Sirje Padam - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Sirje Padam

Environmental Economics eJournal, 2020

The article examines the demand of people for the improvement of the condition Lake Harku. Lake H... more The article examines the demand of people for the improvement of the condition Lake Harku. Lake Harku is located in a densely populated area on the border of the city of Tallinn and it is in a poor state as a water body according to the EU classification. Two stated preference methods, contingent valuation (CV) and choice experiment (CE), were used for assessing the monetary value people place on the improvement of the ecosystem services of the lake as non-market environmental goods. The results of the work confirmed there is significant willingness to pay for the improvement of the condition of the water body. From a methodological point of view, an important finding is that the CV method yielded lower result than the estimated payment option of the CE.

Since Soviet times Lake Ulemiste has been closed to public access. The current practice of Tallin... more Since Soviet times Lake Ulemiste has been closed to public access. The current practice of Tallinn may entail unnecessary losses of benefits to the local population. The aim of this paper is to find the value of the foregone benefits. In order to find this value, a contingent valuation (CVM) survey was conducted involving a sample of the adult population of Tallinn. According to the survey the average willingness to pay is 6.6 Euro and the recreational benefits foregone were estimated to 1.8 million Euros annually. In order to safeguard the quality of the drinking water, additional measures may be needed. Discounted over a 30 year period allows investments of a maximum of 26 million Euro. Applying the current investment plan of Gothenburg to Tallinn shows that the recreational value of opening the lake to the public is sufficiently large to cover Gothenburg’s coal filter investments to be carried out in Tallinn.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact from the recent financial crisis on public envir... more The purpose of this paper is to study the impact from the recent financial crisis on public environmental expenditure in Estonia. The data show different tendencies depending on the level of government. While the recent financial crisis has affected Local Government spending on environmental protection negatively, Central Government environmental protection expenditure increased by more than 30 percent between 2007 and 2008. Preliminary data indicate that this tendency continued in 2009. When comparing expenditures on environmental protection during times of crisis it is possible to detect differences between the developments in 1998-1999 and those in 2007-2008. Public expenditures on environmental protection were much more sensitive to declining GDP during the previous financial crisis than during the recent crisis. In the 2000s two important changes have affected environmental funding in Estonia. Accession to the EU in 2004 has made EU funding available for environmental protectio...

This chapter compares the approaches for cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-benefit analy... more This chapter compares the approaches for cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the new measures in the EU Marine Strategy Framework of Estonia, Finland and Sweden. Proposed measures are expressed as intended objectives rather than in terms of their implementation. Uncertainty regarding the choice of policy instruments for implementation adds to the challenges of appraising the environmental impacts and to the estimation of costs and benefits. In order to improve practices, it is important to build knowledge about policy instruments to protect marine environments. Further, this chapter examines the argument that in order to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) across the Baltic Sea, it is important to consider cross-country coordination of measures, as one country alone cannot achieve GES in its national marine area.

From the perspective of economic efficiency there are obvious advantages of regional differentiat... more From the perspective of economic efficiency there are obvious advantages of regional differentiation of regulatory measures instead of relying on nationally uniform regulation, which is due to the fact that adverse health impacts, as well as other negative externalities, such as environmental damage and congestion, vary between locations. One conclusion of the analysis is that ranking of economic instruments depends

Since Soviet times Lake Ülemiste has been closed to public access. The current practice of Tallin... more Since Soviet times Lake Ülemiste has been closed to public access. The current practice of Tallinn may entail unnecessary losses of benefits to the local population. The aim of this paper is to find the value of the foregone benefits. In order to find this value, a contingent valuation (CVM) survey was conducted involving a sample of the adult population of Tallinn. According to the survey the average willingness to pay is 6.6 Euro and the recreational benefits foregone were estimated to 1.8 million Euros annually. In order to safeguard the quality of the drinking water, additional measures may be needed. Discounted over a 30 year period allows investments of a maximum of 26 million Euro. Applying the current investment plan of Gothenburg to Tallinn shows that the recreational value of opening the lake to the public is sufficiently large to cover Gothenburg’s coal filter investments to be carried out in Tallinn.

Uued eesmärgid taastuvate energiaallikate kasutamisel võeti ELis vastu 2009. aastal. Nende eesmär... more Uued eesmärgid taastuvate energiaallikate kasutamisel võeti ELis vastu 2009. aastal. Nende eesmärkide kohaselt tuleks ELis aastaks 2020 tõsta taastuvenergia osakaal energia lõpptarbimises 20%-ni, suurendada energiatõhusust 20% ning vähendada kasvuhoonegaaside (KHG) heitkoguseid 20%. Transpordisektoris on taastuvenergiaallikatest toodetavate kütuste kasutamise kohustuslik miinimumeesmärk 2020. aastaks 10% sektori energiatarbimisest. Need eesmärgid puudutavad kõiki ELi riike (direktiiv 2009/28/EÜ). Käesoleva pilootuuringu aruanne on koostatud Euroopa Liidu Kesk-Läänemere INTERREG IVA programmi 2007-2013 Lõuna-Soome ja Eesti allprogrammi projekti “Jäätmed mootorikütuseks” („From Waste to Traffic Fuel, W-Fuel“) raames, mille peamine eesmärk on edendada biogaasi tootmist ja selle kasutamist mootorikütusena. Projekti pilootaladeks Eestis on valitud kaks maakonda: Harju ja Lääne-Viru. Selles aruandes keskendutakse Lääne-Viru maakonnale . Aruande eesmärk on soodustada tõhusat biogaasi tootm...

The EU directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Directive 2009/28/... more The EU directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Directive 2009/28/EC) sets a mandatory minimum target for the use of fuels produced using renewable energy sources of 10% of total petrol and diesel consumption in the transport sector by the year 2020. In addition, it states that production of renewable fuels should be consistent with sustainable development and must not endanger biodiversity. In the INTERREG IVA Southern Finland – Estonia Sub-programme, efforts towards finding solutions to the tasks set by the EU were undertaken in co-operation with Finnish and Estonian researchers. The purpose of the ”From Waste to Traffic Fuel” (W-Fuel) project was to promote the sustainable production and use of biogas using locally-sourced biodegradable waste materials from the food and beverage industry and the agricultural and municipal sectors. The ultimate aim of the project was to upgrade the biogas (produced based on anaerobic digestion of biodegradable wastes...

Baltic Journal of Economics, 2010

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013

Energy and Sustainability III, 2011

Environmental Economics eJournal, 2020

The article examines the demand of people for the improvement of the condition Lake Harku. Lake H... more The article examines the demand of people for the improvement of the condition Lake Harku. Lake Harku is located in a densely populated area on the border of the city of Tallinn and it is in a poor state as a water body according to the EU classification. Two stated preference methods, contingent valuation (CV) and choice experiment (CE), were used for assessing the monetary value people place on the improvement of the ecosystem services of the lake as non-market environmental goods. The results of the work confirmed there is significant willingness to pay for the improvement of the condition of the water body. From a methodological point of view, an important finding is that the CV method yielded lower result than the estimated payment option of the CE.

Since Soviet times Lake Ulemiste has been closed to public access. The current practice of Tallin... more Since Soviet times Lake Ulemiste has been closed to public access. The current practice of Tallinn may entail unnecessary losses of benefits to the local population. The aim of this paper is to find the value of the foregone benefits. In order to find this value, a contingent valuation (CVM) survey was conducted involving a sample of the adult population of Tallinn. According to the survey the average willingness to pay is 6.6 Euro and the recreational benefits foregone were estimated to 1.8 million Euros annually. In order to safeguard the quality of the drinking water, additional measures may be needed. Discounted over a 30 year period allows investments of a maximum of 26 million Euro. Applying the current investment plan of Gothenburg to Tallinn shows that the recreational value of opening the lake to the public is sufficiently large to cover Gothenburg’s coal filter investments to be carried out in Tallinn.

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact from the recent financial crisis on public envir... more The purpose of this paper is to study the impact from the recent financial crisis on public environmental expenditure in Estonia. The data show different tendencies depending on the level of government. While the recent financial crisis has affected Local Government spending on environmental protection negatively, Central Government environmental protection expenditure increased by more than 30 percent between 2007 and 2008. Preliminary data indicate that this tendency continued in 2009. When comparing expenditures on environmental protection during times of crisis it is possible to detect differences between the developments in 1998-1999 and those in 2007-2008. Public expenditures on environmental protection were much more sensitive to declining GDP during the previous financial crisis than during the recent crisis. In the 2000s two important changes have affected environmental funding in Estonia. Accession to the EU in 2004 has made EU funding available for environmental protectio...

This chapter compares the approaches for cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-benefit analy... more This chapter compares the approaches for cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA) of the new measures in the EU Marine Strategy Framework of Estonia, Finland and Sweden. Proposed measures are expressed as intended objectives rather than in terms of their implementation. Uncertainty regarding the choice of policy instruments for implementation adds to the challenges of appraising the environmental impacts and to the estimation of costs and benefits. In order to improve practices, it is important to build knowledge about policy instruments to protect marine environments. Further, this chapter examines the argument that in order to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) across the Baltic Sea, it is important to consider cross-country coordination of measures, as one country alone cannot achieve GES in its national marine area.

From the perspective of economic efficiency there are obvious advantages of regional differentiat... more From the perspective of economic efficiency there are obvious advantages of regional differentiation of regulatory measures instead of relying on nationally uniform regulation, which is due to the fact that adverse health impacts, as well as other negative externalities, such as environmental damage and congestion, vary between locations. One conclusion of the analysis is that ranking of economic instruments depends

Since Soviet times Lake Ülemiste has been closed to public access. The current practice of Tallin... more Since Soviet times Lake Ülemiste has been closed to public access. The current practice of Tallinn may entail unnecessary losses of benefits to the local population. The aim of this paper is to find the value of the foregone benefits. In order to find this value, a contingent valuation (CVM) survey was conducted involving a sample of the adult population of Tallinn. According to the survey the average willingness to pay is 6.6 Euro and the recreational benefits foregone were estimated to 1.8 million Euros annually. In order to safeguard the quality of the drinking water, additional measures may be needed. Discounted over a 30 year period allows investments of a maximum of 26 million Euro. Applying the current investment plan of Gothenburg to Tallinn shows that the recreational value of opening the lake to the public is sufficiently large to cover Gothenburg’s coal filter investments to be carried out in Tallinn.

Uued eesmärgid taastuvate energiaallikate kasutamisel võeti ELis vastu 2009. aastal. Nende eesmär... more Uued eesmärgid taastuvate energiaallikate kasutamisel võeti ELis vastu 2009. aastal. Nende eesmärkide kohaselt tuleks ELis aastaks 2020 tõsta taastuvenergia osakaal energia lõpptarbimises 20%-ni, suurendada energiatõhusust 20% ning vähendada kasvuhoonegaaside (KHG) heitkoguseid 20%. Transpordisektoris on taastuvenergiaallikatest toodetavate kütuste kasutamise kohustuslik miinimumeesmärk 2020. aastaks 10% sektori energiatarbimisest. Need eesmärgid puudutavad kõiki ELi riike (direktiiv 2009/28/EÜ). Käesoleva pilootuuringu aruanne on koostatud Euroopa Liidu Kesk-Läänemere INTERREG IVA programmi 2007-2013 Lõuna-Soome ja Eesti allprogrammi projekti “Jäätmed mootorikütuseks” („From Waste to Traffic Fuel, W-Fuel“) raames, mille peamine eesmärk on edendada biogaasi tootmist ja selle kasutamist mootorikütusena. Projekti pilootaladeks Eestis on valitud kaks maakonda: Harju ja Lääne-Viru. Selles aruandes keskendutakse Lääne-Viru maakonnale . Aruande eesmärk on soodustada tõhusat biogaasi tootm...

The EU directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Directive 2009/28/... more The EU directive on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (Directive 2009/28/EC) sets a mandatory minimum target for the use of fuels produced using renewable energy sources of 10% of total petrol and diesel consumption in the transport sector by the year 2020. In addition, it states that production of renewable fuels should be consistent with sustainable development and must not endanger biodiversity. In the INTERREG IVA Southern Finland – Estonia Sub-programme, efforts towards finding solutions to the tasks set by the EU were undertaken in co-operation with Finnish and Estonian researchers. The purpose of the ”From Waste to Traffic Fuel” (W-Fuel) project was to promote the sustainable production and use of biogas using locally-sourced biodegradable waste materials from the food and beverage industry and the agricultural and municipal sectors. The ultimate aim of the project was to upgrade the biogas (produced based on anaerobic digestion of biodegradable wastes...

Baltic Journal of Economics, 2010

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013

Energy and Sustainability III, 2011