Edoardo Croci

The Economics of Environmental Voluntary Agreements

This paper provides taxonomies and models, in order to contribute in including the economics of environmental voluntary agreements (VAs) into the standard framework of the economics of the environment.

Voluntary Agreements for CO2 Emissions Reduction: Evaluation and Perspectives

Over the last 10 years voluntary agreements have been adopted in Europe as an environmental policy instrument to reduce CO2 emissions. These agreements have been used in accordance with the specific economic, institutional and cultural features of the Member States. The evaluation of the cases of CO2 emission reduction does not, however, provide a definitive answer regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of these agreements. This is due to a number of reasons such as the absence of reference scenarios and the fact that the targets set are often too easy to reach. Nevertheless it is possible to determine some “rules” to design, negotiate, implement and monitor voluntary agreements according to effectiveness, efficiency and equity criteria. Moreover a European model for voluntary agreements at the Community level and a new generation of voluntary agreements are being developed in order to overcome some of the drawbacks of the past agreements.

Determinants of cities' GHG emissions: a comparison of seven global cities

Purpose – Urban areas are responsible for significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but cities can have quite different values of carbon footprints. The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of urban GHG emissions in order to explain these differences.Design/methodology/approach – Seven global cities – Bangkok, Chicago, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Milan and New York City – have been included in the papers sample. These cases have been chosen in order to represent a variety of characteristics and contexts of developed and developing countries and according to data availability. A first level of analysis regards local GHG emission inventories, which attribute emissions to activity sectors. Sectorial emissions are then evaluated to quantify the relevance of several determinants: climate conditions, urban form, economic activities in place, state of technology, mobility and housing infrastructures and costs, and income and life style.Findings – Determinants show different weight...

The Health and Economic Burden of Air Pollution

Many epidemiologic data support the association between ambient air pollution and all-cause mortality and morbidity, mainly from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, particularly in the elderly, infants, pregnant women, and people with comorbidities. In addition, air pollution has been related to higher risks for lung cancer and allergic diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that in the year 2012 ambient air pollution was responsible for 3.7 million annual deaths, representing 6.7% of all-cause deaths and tripling the 2008 estimates. Worldwide, air pollution causes 16% of deaths due to lung cancer, 11% of deaths due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, more than 20% of deaths due to ischemic heart disease and stroke, and 13% of deaths due to respiratory infections. In 2012, the Global Burden of Disease report identified air pollution among the leading risk factors for disease burden, being globally responsible alone for 3.1% of disability-adjusted life years. Considering the strong health impact of air pollution, it is not surprising to expect substantial monetary consequences. The economics of air pollution are largely directed to measure the costs for individuals and the society at large. Health economics aims at quantifying the cost of any illness, distinguishing those associated with mortality from those associated with morbidity. There are 2 common metrics to estimate the monetary value of a life: The most common is the value of a statistical life, defined as the value that an individual places on a marginal change in his/her likelihood of dying, so that the aggregation of the individual values of the estimated marginal changes returns the overall cost of reducing by 1 the average number of deaths (ie, value of a statistical life). The second is the value of a life year, and it attaches a monetary value to the disability-adjusted life years, being a measure of how much people would pay to live another (healthy) year. The value of a statistical life and the value of a life year are correlated, and often the latter is derived from the former. Studies focusing on mortality rates use value of a statistical life estimates, whereas those counting the variation of different measures of life-years opt

An analysis of multi-level collaborative initiatives on sustainable energy in Europe

A polycentric, multi-scale, climate governance framework is developing in parallel to the negotiations for a credible global agreement. Subnational governments are increasingly engaged to contribute to climate mitigation. Local climate action is particularly evident in Europe, where regional and municipal institutions are often designing, implementing and monitoring sustainable energy policies, plans and actions in a cooperative way. Strengths and weaknesses of multi-level cooperation initiatives on sustainable energy in Europe are assessed thanks to data collected through the European project Coopenergy. Political commitment emerges as a major driver for successful cooperation, while lack of funding is recognized as a major barrier.