World Bank - Policy Research Working Paper - Energy

Power pools constitute a set of sometimes complex institutional arrangements for efficiency-enhancing coordination among power systems. Where such institutional arrangements do not exist, there still can be scope for voluntary electricity-sharing agreements among power systems. This paper uses a particular type of efficient risk-sharing model with limited commitment to demonstrate that second-best coordination improvements can be achieved with low to moderate risks of participants leaving the agreement. In the absence of an impartial market operator who can observe fluctuations in connected power systems, establishing quasi-markets for trading excess electricity through the kind of mechanism described here helps achieve sustainable cooperation in mutually beneficial electricity sharing.2014-06-30T04:00:00.000Z2014-06-30T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Infrastructure Economics and Finance|Macroeconomics and Economic GrowthEnergy Production and Transportation|Energy Technology & Transmission|Infrastructure Economics|Political Economy|Power & Energy ConversionThe World RegionNikandrova, Arina|Steinbuks, JevgenijsContracting for the second best in dysfunctional electricity marketsEnglishWorldEnergy|Infrastructure Economics and Finance|Macroeconomics and Economic GrowthEnergy Production and Transportation|Energy Technology & Transmission|Infrastructure Economics|Political Economy|Power & Energy ConversionWPS6955WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

This paper covers three policy-relevant aspects of the carbon content of electricity that are well established among integrated assessment models but under-discussed in the policy debate. First, climate stabilization at any level from 2 to 3°C requires electricity to be almost carbon-free by the end of the century. As such, the question for policy makers is not whether to decarbonize electricity but when to do it. Second, decarbonization of electricity is still possible and required if some of the key zero-carbon technologies -- such as nuclear power or carbon capture and storage -- turn out to be unavailable. Third, progressive decarbonization of electricity is part of every country's cost-effective means of contributing to climate stabilization. In addition, this paper provides cost-effective pathways of the carbon content of electricity -- computed from the results of AMPERE, a recent integrated assessment model comparison study. These pathways may be used to benchmark existing decarbonization targets, such as those set by the European Energy Roadmap or the Clean Power Plan in the United States, or inform new policies in other countries. The pathways can also be used to assess the desirable uptake rates of electrification technologies, such as electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, electric stoves and heat pumps, or industrial electric furnaces. 2014-10-27T04:00:00.000Z2014-10-27T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Transport|EnvironmentClimate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Energy Production and Transportation|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and Environment|Transport Economics Policy & PlanningThe World RegionAudoly, Richard|Vogt-Schilb, Adrien|Guivarch, CelinePathways toward zero-carbon electricity required for climate stabilizationEnglishWorldEnergy|Transport|EnvironmentClimate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Energy Production and Transportation|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and Environment|Transport Economics Policy & PlanningWPS7075WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

Morocco has set an ambitious target of supplying 42 percent of electricity through renewable sources, 14 percent each through hydro, wind, and solar, by 2020. To analyze the economic and environmental implications of implementing this target, this study uses a dynamic computable general equilibrium model with foresight that includes explicit representation of various electricity generation technologies. Two types of policy instruments, a production subsidy financed through fossil fuel taxation and a renewable energy mandate financed through increased electricity prices, have been considered to attract investment in renewable energy. The study shows that meeting the renewable target would achieve up to 15 percent reduction of national greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 compared with a situation in the absence of the target, or the baseline. However, meeting the target would decrease household consumption of goods and services, thereby worsening household welfare. The study also shows that the renewable production subsidy financed through fossil fuel taxation is superior to the mandate policy to meet the renewable energy target in Morocco, as the former would cause a lower loss in economic welfare and a larger reduction of greenhouse gas emissions than the latter.2014-06-24T04:00:00.000Z2014-06-24T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|EnvironmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Energy Demand|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and EnvironmentMiddle East and North AfricaTimilsina, Govinda R.|Landis, FlorianEconomics of transiting to renewable energy in Morocco : a general equilibrium analysisEnglishMoroccoEnergy|EnvironmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Energy Demand|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and EnvironmentWPS6940MoroccoEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperMiddle East and North Africa

This paper focuses on the institutional arrangements needed for facilitating regional electricity cooperation. The paper begins by discussing the theory of international trade cooperation in electricity, with a view to discussing what preconditions might be important in facilitating wide area trading across national borders. It then discusses two sets of case studies. The first set focuses on three regional developing country power pools -- the Southern African Power Pool, the West African Power Pool, and the Central American Power Market. The second set focuses on three regional power pools in more developed countries -- one in the United States, the Single Electricity Market in Ireland, and the South East Europe market. These cases highlight the potential and difficulty of having cross-jurisdictional power pools. In the light of the theory and evidence presented, key lessons are drawn in the areas of preconditions for trading, necessary institutional arrangements, practicalities of timetabling, reasons to be hopeful about future prospects, and suggestions for future research.2014-06-26T04:00:00.000Z2014-06-26T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Environment|Finance and Financial Sector DevelopmentMarkets and Market Access|Energy Production and Transportation|Debt Markets|Electric Power|Environmental Economics & PoliciesThe World RegionOseni, Musiliu O.|Pollitt, Michael G.Institutional arrangements for the promotion of regional integration of electricity markets : international experienceEnglishWorldEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Environment|Finance and Financial Sector DevelopmentMarkets and Market Access|Energy Production and Transportation|Debt Markets|Electric Power|Environmental Economics & PoliciesWPS6947WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

To assess how capital stocks adapt to energy price changes, it is necessary to account for the impacts on different vintages of capital and to account separately for price-induced and autonomous improvements in the energy efficiency of capital stock. The results of econometric analysis for five manufacturing industries in 19 OECD countries between 1990 and 2005 indicate that higher energy prices resulted in smaller energy use due to both improved energy efficiency of capital stock and reduced demand for the energy input. The investment response to energy prices varied considerably across manufacturing industries, being more significant in energy-intensive sectors. The results of policy simulations indicate that a carbon tax can deliver significant reductions in energy consumption in the medium run with modest declines in energy-using capital stock.2014-06-18T04:00:00.000Z2014-06-18T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic GrowthEnergy Production and Transportation|Political Economy|Climate Change Economics|Economic Theory & Research|Markets and Market AccessThe World RegionSteinbuks, Jevgenijs|Neuhoff, KarstenAssessing energy price induced improvements in efficiency of capital in OECD manufacturing industriesEnglishWorldEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic GrowthEnergy Production and Transportation|Political Economy|Climate Change Economics|Economic Theory & Research|Markets and Market AccessWPS6929WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

Economic, agronomic, and biophysical drivers affect global land use, so all three influences need to be considered in evaluating economically optimal allocations of the world's land resources. A dynamic, forward-looking optimization framework applied over the course of the coming century shows that although some deforestation is optimal in the near term, in the absence of climate change regulation, the desirability of further deforestation is eliminated by mid-century. Although adverse productivity shocks from climate change have a modest effect on global land use, such shocks combined with rapid growth in energy prices lead to significant deforestation and higher greenhouse gas emissions than in the baseline. Imposition of a global greenhouse gas emissions constraint further heightens the competition for land, as fertilizer use declines and land-based mitigation strategies expand. However, anticipation of the constraint largely dilutes its environmental effectiveness, as deforestation accelerates prior to imposition of the target.2014-06-18T04:00:00.000Z2014-06-18T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentClimate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Environmental Economics & Policies|Climate Change Economics|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and EnvironmentThe World RegionSteinbuks, Jevgenijs|Hertel, Thomas W.Confronting the food-energy-environment trilemma : global land use in the long runEnglishWorldEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentClimate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Environmental Economics & Policies|Climate Change Economics|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and EnvironmentWPS6928WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

This paper considers the design and performance of auction mechanisms used to deploy renewable energy in three emerging economies: Brazil, China, and India. The analysis focuses on the countries' experience in various dimensions, including price reductions, bidding dynamics, coordination with transmission planning, risk allocation strategies, and the issue of domestic content. Several countries have turned to public competitive bidding as a mechanism for developing the renewable generation sector in recent years, with the number of countries implementing some sort of auction procedure rising from nine in 2009 to 36 by the end of 2011 and about 43 in 2013. In general, the use of auctions makes sense when the contracting authority expects a large volume of potentially suitable bids, so that the gains from competition can offset the costs of implementation. A study of the successes and failures of the particular auction design schemes described in this paper can be instrumental in informing future policy making.2014-10-14T04:00:00.000Z2014-10-14T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Environment|Finance and Financial Sector Development|Private Sector DevelopmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Markets and Market Access|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Debt Markets|Emerging MarketsLatin America & Caribbean|East Asia and Pacific|South AsiaElizondo Azuela, Gabriela|Barroso, Luiz|Khanna, Ashish|Wang, Xiaodong|Wu, Yun|Cunha, GabrielPerformance of renewable energy auctions : experience in Brazil, China and IndiaEnglishBrazil|China|IndiaEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Environment|Finance and Financial Sector Development|Private Sector DevelopmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Markets and Market Access|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Debt Markets|Emerging MarketsWPS7062Brazil|China|IndiaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperLatin America & Caribbean|East Asia and Pacific|South Asia

Improvement of energy efficiency is one of the main options to reduce energy demand and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Ukraine. However, large-scale deployment of energy efficient technologies has been constrained by several financial, technical, information, behavioral, and institutional barriers. This study assesses these barriers through a survey of 500 industrial and commercial firms throughout Ukraine. The results from the survey were used in a cumulative multi-logit model to understand the importance of the barriers. The analysis shows that financial barriers caused by high upfront costs of energy efficient technologies, higher costs of finance, and higher opportunity costs of energy efficiency investment are key barriers to the adoption of energy efficiency measures in Ukraine. Institutional barriers particularly lack government policies, which also contributes to the slow adoption of energy efficient technologies in the country. The results suggest targeted policy and credit enhancements could help trigger adoption of energy efficient measures. The empirical analysis shows strong inter-linkages among the barriers and finds heterogeneity between industrial and commercial sectors on the realization of the barriers. 2014-06-12T04:00:00.000Z2014-06-12T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentClimate Change Economics|Energy Production and Transportation|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and Environment|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House GasesEurope and Central AsiaHochman, Gal|Timilsina, Govinda R.Why has energy efficiency not scaled-up in the industrial and commercial sectors in Ukraine ? an empirical analysisEnglishUkraineEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentClimate Change Economics|Energy Production and Transportation|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and Environment|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House GasesWPS6920UkraineEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperEurope and Central Asia

India's manufacturing sector has undergone many spatial adjustments since 1989, including, for example, the organized sector's migration to rural locations, the powerful rise of informal manufacturing within cities, and the development of intermediate cities for manufacturing. This paper investigates the impact of these spatial adjustments for electricity usage in India’s manufacturing sector. Striking spatial differences in energy usage exist, and whether spatial adjustments exacerbate or alleviate energy consumption strains is important for issues ranging from reducing India's power blackouts to stemming rising pollution levels. Using detailed surveys for the organized and unorganized sectors, the analysis finds that electricity usage per unit of output in urban plants declined steadily during 1989-2010. In the rural areas, by contrast, electricity consumption per unit of output for organized sector plants peaked in 2000 and thereafter declined. Decomposing the observed trends in aggregate electricity usage from 2000 onwards, the paper finds that most reductions in electricity usage per unit of output came from reductions in existing sites of activity (defined through state-industry-urban/rural cells). The second biggest factor leading to reduced usage was lower usage in fast-growing sectors. By contrast, spatial movements of manufacturing activity across India did not significantly change usage levels and may have even increased them. This appears to have been in part because of the split nature of the mobility, with organized and unorganized sectors migrating in opposite directions.2014-10-07T04:00:00.000Z2014-10-07T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|EnvironmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and Environment|Energy DemandSouth AsiaGhani, Ejaz|Goswami, Arti Grover|Kerr, William R.Spatial dynamics of electricity usage in IndiaEnglishIndiaEnergy|EnvironmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and Environment|Energy DemandWPS7055IndiaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperSouth Asia

Household air pollution is the second leading cause of disease in Madagascar, where more than 99 percent of households rely on solid biomass, such as charcoal, wood, and crop waste, as the main cooking fuel. Only a limited number of studies have looked at the emissions and health consequences of cook stoves in Africa. This paper summarizes an initiative to monitor household air pollution in two towns in Madagascar, with a stratified sample of 154 and 184 households. Concentrations of fine particulate matter and carbon monoxide in each kitchen were monitored three times using UCB Particle Monitors and GasBadge Pro Single Gas Monitors. The average concentrations of both pollutants significantly exceeded World Health Organization guidelines for indoor exposure. A fixed-effect panel regression analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of various factors, including fuel (charcoal, wood, and ethanol), stove (traditional and improved ethanol), kitchen size, ventilation, building materials, and ambient environment. Judging by its effect on fine particulate matter and carbon monoxide, ethanol is significantly cleaner than biomass fuels and, for both pollutants, a larger kitchen significantly improves the quality of household air. Compared with traditional charcoal stoves, improved charcoal stoves were found to have no significant impact on air quality, but the improved wood stove with a chimney was effective in reducing concentrations of carbon monoxide in the kitchen, as was ventilation.2013-10-09T04:00:00.000Z2013-10-09T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Transport|EnvironmentRenewable Energy|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Energy Production and Transportation|Energy and Poverty Alleviation|Transport and EnvironmentAfricaDasgupta, Susmita|Martin, Paul|Samad, Hussain A.Addressing household air pollution : a case study in rural MadagascarEnglishMadagascarEnergy|Transport|EnvironmentRenewable Energy|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Energy Production and Transportation|Energy and Poverty Alleviation|Transport and EnvironmentWPS6627MadagascarEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperAfrica

The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme is the first international cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide and the largest carbon pricing regime in the world. A significant concern over the Emissions Trading Scheme has been the potential impact on the competitiveness of industry. Using data on 5,873 firms in ten European countries during 2001-2009, this paper assesses the impact on three variables through which the effects on firm competitiveness may manifest -- unit material costs, employment and revenue. The analysis focuses on the three most heavily-emitting industries under the program -- power, cement, and iron and steel. Empirical results indicate that the Emissions Trading Scheme has had different impacts across these three sectors. Although no impacts are found on any of the three variables in the cement and iron and steel industries, a positive effect is found on both material costs and revenue in the power sector. The effect on material costs likely reflects fuel-switching to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while that on revenue may be partly due to cost pass-through to consumers in a market that is less exposed to competition outside the Europen Union. Overall the findings do not substantiate concerns over carbon leakage, job loss or industry competitiveness during the study period.2013-10-18T04:00:00.000Z2013-10-18T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Environment|Private Sector DevelopmentClimate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Climate Change Economics|Energy Production and Transportation|E-Business|Environment and Energy EfficiencyEurope and Central AsiaChan, Hei Sing|Li, Shanjun|Zhang, FanFirm competitiveness and the European union emissions trading schemeEnglishEuropeEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Environment|Private Sector DevelopmentClimate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Climate Change Economics|Energy Production and Transportation|E-Business|Environment and Energy EfficiencyWPS6662EuropeEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperEurope and Central Asia

Which foreign direct investments are most affected by political instability? Analysis of quarterly greenfield investment flows into countries in the Middle East and North Africa from 2003 to 2012 shows that adverse political shocks are associated with significantly reduced investment inflows in the non-resource tradable sectors. By contrast, investments in natural resource sectors and non-tradable activities appear insensitive to such shocks. Consistent with these patterns, the significant reduction in investment inflows in Arab Spring affected economies was starkest in the non-resource manufacturing sector. Political instability is thus associated with increased reliance on non-tradables and aggravated resource dependence. Conversely, how intensified political instability affects aggregate foreign direct investment is critically contingent on the initial sector composition of these flows.2013-12-09T05:00:00.000Z2013-12-09T05:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Finance and Financial Sector Development|Private Sector DevelopmentE-Business|Debt Markets|Emerging Markets|Investment and Investment Climate|Energy Production and TransportationMiddle East and North AfricaBurger, Martijn|Ianchovichina, Elena|Rijkers, BobRisky business : political instability and greenfield foreign direct investment in the Arab worldEnglishMiddle East and North AfricaEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Finance and Financial Sector Development|Private Sector DevelopmentE-Business|Debt Markets|Emerging Markets|Investment and Investment Climate|Energy Production and TransportationWPS6716Middle East and North AfricaEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperMiddle East and North Africa

The Clean Development Mechanism established under the Kyoto Protocol allows industrialized Annex I countries to offset part of their domestic emissions by investing in emissions-reduction projects in developing non-Annex I countries. Computable general equilibrium analysis of the Clean Development Mechanism's impacts so far mimics the Clean Development Mechanism as a sector emissions trading scheme, thereby overstating its potential to save climate change mitigation costs. This study develops a novel approach that represents the Clean Development Mechanism more realistically by compensating Clean Development Mechanism implementing sectors for additional abatement cost and by endogenizing Clean Development Mechanism credits as a function of investment. Compared with previous representations, the proposed approach is more consistent in its incentive structure and investment characteristics at the sector level. An empirical application of the new methodology demonstrates that the economy-wide cost savings from the Clean Development Mechanism tend to be lower than suggested by conventional modeling approaches while Clean Development Mechanism implementing sectors do not lose in output.2013-12-11T05:00:00.000Z2013-12-11T05:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentClimate Change Economics|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Energy Production and Transportation|Economic Theory & Research|Environment and Energy EfficiencyThe World RegionBohringer, Christoph|Rutherford, Thomas F.|Springmannc, MarcoClean-development investments : an incentive-compatible CGE modeling frameworkEnglishWorldEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentClimate Change Economics|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Energy Production and Transportation|Economic Theory & Research|Environment and Energy EfficiencyWPS6720WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

The Government of Bangladesh, with help from the World Bank and other donors, has provided aid to a local agency called Infrastructure Development Company Limited and its partner organizations to devise a credit scheme for marketing solar home system units and making these an affordable alternative to grid electricity for poor people in remote areas. This paper uses household survey data to examine the financing scheme behind the dissemination of these solar home systems, in particular the role of the subsidy; the factors that determine the adoption of the systems in rural Bangladesh; and the welfare impacts of such adoption. The paper finds that while the subsidy has been declining over time, the demand for solar home systems has seen phenomenal growth, mostly because of technological developments that have made the systems increasingly more affordable. Households with better physical and educational endowments are more likely to adopt solar home systems than poor households. The price of the system matters in household decision making -- a 10 percent decline in the price of the system increases the overall demand for a solar panel by 2 percent. As for the benefits, adoption of a solar home system improves children’s evening study time, lowers kerosene consumption, and provides health benefits for household members, in particular for women. It is also found to increase women's decision-making ability in certain household affairs. Finally, it is found to increase household consumption expenditure, although at a small scale.2013-12-12T05:00:00.000Z2013-12-12T05:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Renewable Energy|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Climate Change Economics|Economic Theory & ResearchSouth AsiaSamad, Hussain A.|Khandker, Shahidur R.|Asaduzzaman, M.|Yunus, MohammadThe benefits of solar home systems :an analysis from BangladeshEnglishBangladeshEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Renewable Energy|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Climate Change Economics|Economic Theory & ResearchWPS6724BangladeshEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperSouth Asia

Governments invest billions of dollars annually in long-term projects. Yet deep uncertainties pose formidable challenges to making near-term decisions that make long-term sense. Methods that identify robust decisions have been recommended for investment lending but are not widely used. This paper seeks to help bridge this gap and, with a demonstration, motivate and equip analysts better to manage uncertainty in investment decisions. The paper first reviews the economic analysis of ten World Bank projects. It finds that analysts seek to manage uncertainty but use traditional approaches that do not evaluate options over the full range of possible futures. Second, the paper applies a different approach, Robust Decision Making, to the economic analysis of a 2006 World Bank project, the Electricity Generation Rehabilitation and Restructuring Project, which sought to improve Turkey's energy security. The analysis shows that Robust Decision Making can help decision makers answer specific and useful questions: How do options perform across a wide range of potential future conditions? Under what specific conditions does the leading option fail to meet decision makers' goals? Are those conditions sufficiently likely that decision makers should choose a different option? Such knowledge informs rather than replaces decision makers' deliberations. It can help them systematically, rigorously, and transparently compare their options and select one that is robust. Moreover, the paper demonstrates that analysts can use the same data and models for Robust Decision Making as are typically used in economic analyses. Finally, the paper discusses the challenges in applying such methods and how they can be overcome.2014-02-03T05:00:00.000Z2014-02-03T05:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Environment|Finance and Financial Sector DevelopmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Climate Change Economics|Debt Markets|Non Bank Financial Institutions|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House GasesThe World RegionBonzanigo, Laura|Kalra, NidhiMaking informed investment decisions in an uncertain world : a short demonstrationEnglishWorldEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Environment|Finance and Financial Sector DevelopmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Climate Change Economics|Debt Markets|Non Bank Financial Institutions|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House GasesWPS6765WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

This paper exploits unique features of a recently introduced tariff schedule for natural gas in Buenos Aires to estimate the short-run impact of price shocks on residential energy utilization. The schedule induces a nonlinear and non-monotonic relationship between households' accumulated consumption and unit prices, thus generating exogenous price variation, which is exploited in a regression-discontinuity design. The results reveal that a price increase causes a prompt and significant decline in gas consumption. They also indicate that consumers respond more to recent past bills than to expected prices, which argues against the assumption that consumers have perfect awareness of complex price schedules.2014-02-25T05:00:00.000Z2014-02-25T05:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic GrowthConsumption|Climate Change Economics|Economic Theory & Research|Energy Production and Transportation|Markets and Market AccessThe World RegionBastos, Paulo|Castro, Lucio|Cristia, Julian|Scartascini, CarlosDoes energy consumption respond to price shocks ? evidence from a regression-discontinuity designEnglishWorldEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic GrowthConsumption|Climate Change Economics|Economic Theory & Research|Energy Production and Transportation|Markets and Market AccessWPS6785WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

Decision makers facing abatement targets need to decide which abatement measures to implement, and in which order. This paper investigates the ability of marginal abatement cost (MAC) curves to inform this decision, reanalysing a MAC curve developed by the World Bank on Brazil. Misinterpreting MAC curves and focusing on short-term targets (e.g., for 2020) would lead to under-invest in expensive, long-to-implement and large-potential options, such as clean transportation infrastructure. Meeting short-term targets with marginal energy-efficiency improvements would lead to carbon-intensive lock-ins that make longer-term targets (e.g., for 2030 and beyond) impossible or too expensive to reach. Improvements to existing MAC curves are proposed, based on (1) enhanced data collection and reporting; (2) a simple optimization tool that accounts for constraints on implementation speeds; and (3) new graphical representations of MAC curves. Designing climate mitigation policies can be done through a pragmatic combination of two approaches. The synergy approach is based on MAC curves to identify the cheapest mitigation options and maximize co-benefits. The urgency approach considers the long-term objective (e.g., halving emissions by 2050) and works backward to identify actions that need to be implemented early, such as public support to clean infrastructure and zero-carbon technologies.2014-03-18T04:00:00.000Z2014-03-18T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentClimate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Climate Change Economics|Energy Production and Transportation|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and EnvironmentLatin America & CaribbeanVogt-Schilb, Adrien|Hallegatte, Stephane|de Gouvello ChristopheLong-term mitigation strategies and marginal abatement cost curves : a case study on BrazilEnglishBrazilEnergy|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentClimate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Climate Change Economics|Energy Production and Transportation|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and EnvironmentWPS6808BrazilEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperLatin America & Caribbean

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the degree of co-movement among the nominal price returns of 11 major energy, agricultural and food commodities based on monthly data between 1970 and 2013. A uniform-spacings testing approach, a multivariate dynamic conditional correlation model and a rolling regression procedure are used to study the extent and the time-evolution of unconditional and conditional correlations. The results indicate that (i) the price returns of energy and agricultural commodities are highly correlated; (ii) the overall level of co-movement among commodities increased in recent years, especially between energy and agricultural commodities and in particular in the cases of maize and soybean oil, which are important inputs in the production of biofuels; and (iii) particularly after 2007, stock market volatility is positively associated with the co-movement of price returns across markets.2014-04-28T04:00:00.000Z2014-04-28T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Industry|Agriculture|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Private Sector DevelopmentCrops and Crop Management Systems|Energy Production and Transportation|Markets and Market Access|Emerging Markets|Food & Beverage IndustryThe World Regionde Nicola, Francesca|De Pace, Pierangelo|Hernandez, Manuel A.Co-movement of major commodity price returns : time-series assessmentEnglishWorldEnergy|Industry|Agriculture|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|Private Sector DevelopmentCrops and Crop Management Systems|Energy Production and Transportation|Markets and Market Access|Emerging Markets|Food & Beverage IndustryWPS6845WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region

The analysis of household energy consumption patterns is critical for evaluating public mechanisms, such as subsidies and social tariffs that aim to provide lower income earners with better access to energy sources. This paper focuses on Mexican households to analyze the relations between their levels of income, consumption of different forms of energy, and the role played by different household characteristics. Using microdata from the Mexican Income Expenditure Surveys, the paper first relate income and energy expenditure to determine the shape of this relation. It then applies OLS and Tobit models to determine how income levels affect energy consumption in relation to other covariates. The results show a positive relation for income deciles and energy consumption and some household characteristics -- pointing to differentiated mechanisms for improving energy use.2014-05-12T04:00:00.000Z2014-05-12T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Transport|EnvironmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and Environment|Transport and Environment|Energy DemandLatin America & CaribbeanRodriguez-Oreggia, Eduardo|Yepez-Garcia, RigobertoIncome and energy consumption in Mexican householdsEnglishMexicoEnergy|Transport|EnvironmentEnergy Production and Transportation|Environment and Energy Efficiency|Energy and Environment|Transport and Environment|Energy DemandWPS6864MexicoEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperLatin America & Caribbean

This paper explores the challenges and opportunities that government officials face in designing coherent 'rules of the game' for achieving urban sustainability during times of growth. Sustainability is judged by three criteria. The first involves elements of day-to-day quality of life, such as having clean air and water and green space. The provision of these public goods has direct effects on the urban public's health and productivity. The second focuses on the city's greenhouse gas emissions. Developing cities are investing in new infrastructure, from highways and public transit systems to electricity generation and transmission. They are building water treatment, water delivery, and sewage disposal systems. Residents of these cities are simultaneously making key decisions about where they live and work and whether to buy such energy-consuming durables as private vehicles and home air-conditioning units. Given the long-lived durability of the capital stock, short-term decisions will have long-term effects on the city's carbon footprint. The third criterion is a city's resilience to natural disasters and extreme weather events. This subsection focuses on how the urban poor can be better equipped to adapt to the anticipated challenges of climate change.2014-05-20T04:00:00.000Z2014-05-20T04:00:00.000ZEnergy|Transport|Health, Nutrition and Population|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentTransport Economics Policy & Planning|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Energy Production and Transportation|Climate Change Economics|Population PoliciesThe World RegionKahn, Matthew E.Sustainable and smart citiesEnglishWorldEnergy|Transport|Health, Nutrition and Population|Macroeconomics and Economic Growth|EnvironmentTransport Economics Policy & Planning|Climate Change Mitigation and Green House Gases|Energy Production and Transportation|Climate Change Economics|Population PoliciesWPS6878WorldEnglishPolicy Research Working PaperThe World Region