within a state. This book presents various kinds of energy sources, ways to convert energy for end use, better use of energy towards conservation and energy- and environmental-sustainability. As a very proper model-state the authors chose the State of Illinois which has the largest overall fossil energy reserves, including the largest strippable bituminous coal reserves; the largest user of nuclear energy in USA and has also been investing in all kinds of renewable energies including wind energy, solar energy, biofuels, geothermal energy, and various energy storage options. In the authors' opinion, State of Illinois is a pioneer in legislations for proper development and use of all kinds of energy. Their motivation to do this project was to educate the public (including students, energy engineers and planers, as well as state- and country-wide policy makers) about all aspects of energy.In this book, the authors present various energy sources, conversions technologies, and conservation possibilities. In every case, the authors have presented various options available for a country, for a state, or for a community to achieve its goal of energy sufficiency, clean environment and as a result, sustainability. Variety of schemes related to each energy source and its related conversion technologies are presented and sustainability of renewable energy sources is discussed. All the possible energy sources including coal, natural gas, petroleum, nuclear, solar, wind, biofuels and geothermal energy are presented in this book, as well as energy storage options. The authors have also presented various ways of dealing with carbon dioxide, which is produced from fossil fuels combustion, including its collection, transportation, storage and sequestration. The energy storage systems presented in this book will facilitate reliable and full integration of renewable power to the grid.

This book is a unique introduction to the economic costs of nuclear power. It examines the future of the nuclear power industry and unpacks the complicated relationships between its technical, economic and political variables. It does so by modelling the costs, risks and uncertainties of one of the world's most opaque industries using micro-econometrics, econometrics, and cost engineering. Economics of Nuclear Power examines the very important costs of externalities (storing of nuclear waste and the impact of a Chernobyl or Fukushima event) and compares those to the externalities of alternative carbon based energies (oil, coal, natural gas). With over 100 tables and figures this book details nuclear power production around the world - present and planned, providing a completely global focus. It also includes an overview of the past 70 years of international nuclear power developments. This book is essential reading for students, scholars and professionals interested in energy economics, nuclear engineering and energy policy.

Greenhouse gas (GHG) offsets have long been promoted as an important element of a comprehensive climate policy approach. Offset programs can reduce the overall cost of achieving a given emission goal by enabling emission reductions to occur where costs are lower. Offsets have the potential to deliver sustainability co-benefits, through technology development and transfer. They can also develop human and institutional capacity for reducing emissions in sectors and locations not included in a cap and trade or a mandatory government policy. However, offsets can pose a risk to the environmental integrity of climate actions, especially if issues surrounding additionality, permanence, leakage, quantification and verification are not adequately addressed. The challenge is to design offset programs and policies that can maximize their potential benefits while minimizing their potential risks. This handbook provides a systematic and comprehensive review of existing offset programs. It looks at what offsets are, how offset mechanisms function, and the successes and pitfalls they have encountered. Coverage includes offset programs across the full swath of applications including mandatory and voluntary systems, government regulated and private markets, carbon offset funds, and accounting and reporting protocols such as the WBCSD/WRI GHG Protocol and ISO 14064. Learning from the successes and failures of these programs will be essential to crafting effective climate policy. This is an essential reference for all regulators, policy makers, business leaders and NGOs concerned with the design and operation of GHG offset programs world-wide. Published with SEI

Focuses on the coffee and tea industries, using accounts of single producer communities to highlight the transformation from plantation-style colonial agriculture towards systems that now claim to produce social and environmental benefits from the farm to the cup Includes tandem case studies of coffee in the Guatemalan highlands and tea in the hill country of Sri Lanka, incorporating the perspectives of coffee exporters, importers, roasters, and cafe owners.

Everyone has heard of environmentalism, but what is it? Is it ideology or religion? Like socialism, environmentalism is a political program, but even more diffuse. Environmentalists hold diverse opinions, from wanting to take care of nature in human interest to putting nature above man. The latter is religious environmentalism, with nature taking the place of the supernatural. This book is a critique of this type of environmentalism, appropriately named ecofundamentalism. This may be a minority or even marginal opinion, but it seems to shape people's thinking to an unwarranted degree. In the worst of cases, it would bring the end of civilization as we know it. Without massive monocultures, supported by pesticides and fertilizer, we could never feed ourselves. Almost 90 percent of our primary energy comes from fossil fuels, without which there would be no air travel, cars and trucks, reliable electricity, and even much of our food supply. Putting a premium on biodiversity and getting serious about greenhouse gas emissions would force us to go without these things, putting us back in the Middle Ages. Fortunately, there is no need to heed any of these environmentalist prescriptions. Contrary to the notion that economic growth is unsustainable and our core problem, it is actually the core solution. Economic growth and technology has made it possible for food production to outpace population growth since the industrial revolution. Economic growth is one reason why population growth worldwide has fallen so that the "population bomb" may never explode. It has also made us largely independent of the weather except for growing our crops. Meanwhile, ecofundamentalism would cause more harm than good.

In this pioneering study, Krutilla and Fisher put the amenity resources of natural environments into an analytical framework comparable to that for the extractive resources. The models and theoretical background of their techniques are illustrated by case studies which include the controversial Hells Canyon dam, the Mineral King ski resort, and the Trans-Alaska pipeline. The authors point out that resource development activities undertaken on public lands often receive financial advantages---preferential tax treatment, subsidized capital, and access to public resources---that are not taken into account in the costs of the project. True evaluation of the costs and benefits of a development project often tips the balance in favor of preserving an area in a natural state.

Winner of the Choice Outstanding Academic Titles of 2010 award. This book is a comprehensive and accessible guide to understanding the opportunities offered by regulated and voluntary carbon markets for tackling climate change. Coverage includes: - An overview of the problem of climate change, with a concise review of the most recent scientific evidence in different fields - A highly accessible introduction to the economic theory and different constitutive elements of a carbon allowances market - Explanation of the Kyoto Protocol and its flexibility mechanisms - Explanation of how the EU Emissions Trading Scheme works in practice - Ongoing developments in regulated carbon markets in the US - Up-to-the-minute coverage of regulated carbon markets in Australia - Developments in New Zealand and Japan - Carbon offsetting and voluntary carbon markets. Combining theoretical aspects with practical applications, this book is for business leaders, financiers, carbon traders, lawyers, bankers, researchers, policy makers and anyone interested in market mechanisms to mitigate climate change. The carbon emissions resulting from the production of this book have been calculated, reduced and offset to render the bookcarbon neutral. Published with CO2 Neutral