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To design relevant policy measures and incentives to accelerate the uptake of electric vehicles in Australia, it is important to understand who the early adopters of electric vehicles are, their reasons for choosing an electric vehicle and their levels of satisfaction in driving, charging locations, home charging and other experiences. This article presents the results of a survey of early adopters in Queensland, Australia. The data have been analysed to understand the socio-demographic profiles of early adopters and to explore variations between two groups of adopters: Tesla owners, having the highest uptake of battery electric vehicles in Australia, and non-Tesla owners of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The analysis suggests that both groups of early adopters are predominantly male, university educated and have substantially higher incomes than the state average. Peer and media influences, and having a test drive, play a significant role in owning a Tesla. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many cities and urban areas are growing rapidly to accommodate increased population and economic activities. However, unplanned urban growth is putting significant pressure on existing water supply systems, green infrastructures, and natural systems, especially in developing countries. The water sensitive cities concepts allow to plan and systematically develop integrated urban water management to achieve balanced sustainable outcomes. In this paper, we have noted that through full implementation of existing long-term masterplans water sensitive cities concepts could be internalized in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. We emphasize implementation of existing masterplans and have further identified six broad groups of key strategies that could accelerate this internalization: development of a vision and political willingness; strengthened government policy support and coordinated outcomes; adaptive decision-making capacity; private sector engagement; community and NGO engagements and implementation of multi-functional water sensitive urban designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Living streams are an important element of decentralised stormwater management solutions. They are actively promoted due to their ability to generate multiple ecosystem services, including water quality improvement, biodiversity protection and aesthetics. However, a lack of monetised values of ecosystem services of living stream projects makes it difficult to assess the net benefits of investing in such projects. This study uses the hedonic pricing method to estimate the capitalised amenity values of living streams and other public open spaces (POS) in housing and lot markets for the first time. The study area includes two newly greenfield‐developed suburbs in the Perth metropolitan area. We find the positive impact of living streams and other POS on the house and lot prices. However, living streams generate greater value than other types of POS. Furthermore, the POS (including living streams) that support active recreation are valued more than basic POS without active recreation features. Finally, we observe, for the first time, that the benefits of planned but not yet constructed POS (including living stream) are similar to the completed POS (including living stream) in both housing and lot markets. This information is useful for policymakers and developers making informed decisions about water‐sensitive urban infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis has been used to explain the relationship between environmental degradation and economic condition. This study formulates an augmented EKC framework to incorporate the effect of agriculture, forestation and energy consumption on CO2 emission and estimates the model using the data from 24 OECD countries between 1990 and 2018. The study utilizes individual-country analysis and panel dynamic analysis for the empirical investigation. The results show a positive relationship between CO2 emission and fossil fuel use – a 1% increase in fossil fuel consumption will increase CO2 emission by 0.76%, and a negative relationship with renewable energy – a 1% increase in renewable energy consumption will reduce CO2 emission by 0.14%. The impact of forest cover and agricultural production on CO2 emission is mixed at the single-country level. The panel fixed-effect results reveal that a 1% increase in agricultural production and forest cover leads to a 0.04% and 0.63% increase in CO2 emission, respectively. There is also strong evidence supporting the presence of the EKC hypothesis. The global CO2 emission reduction strategies, such as carbon taxes and emission trading schemes, must acknowledge and incorporate the interplay among -key macro-level variables revealed in this study to enhance their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cost of providing environmental goods and services by private landholders is often highly uncertain. However, standard bidding models for conservation tenders often ignore this uncertainty. As a result, they fail to suggest suitable mechanisms to reduce the negative impact of cost uncertainty. We contribute to this knowledge gap by developing an optimal bidding model for a risky and budget-constrained tender in the presence of an embedded insurance mechanism, offering income protection. Results from our analysis show that, relative to uninsured landholders, landholders paying an actuarially fair premium tendered lower bids, potentially improving the cost effectiveness of allocating conservation contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]