Simone Borghesi

The Environmental Kuznets Curve: A Survey of the Literature

In the last few years, several studies have found an inverted-U relationship between per capita income and environmental degradation. This relationship, known as the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), suggests that environmental degradation increases in the early stages of growth, but it eventually decreases as income exceeds a threshold level. The present paper reviews both early and recent contributions on this subject, discussing whether and to what extent such a curve can be empirically observed, and the policy implications that derive from the empirical evidence

The European Emission Trading Scheme and Renewable Energy Policies: Credible Targets for Incredible Results?

This paper discusses the merits and limits of the recent European energy policy aimed at reducing carbon emissions, devoting particular attention to the European Trading System of carbon permits and to the measures that the European Union has adopted to promote renewable energy sources. From the comparison of past goals and present results, it is argued that more credible targets for carbon emission reductions and renewable shares would probably help the transition towards an alternative energy system and the necessary reduction of greenhouse gases.

HAPPINESS AND HEALTH: TWO PARADOXES

Abstract This paper aims to establish systematic relationships between the two rapidly growing research streams on the socio‐economic determinants of happiness and health. Although they have been pursued quite independently by different communities of researchers, empirical evidence points to very similar underlying causal mechanisms. In particular, in both cases per capita income seems to play a major role only up to a very low threshold, beyond which relative income and other relational factors become crucial for happiness and health. On the basis of these structural analogies, we argue that a process of cross‐fertilisation between these two research streams would contribute to their development by clarifying the relationship between happiness, health and their determinants. Finally, we observe that the two literatures have converging policy implications: measures meant to reduce poverty and inequality and invest in social and environmental capital may improve both health and happiness of the individuals.

Pathways to Deep Decarbonization in Italy

The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP), an initiative of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), aims to demonstrate how countries can transform their energy systems by 2050 in order to achieve a low-carbon economy and significantly reduce the global risk of catastrophic climate change. Built upon a rigorous accounting of national circumstances, the DDPP defines transparent pathways supporting the decarbonization of energy systems while respecting the specifics of national political economy and the fulfillment of domestic development priorities. The project comprises 16 Country Research Teams, composed of leading research institutions from countries representing about 70% of global GHG emissions and at very different stages of development. These 16 countries are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. “Pathways to Deep Carbonization in Italy” contributes to the national debate on climate-change mitigation, and the importance of deep decarbonization, by examining three alternative pathways that could reduce Italian CO2 emissions by at least 40% in 2030 and 80% in 2050, compared to 1990. It analyzes the challenges the Italian energy system faces, and possible future technological developments that will need to be pursued.

Environmental options and technological innovation: an evolutionary game model

This paper analyzes the effects on economic agents’ behavior of an innovative environmental protection mechanism that the public administration of a tourist region may adopt to attract visitors while protecting the environment. On the one hand, the public administration sells to the tourists an environmental call option that gives them the possibility of being (partially or totally) reimbursed if the environmental quality in the region turns out to be unsatisfactory. On the other hand, it offers the firms that adopt an innovative, non-polluting technology an environmental put option that allows them to get a reimbursement for the additional costs imposed by the new technology if the environmental quality is sufficiently good. The aim of the paper is to study the dynamics that arise with this financial mechanism from the interaction between the economic agents and the public administration in an evolutionary game context. The evolution of visitors’ and firms’ behavior is modeled in the paper using the so-called replicator dynamics, according to which a given choice spreads across the population as long as its expected payoff is greater than the average payoff. From the model it emerges that such dynamics may lead either to a welfare-improving attractive Nash equilibrium, in which all firms adopt the environmental-friendly technology, or to a Pareto-dominated equilibrium with no technological innovation and no tourism. As shown in the paper, the attraction basin of the virtuous equilibrium will be maximum if total reimbursement is offered by the public administration to the visitors, and will be minimum if a simple entrance ticket is imposed on the tourists with no chance of reimbursement.

Are regional systems greening the economy? Local spillovers, green innovations and firms’ economic performances

ABSTRACT The adoption and diffusion of environmental innovations (EIs) is crucial to greening the economy and achieving win–win environmental/economic gains. A large and increasing literature has focused on the levers underlying EIs that are external to the firm, such as stakeholder and policy pressures. Little attention, however, has been devoted to the possible role of local spillovers of a sector/geographical nature as a factor that correlates with EIs and economic performances. A rich data set that covers the innovative activities and economic performances of firms in the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy, an area dense in manufacturing districts, is analysed. EIs’ drivers and effects on firms’ performance are investigated through a two-step procedure. First, we examine the relevance of spatial levers, namely, whether high rates of eco-innovators in a given local area induce the adoption of EIs in firms located in the same local area. The role of the ‘agglomeration lever’ turns out to be fairly local in nature: we find that spillovers are significantly inducing innovation within municipal boundaries. Second, we test whether EIs adoptions have significantly increased firms’ economic performances and find that some firms’ productivity performances are positively related to EI adoption.

Should we replace the environment?: Limits of economic growth in the presence of self‐protective choices

Purpose - To protect against the increasing environmental degradation many agents choose today to replace consumption of depleted environmental goods with that of privately produced substitute goods. The present paper aims to highlight how this “self-protective” behaviour that is increasingly frequent in modern societies may affect the welfare of the individuals. Design/methodology/approach - The paper presents a combination of narrative with argument and analysis. It first provides several examples of self-protective choices to give a heuristic view of this phenomenon and then examines their effects through a simple evolutionary model that leads the reader beyond a purely intuitive understanding of the substitution mechanism described in the first part. Findings - The paper shows that replacing environmental goods with artificial substitute goods may give rise to an “undesiderable growth” process, that is, a vicious circle between environmental degradation and private consumption which contributes to economic growth but may have negative effects on the welfare of the agents. Originality/value - The paper investigates an aspect of the link between environmental degradation and economic growth that has been mainly ignored in the literature so far. While most contributions have underlined that self-protective choices can boost economic growth, the paper goes one step forward and shows that they can actually give rise to a self-reinforcing growth process in which environmental degradation increases economic growth and viceversa, leading the economy on a welfare-reducing path.

The Effect of a Consumption-Based Accounting Method in National GHG Inventories: A Trilateral Trade System Application

The allocation of emissions embodied in international trade is crucial to evaluate the real impact of countries in the climate change and their responsibility in greenhouse gas emissions. In this paper we apply a new theoretical framework that allocates the emissions embodied in international trade and computes the consequent carbon transferred across countries, according to a consumption-based accounting. The method uses the value of goods traded internationally and the respective carbon intensity as a average national emissions coefficient.. We analyze a trilateral trade system composed by Sweden, Italy and Poland during the period 2000-2008. We find that, with respect to the conventional greenhouse gas national inventory schemes, consumption-based accounting implies an increase of Italian and Swedish emission responsibility by 1.4% and 11.8%, respectively, and a decrease of Polish one by 2.81%. We also assess the relevance of this framework at the sectoral level by hypothesizing a shift of Italian imports of Machinery and Transport Equipment from Poland to Sweden. We deduce that, through appropriate policies, importer nations could be encouraged to find producers with the best environmental performances while exporter nations could be induced to reduce their carbon intensity to stimulate the international demand for their goods. Finally, we discuss some policy implications deriving from the application of the consumption-based accounting. The analysis performed in the paper suggests that the consumption-based accounting could be an important tool in the climate change challenge to reduce global emissions.

Greenhouse gas emissions and the energy system: Are current trends sustainable?

This paper discusses whether recent energy trends are compatible with the requirements of sustainable development. For this purpose, using decomposition analysis, we derive a few long-term sustainability conditions for the energy system and examine whether they are satisfied on the basis of the currently available data. It emerges that an Environmental Kuznets Curve in energy intensity and/or carbon intensity is insufficient to satisfy the sustainability conditions identified in the paper. Moreover, using simple graphical analysis, we show that the decomposition approach and the EKC imply two different relationships between per capita income and carbon intensity and discuss the relative implications.

From Hubbert to Kuznets: on the sustainability of the current energy system

The current energy system is largely based on the use of fossil fuels. This poses serious constraints on the actual capacity of the economic systems to comply with two related conditions of sustainability, in terms of pollution and scarcity of natural resources. To examine this issue more deeply, the present work focuses attention on two relations, the Hubbert Curve and the Environmental Kuznets Curve, that are strictly related and can provide important indications on the actual satisfaction of the aforementioned conditions. From the analysis of the two curves, it emerges the necessity of a transition towards a different energy model that relies much more heavily on the use of renewable resources. For this reason, particular attention is devoted in the article to the factors that have slowed down so far such a transition process.