Katia Karousakis

Promoting Biodiversity Co-Benefits in REDD

This report examines how biodiversity co-benefits in REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) can be enhanced, both at the design and implementation level. It discusses potential biodiversity implications of different REDD design options that have been put forward in the international climate change negotiations and proceeds by examining how the creation of additional biodiversity-specific incentives could be used to complement a REDD mechanism, so as to target biodiversity benefits directly. Le present rapport examine les moyens de renforcer les avantages connexes pouvant etre tires de la REDD (reduction des emissions liees a la deforestation et a la degradation des forets) sur le plan de la biodiversite, tant au niveau de la conception qu’a celui de la mise en oeuvre. Il analyse les repercussions potentielles sur la biodiversite des differents dispositifs de REDD envisageables qui ont ete avances dans les negociations internationales sur le changement climatique et poursuit en examinant comment completer la REDD en creant des incitations supplementaires specifiquement axees sur la biodiversite, de maniere a cibler directement les avantages lies a celle-ci.

National and Sectoral GHG Mitigation Potential

Determining comparability of effort between mitigation actions and targets proposed by different countries is an ongoing issue for international climate negotiations. A number of indicators have been proposed to reflect comparability of effort and differences in national circumstances; key amongst these are greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (per capita), GDP per capita, as well as GHG mitigation potential. This paper focuses on mitigation potential to provide a comparative assessment between six OECD member economies: Australia, Canada, the EU, Japan, Mexico and the US. GHG mitigation potential is defined to be the level of GHG emission reductions that could be realised, relative to the projected emission baseline in a given year, for a given carbon price. Data for the selected countries were obtained across the time horizon of 2005-2050 from a total of 19 models, including models that are used to inform climate policy-makers in each of these economies. The paper examines the implications of model structure, and assesses how baseline scenarios vary between the models, before analysing the GHG mitigation potential estimates. GHG mitigation potential is compared for carbon prices of USD 20, 50 and 100/tCO2e. For an assumed carbon price of USD 50/tCO2e, mitigation potential in Japan is estimated to be relatively lower than for the other five economies, ranging from 5-20% emission reduction from baseline in 2020. Although noticeably fewer models report data for Mexico at this price level, the models show deeper potential reductions in the range of 25-37% at the same carbon price. Mitigation potential estimates for Australia, Canada and the US show a wider range of 14-39% reduction relative to 2020 baselines. The EU shows a relatively tighter range of 16-29% emission reductions to 2020. The results of this study show greater emission reduction potentials in the year 2050 than in the year 2020 across the six economies examined, reflecting structural and technical changes that occur over time, including the availability of carbon capture and storage from 2030. In general, the paper finds closer agreement across the models for mitigation potential in 2020 than for later years, reflecting greater uncertainty as projections extend into the future.

A Typology of Economic Instruments and Methods for Efficient Water Resources Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

This chapter provides the economic perspective to implementing integrated water resources management and describes the valuation techniques and economic instruments that have been developed and are available to help price water efficiently, and allocate it to it’s highest valued user.

Water Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions

Water deficiency in many arid and semi-arid regions in Southern Europe is becoming a major constraint for economic welfare and sustainable regional development. These regions are characterised by high spatial and temporal imbalances of water demand and supply, seasonal water uses,inadequate water resources and poor institutional water management. The aim of this book is to formulate appropriate strategies and guidelines for water management necessary for the formulation and implementation of integrated sustainable management of water resources. Lessons are learned from various case studies, which examine competing water use patterns, compare governance structures and how these have evolved in response to scarcity, and structural and non-structural instruments to address water deficiency. Water Management in Arid and Semi-Arid Regions will appeal to policymakers in relevant countries as well as to scholars and researchers of environmental studies and economics.

Conclusions and policy recommendations for the E.U. Water Framework Directive

The purpose of this final chapter is to identify the common themes of the three projects (WSM, Medis, and Aquadapt), to integrate and harmonise the results and approaches adopted by each, and to discuss conclusions and potential policy implications that can feed into the EU Water Framework Directive. The knowledge that has emerged from the three projects has been principally obtained from case study analyses. These have examined competing water use patterns, compared governance structures and how these have evolved in response to scarcity and structural and non-structural instruments to address water deficiency. The experiences and lessons learned from these studies are summarised below. First however we briefly describe the general circumstances, or pressures and driving forces, that are common to the case studies examined in the ARID cluster of projects.