Jonathan Rubin

Intertemporal Permit Trading for the Control of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

This paper integrates two themes in the intertemporal permitliterature through the construction of an intertemporal bankingsystem for a pollutant that creates both stock and flow damages. A permit banking system for the special case of a pollutant thatonly causes stock damages is also developed. This latter,simpler case corresponds roughly to the greenhouse gas emissionreduction regime proposed by the U.S. Department of State as ameans of fulfilling the U.S. commitment to the FrameworkConvention on Climate Change. This paper shows that environmentalregulators can achieve the socially optimal level of emissionsand output through time by setting the correct total sum ofallowable emissions, and specifying the correct intertemporaltrading ratio for banking and borrowing. For the case ofgreenhouse gases, we show that the optimal growth rate of permitprices, and therefore the optimal intertemporal trading rate, hasthe closed-form solution equal to the ratio of current marginalstock damages to the discounted future value of marginal stockdamages less the decay rate of emissions in the atmosphere. Given a non-optimal negotiated emission path we then derive apermit banking system that has the potential to lower net socialcosts by adjusting the intertemporal trading ratio taking intoaccount the behavior of private agents. We use a simplenumerical simulation model to illustrate the potential gains fromvarious possible banking systems.

Are Environmental Professors Unbalanced? Evidence From the Field

Most outcomes assessment in higher education has focused on content knowledge or skills development; however, attitudinal change is also a legitimate focus of assessment. We use the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) to test whether courses designed to meet the same university environmental literacy requirement changed student environmental attitudes, and whether these changes resulted from instructor and/or course-content effects. We found student environmental attitudes did change significantly but in different directions depending upon who taught the course. The ability to measure such changes adds to the discussion in the environmental education community on the desired nature of attitudinal change and of the responsibilities of higher education instructors.

An analysis of alternative fuel credit provisions of US automotive fuel economy standards

Abstract In the United States, alternative fuel vehicles are treated favorably in the calculations that are used to determine compliance with automotive fuel efficiency standards. We estimate that this favorable treatment is worth approximately

UNDERSTANDING THE TRANSITION TO NEW FUELS AND VEHICLES: LESSONS LEARNED FROM ANALYSIS AND EXPERIENCE OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL AND HYBRID VEHICLES

550–

Two-Stage Hedonic Price Model for Light-Duty Vehicles: Consumer Valuations of Automotive Fuel Economy in Maine

1100 per alternative fuel vehicle in terms of avoided penalties. We use a dynamic simulation model to examine the implications of this favorable treatment of alternative fuel vehicles for the goals of oil displacement contained in the United States Energy Policy Act. Welfare analysis shows that the favorable treatment of alternative fuel vehicles costs

The Design of an Eco-Marketing and Labeling Program for Vehicles in Maine

66 million or about 84 cents per gallon of gasoline displaced in the base case. Policy scenarios show greater costs. Whether this money is well spent depends on ones views of the need to build alternative fuel and vehicle infrastructure and the goal of oil displacement.

Macroeconomic Effects of Climate Policies on Road Transport: Efficiency Agreements Versus Fuel Taxation for the United Kingdom, 2000-2010

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the lessons learned by the US from the analysis and experience of alternative fueled vehicles (AFV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). Despite the range of federal, state, and local initiatives to promote alternative fuel use since the 1980s, there has been little progress in developing alternative fuel infrastructure, advancing the alternative fuel transition, or achieving alternative vehicle sales and fuel sales in the country. In analyzing the transition to alternative fuels other than hydrogen such as ethanol, methanol, CNG, LPG, and electricity analyses with the transitional alternative fuel and vehicle (TAFV) model led to some important conclusions that bear on the proposed hydrogen transition. The barriers to new fuels and technologies are real and economically important. Some barriers are transitional, and some barriers will endure so long as overall market conditions including oil prices and environmental policies do not change fundamentally. For AFVs, the most important barriers seem to be limited fuel availability and vehicle scale economies. For HEVs, incremental vehicle costs are large. As a result, vehicle scale economies matter, but scale cost reductions are more easily attained by the use of widely shared components—such as batteries, motors, and controllers—across multiple vehicle platforms.

Connected Autonomous Vehicles: Travel Behavior and Energy Use

Consumers’ marginal willingness to pay for a unit change of automotive fuel economy was estimated through development of a hedonic regression of new automobiles sales. The research combined national data on vehicle attributes with a unique data set that contains demographic information on all new vehicles registered in Maine in 2007. The research estimates the impact of demographic factors on consumer demands for fuel economy by generating a function for fuel economy demand in a second-stage hedonic model. Results show that consumers undervalue the long-run fuel savings of vehicle ownership, but they significantly value short-run fuel savings. Age and education are positively correlated with fuel economy demand, whereas income is statistically insignificant. Car consumers’ net benefits from an increase in fuel economy from 25 to 35 mpg are computed from the fuel economy demand curve and are approximately

Regional Credit Trading: Economic and Greenhouse Gas Impacts of a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard

2,232. Strengthening corporate average fuel economy standards is reasonable because consumers can receive significant net benefits from increasing fuel economy.

Bioproducts process pathways for kraft paper mills.

Acknowledging and understanding the role that information may play in affecting consumer assessment of eco-marketed products is a key step in improving the effectiveness of eco-labeling policy initiatives. Consumers who hold preferences for environmentally preferred products may be unable to express their preferences for such goods under current eco-information campaigns. The emerging use of eco-labels suggests they may be an effective means of communicating the environmental attributes of a product to consumers, and thus provide an opportunity for consumers to alter their consumption behaviors. This analysis employed a state-wide sample of Maine registered vehicle owners in a survey effort aimed at determining the factors which affect their assessments of eco-labeled traditional-fueled passenger vehicles. The study focuses on developing an appropriate empirical framework with which to model the vehicle choice decision under eco-labeled conditions. We specifically examine how eco-information may affect the two-stage vehicle purchase process. The study builds upon environmental economic and psychology literature in examining the role of personal characteristics such as perceived effectiveness of consumer purchase decisions and perceptions of the eco-labeled products as factors in the vehicle purchase decision. It was found that environmental attributes of an eco-labeled passenger vehicle are significant in the purchase decision. The eco-information is considered in the vehicle purchase decision, but is generally not considered at the class level decision. The analysis provides important information for policy makers in that policy makers should recognize the two-stage nature of the vehicle purchase decision and adjust current eco-labeling programs accordingly.