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The construction sector is of special interest within the Spanish economy, given its large economic dimension and environmental impact, particularly during the real estate boom prior to the last economic crisis that started in 2008. We study the CO2 emissions of construction activities in 2007, at the height of the construction boom, in the context of the productive structure of Spain. For this, we use an input–output subsystem method, which allows us to study the productive structure of the subsystem's activities, taking into account its links with the rest of the sectors. The decomposition of total emissions in four explanatory components allows us to make a classification of the different sectors according to the type of relationships that are established between the subsystem and the rest of the economy. Besides providing a better understanding of the environmental consequences of real state booms, we derive some implications for environmental policy from the analysis of these interrelations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the degree of polarisation in the international distribution of CO emissions per capita in the European Union. It is analytically relevant to examine the degree of instability inherent to a distribution and, in the analysed case, the likelihood that the distribution and its evolution will increase or decrease the chances of reaching an agreement on climate policy. Two approaches were used to measure polarisation: the endogenous approach, in which countries are grouped according to their similarity in terms of emissions, and the exogenous approach, in which countries are grouped geographically. Our findings indicate a clear decrease in polarisation since the mid-1990s, which can essentially be explained by the fact that the different groups have converged (i.e. antagonism among the CO emitters has decreased) as the contribution of energy intensity to between-group differences has decreased. This lower degree of polarisation in CO distribution suggests a situation more conducive to the possibility of reaching EU-wide agreements on the mitigation of CO emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The equity implications of alternative climate policy measures are an essential issue to be considered in the design of future international agreements to tackle global warming. This paper specifically analyses the future path of emissions and income distribution and its determinants in different scenarios. Whereas our analysis is driven by tools which are typically applied in the income distribution literature and which have recently been applied to the analysis of CO2 emissions distribution, a new methodological approach is that our study is driven by simulations run with the popular regionalised optimal growth climate change model RICE99 over the 1995–2105 period. We find that the architecture of environmental policies, the implementation of flexible mechanisms and income concentration are key determinants of emissions distribution over time. In particular we find a robust positive relationship between measures of inequalities in the distribution of emissions and income and that their magnitude will essentially depend on technological change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]