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Copyright of OECD Environment Working Papers is the property of Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of OECD Environment Working Papers is the property of Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of OECD Environment Working Papers is the property of Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article focuses on the involvement of private sector investment in low-carbon, climate-resilient (LCR) infrastructure within the framework of public-private partnerships (PPP) supported by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD). The reduction of greeenhouse gases (GHG) produced by LCR infrastructure is the key goal by which OECD governments encourage the private sector to participate in. The OECD provides financing mechanism to assist in achieving this goal.

This paper reviews the recent experience of Germany in encouraging innovation to reduce negative environmental impacts of economic activity. The essence of the German approach to policy-induced environmental innovation is discussed in the context of changing policy objectives, and illustrated with selected examples from waste management, renewable energy and transportation. The paper covers environmental and general innovation policies and the cross-cutting issue of policy co-ordination. Particular attention is paid to analysis of policies to promote renewable energy, including feed-in tariffs, and policies to promote advanced transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An appendix of the document "OECD Environment Working Papers," focusing on the definition of low carbon, climate resilient infrastructure system, is presented.

This paper presents updated results for the cost of ambient air pollution in 41 countries: the 6 major emerging economies known as the BRIICS - Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa - and the 35 member-countries of the OECD. It draws on the epidemiological evidence base assembled in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015, in order to detail results for mortalities from ambient air pollution (AAP) - ambient particulate matter pollution (APMP) and ambient ozone pollution (AOP) - in each of these 41 countries, at successive five-year intervals from 2000 to 2015. Mortalities from AAP, from both APMP and AOP, increased over the fifteen-year period from 2000 to 2015, both in the BRIICS taken together and in the OECD countries taken together. So, too, did the economic cost of these mortalities. The burden of ambient air pollution in the 41 countries under study stood at a toll of around 3.2 million deaths and at a cost of around USD 5.1 trillion in 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An appendix that assesses the damages associated with climate change using the Regional Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (RICE) and the Dynamic Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (DICE) is presented.

The article provides an overview of how financial mobilisation and leverage have been applied and studied in practice.

The article presents a descriptive analysis of investment flows in 14 climate-related sectors as well as observed public-private finance ratios. It includes a discussion of the types of private and public transactions, characterisation of sectors and direction of flows. Also discussed is the relative importance of flows from multilaterals finance compared to volumes of and domestic finance.

In July 2008, the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) launched North America's first revenue-neutral carbon tax reform. The tax, which applied to all combustion sources of all fossil fuels, was introduced at a rate of CAD 10 per tonne of CO2, with a schedule for annual increases of CAD 5 per tonne of CO2 until the tax reached CAD 30 per tonne of CO2 in 2012. Tax revenues were fully recycled via a combination of corporate and income tax cuts, phased in over time. This paper reviews the political economy of the BC tax in three distinct periods -- its origins, its survival in the face of political backlash, and its longer-term prospects. The emergence of a carbon tax in British Columbia reflected a confluence of political conditions ripe for carbon taxation: availability of untapped hydro potential, a surge in public concern for climate change, a committed leader with the institutional capacity to pursue his personal policy preferences, and a right-ofcentre government with the trust of the business community. While public concern justified some degree of policy reform, the decision to pursue an efficient, but potentially controversial, carbon tax was made by the Premier himself. However, with input from the business community, the Liberal government managed to craft a broad-based and revenue-neutral tax that did not provoke significant business objections. The tax did provoke public opposition, however. Popular perceptions of the tax as unfair, which emerged initially in rural communities, were reinforced and extended by the opposition New Democratic Party via a populist "Axe the Tax" campaign. However, despite a surge in public opposition to the tax, and a corresponding decline in support for the governing party, the Liberal government, and thus its carbon tax, managed to survive an election the following year. The outcome arguably had little to do with the carbon tax, but is explained, rather, by a resurgence of voter support for the Liberals in response to the intervening global recession. Five years later, the BC experience suggests that the political economy of an established carbon tax is very different from that of a new one. Public support has rebounded, with the fraction of voters supporting the tax now almost double the fraction opposed. Although business opposition emerged as the tax was gradually increased and as other North American jurisdictions failed to follow through on their commitments to carbon pricing, that opposition has been constrained by two factors. Academic studies are beginning to emerge suggesting that the tax has prompted greenhouse gas emissions reductions without significant harm to the economy. In addition, the BC government has become increasingly reliant on carbon tax revenues during a period of limited economic growth. In effect, as public attention has subsided, it has become easier to keep the existing tax than to risk renewed public ire by replacing it. That said, the provincial government has committed to freeze the tax rate at CAD 30 per tonne for five years, and likely will face continuing political pressure for exemptions from trade-exposed industries. It is critical that any concessions be based on sound analysis and clear principles rather than political leverage, and also carefully designed to maintain an effective carbon price signal. Experience with concessions granted to date to local governments, rural voters, and farmers provide cause for concern in that regard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the private sector investments in low-carbon and climate-resistant (LCR) infrastructure within the framework of public-private partnerships (PPP) in Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) countries. Investments in LCR infrastructure are guided by the Policy framework for Investment which will be integrated into the best practices in climate change policy of OECD governments. Investments in PPP projects in developing countries are assessed.

The article focuses on the involvement of private sector investments in low-carbon and climate-resilient (LCR) infrastructure within the framework of public-private partnerships (PPP) in Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) and non-OECD countries. The reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) produced by LCR infrastructure is the key goal of the PPP. Governments are encouraged to provide policies and use public spending to enhance private capital.

The article discusses the role of low-carbon and climate-resistant (LCR) infrastructure in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) in Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) countries. The level of investments in LCR infrastructure is assessed by gross fixed capital formation (GFCF), the total value of acquisitions of fixed assets and non-produced assets in an economy. The computation for GFCF is reflected as a percentage of gross domestic products (GDP).

The article presents a study which examined climate change mitigation and adaptation technologies that are indigenous and relevant to the needs of Africa. The data on patents and inventors relating to renewable energy, combustion-related technologies, desalination, water supply, electricity transmission, remote energy services and weather-related technologies from 1980-2009 are used. The patents from Africa are compared with patents produced in other countries.

The article examines the impact of flooding on the economy of Mumbai, India. Using the Adaptive Regional Input-Output (ARIO) model, the value added loss caused by the July 2005 flooding in 25 sectors was 395 million U.S. dollars. There was no correlation found between direct economic losses and total losses as larger disaster tend to cause larger production losses, among other reasons. The authors also predict higher indirect and direct costs from flooding in the 2080s.

This article describes the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ENV-Linkages model. The model succeeds the OECD GREEN model for environmental studies and is documented in Burniaux and Chateau (2008). The global economic model is built primarily on a database of national economies. Several works, including two OECD books, have extensively used the ENV-Linkages model.

Copyright of OECD Environment Working Papers is the property of Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents the results of estimations of private finance mobilisation.

The article deals with the financing schemes and risks for low-carbon and climate-resistant (LCR) infrastructure in Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) countries. Capitalization of LCR infrastructure and other climate change-mitigating projects can avail of the funds coming from the stock and capital markets and financial institutions like banks. The risks associated with this kind of capitalizaton are connected with either the environment or the financial system.

The article discusses the results of a study on the impact of flooding on marginalized population and informal economy in Mumbai, India. About 90% of households were affected by the July 2005 floods while 39% of them said they had decreased food intake because of the disaster. House reconstruction costs and their comparisons with average income and savings are explored. The study also assessed the mean damage to household assets and man-day losses caused by the floods.

The article presents an appendix that describes the calibration procedure of the adapted version of the Dynamic Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (DICE), the Regional Integrated Model of Climate and the Economy (RICE), and the World Induced Technical Change Hybrid (WITCH) models.

An appendix the details the calibration of the adapted version of the World Induced Technical Change Hybrid (WITCH) integrated assessment model of climate and the economy is presented.

Several charts are presented that show the results of the study on the costs, revenues, and effectiveness of the Copenhagen Accord Emission Pledges for 2020.

The article discusses the advantages and the disadvantages of measures proposed to deal with adverse competitiveness impacts of environmental policy. It describes the measures to soften the impacts of environmental policies in regulated countries, to promote environmental actions in non-regulated countries, and to adjust the impacts of environmental policies at the border.

The article highlights the possible uses of the results of a study on private finance mobilisation. The analysis shows the potential of the results to serve as a method to attribute known aggregate volumes of renewable energy-related private finance to public finance and policy interventions and also be used to construct more qualitative adjustment factors that could be applied to mobilisation.

The article discusses the 2011 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s Environmental Policy and Individual Behaviour Change (EPIC) survey regarding food expenditure of households in Europe for fresh fruit and vegetables labelled as organic. Topics include the animal welfare label in the Netherlands, a table showing the results of factors affecting the expenditure share on organic fruit and vegetables, and environmental concerns related to food choices.

An appendix that examines the integrated assessment models (IAM) of the economics of climate change is presented.

The article shows the process of building a business-as-usual baseline projection to assess economic impact of climate change and environmental policies to nations worldwide. This projection applies the conditional convergence hypothesis to address long-term economic growth of a country according to a standard aggregate Cobb-Douglas production function. The projection is applied to each of 4 parts to forecast future economic growth including human capital and capital/output ratios.

The article discusses the private sector investments in low-carbon and climate-resistant (LCR) infrastructure within the framework of public-private partnerships (PPP) in Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) countries. The creation of a green economy based on sustainable infrastructure is the goal of PPP. Investors should be encouraged by governments to participate in the PPP by reducing the risks involved in LCR infrastucture.