External costs Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

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- Engineering, Sustainable Development, Alternative Energy, Nuclear Energy

The methodology for evaluating the impacts and damage costs ('external costs') due to pollution from waste treatment is described and the results are presented, based on the ExternE project series of the European Commission. The damage costs of landfill and incineration of municipal solid waste are compared, with due account for energy and materials recovery, as well as possible differences in transport distance. We have not been able to quantify the total damage costs of leachates because of the complexity of the environmental pathways and of the long time horizon of some persistent pollutants, but we consider an extreme scenario to show that they are not worth worrying about in the sense that reducing the pollutants in leachates beyond current regulations would bring negligible benefit in comparison with the abatement of other sources of the same pollutants. The damage costs due to the construction of the waste treatment facility are negligible. The damage costs of waste transport, which are illustrated by an arbitrary choice of a 100 km round trip by a 16 tonne truck, are also negligible. The benefits of materials recovery make a small contribution to the total damage cost. The only significant contributions come from direct emissions (of the landfill or incinerator) and from avoided emissions due to energy recovery (from an incinerator). Damage costs for incineration range from about 4 to 21 € tonne waste -1 , and they are extremely dependent on the assumed scenario for energy recovery. For landfill the cost ranges from about 10 to 13 € tonne waste -1 ; it is dominated by greenhouse gas emissions because only a fraction of the CH 4 can be captured (here assumed to be 70%). Amenity costs (odour, visual impact, noise) are highly site-specific and we only cite results from a literature survey which indicates that such costs could make a significant contribution, very roughly on the order of 1 € tonne waste -1 .

- by Ari Rabl
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- Environmental Engineering, Civil Engineering, Regulation, Waste Management

This paper presents the impact of fuel price increases on the market area of intermodal transport terminals. Aim of this research is to determine whether an increase in fuel prices is sufficient enough to raise the market area of intermodal transport to the same degree that would be accomplished by stimulating intermodal transport through policy instruments. Therefore, several fuel price scenarios are analysed in order to verify the impact of different fuel price evolutions on the market area of unimodal road transport compared to intermodal transport in Belgium. The LAMBIT-model (Location Analysis for Belgian Intermodal Terminals), which is a GIS-based model , is used to analyse the different fuel price increases and enables a visualisation of the impact on the market area. The LAMBIT model incorporates the different network layers for each transport mode by setting up a GIS network that includes four different layers: the road network, the rail network, the inland waterways network and the final haulage network. The geographic locations of the intermodal terminals and the port of Antwerp are added as nodes in the network and the Belgian municipality centres are defined and connected to the different network layers. Based on the different fuel price scenarios representing respectively a fuel price increase with 10% (low price case), 50% (business as usual case) and 90% (high price case), the results of the LAMBIT model show that the market areas rise in favour of intermodal barge/road and intermodal rail/road. Depending on the scenario, the degree of modal shift however differs. Additionally, in order to compare policy measures with the effect of a fuel price increase, the internalisation of the external costs is analysed with the LAMBIT model. For some years, the European Commission is supporting the idea that transportation costs should reflect the true impacts on environment and society, and is relentlessly pushing towards the so called 'internalisation of external costs' as a policy instrument in order to establish fair and efficient pricing of different transport modes. This requires monetarizing the external effects of transport and adding them to the already internalized costs in order to give the correct price signals. Results of this comparative analysis performed with the LAMBIT model are also presented in this paper.

- by Cathy Macharis and +1
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- Modeling, Decision Analysis, Urban And Regional Planning, Comparative Study

What resources should be committed to the control of invasive species? This study is based on a survey of nature conservation and forestry authorities, wildlife trusts and private landowners which investigated the extent of the ecological and economic impacts of the invasive nonnative plant Rhododendron ponticum in the British Isles. There are data on 52,000 ha of land affected by R. ponticum, more than 30,000 ha of it in nature reserves. For nearly all nature reserves, displacement of native species and habitat changes were both reported. In 2001, respondents controlled 1275 ha of R. ponticum at a cost of £670,924. To test the optimality of this, we apply a model of social expenditure. The external costs of R. ponticum control are estimated from the probability that it will spread to contiguous sites and the damage done on invaded sites. These are then used to calculate the socially optimal level of expenditure on R. ponticum control, and the funding gap it identified by comparing the result with current levels of expenditure. The results suggest that a socially optimal level of control effort requires a significant increase in social funding for R. ponticum control, although the size of the increase varies between landholders. q

- by Mark Williamson
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- Forestry, Environmental Management, Ecology, Invasive Species

Energi merupakan salah satu komoditas penting bagi end-user atau. Kebutuhan energi di Kroasia sendiri disuplai oleh produksi dalam negeri dengan persentase 70-75% dan sisanya didapatkan dengan cara mengimpor. Salah satu jenis pembangkit listrik yang digunakan Kroasia untuk memenuhi kebutuhan energi dalam negeri adalah pembangkit jenis CHP (combined heat and power) atau yang disebut juga dengan kogenerator. Pembangunan kogenerator sendiri menimbulkan baik eksternalitas positif maupun eksternalitas negatif. Menurut Bachman dan van der Kamp (2014) dalam Borozan et al (2015), apabila eksternalitas yang timbul tidak diinternalisasikan oleh operator pembangkit listrik, maka biaya eksternalitas atas lingkungan yang terkena dampak akan meningkat. Dalam studi kasus yang menyangkut pembangunan pembangkit listrik, biaya eksternalitas direfleksikan dalam pajak maupun biaya lain yang dikenakan. Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui biaya internalisasi yang harus dikeluarkan oleh investor selama tahun pertama proyek kogenerator dengan kapasitas 500 MW yang dinamakan Combined Cycle Heat and Power Plant "KKE Osijek 500" di Kroasia yang akan dibangun pada tahun 2015 atau awal 2016. Menurut rencana, utamanya pembangkit listrik ini akan digunakan untuk menyuplai kebutuhan energi Kroasia Timur dengan gas alam sebagai bahan bakarnya. Heat and Power (CHP)

- by Jennie Yuwono
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- Financial Economics, Micro Economics, External costs
- by Sijbren Cnossen
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- External costs

Tujuan yang ingin dicapai dalam penelitian ini adalah untuk Mengidentifikasikan dampak Sosial yang diakibatkan penambangan emas tanpa izin pada keberlanjutan usahatani padi sawah yang ada disekitar Penambangan Emas Tanpa Izin (PETI). Maraknya Penambangan Emas Tanpa Izin ini memberikan dampak yang buruk terhadap produksi usahatani padi yang ada disekitar areal tambang, bahkan bukan hanya merusak lingkungan dan memusnahkan sawah produktif, disamping itu juga telah memberi dampak sosial bagi masyarakat terutama petani yang ada disekitar areal penambangan. Penelitian ini dilakukan di Kabupaten Merangin, Jumlah sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah 50 responden yang diambil dengan teknik proporsional stratified random sampling di dua kondisi petani yaitu sekitar Penambangan Emas Tanpa Izin (PETI) dan jauh dari Penambangan Emas Tanpa Izin (PETI). Dalam mengidentifikasi keberlanjutan usahatani padi, sawah di sekitar areal digunakan pengukuran secara kualitatif, yaitu dengan melihat indikator keberlanjutan usahatani. Indikator yang dilihat berupa padi sebagai tanaman pokok, pekerjaan utama, hubungan masyarakat dengan aparat dan pelaku usaha, dan apakah masyarakat menerima kegiatan penambangan atau menolak kegiatan tersebut.

- by roydi pratama
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- External costs, Jambi, Perizinan, Tambang

In the present paper, after reviewing the results of the ExternE project and its follow-up stages in the estimation of the external costs of electricity production, we look at the policy instruments for the internalisation of such costs. Emphasis is given to subsidies, such as feed-in tariffs, competitive bidding processes and tradable green certificates to stimulate the use of renewables in the production of electricity. When policy-makers are asked to choose the instrument(s) to internalise the externalities in the electricity production, they have to find a solution that gives the best outcome in terms of efficiency, cost minimisation, impact on the job market, security of energy supply, equity of the instrument, technological innovation, certainty of the level of the internalisation, and feasibility. The choice of the instrument will require some trade-offs among these criteria. Conjoint choice analysis can help in investigating how stakeholders and policy makers trade off the criteria when choosing a policy for the internalisation of the externalities. In this paper we present the first results of a questionnaire that employs conjoint choice questions to find out how policy makers and stakeholders of the electricity market trade off some socio-economic aspects in the selection of the policy instruments for the internalisation of the externalities. The results of this first set of interviews will be useful for further research.

- by Alberto Longo
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- Electricity Market, Electricity, External costs, Electricity Generation

Pesticide risk and impact assessment models critically rely on and are sensitive to information describing dissipation from plants. Despite recent progress, experimental data are not available for all relevant pesticide−plant combinations, and currently no model predicting plant dissipation accounts for the influence of substance properties, plant characteristics, temperature, and study conditions. In this study, we propose models to estimate half-lives for pesticide dissipation from plants and provide recommendations for how to use our results. On the basis of fitting experimental dissipation data with reported average air temperatures, we estimated a reaction activation energy of 14.25 kJ/mol and a temperature coefficient Q 10 of 1.22 to correct dissipation from plants for the influence of temperature. We calculated a set of dissipation half-lives for 333 substances applied at 20 °C under field conditions. Half-lives range from 0.2 days for pyrethrins to 31 days for dalapon. Parameter estimates are provided to correct for specific plant species, temperatures, and study conditions. Finally, we propose a predictive regression model for pesticides without available measured dissipation data to estimate half-lives based on substance properties at the level of chemical substance class. Estimated half-lives from our study are designed to be applied in risk and impact assessment models to either directly describe dissipation or as first proxy for describing degradation.

Intermodal transport, the combination and integration of several modes, with the use of loading units, has been said to be more environmentally friendly than unimodal road transport for the carriage of goods. The political and scientific interest in this transport market is largely due to this sustainablity and ecological aspect of the intermodal transportation system. In this paper an overview is given of studies and papers that are tackling the issue of the external effects of both intermodal and unimodal transport. An overview is given of the types of external costs that were taken into account (emissions, security, noise,...) and the methodologies that were used to estimate the external effects and to value these effects in terms of costs. The results of the different studies are compared to each other and common conclusions are drawn.

This article deals with external cost of electricity generation in Lithuania. The external costs of electricity generation are the most important environmental criteria shaping decisions within the electricity system. External costs of electricity generation were calculated based on ExternE methodology for Lithuania during EU (European Union) Framework 6 project Cost Assessment for Sustainable Energy Systems (CASES). The article presents the methodology and results of external costs of electricity generation in Lithuania. The assessment of external costs provided that future energy policy should be oriented towards the renewable energy generation technologies having the lowest external costs. External costs for electricity generation technologies were analysed in terms of external costs categories, electricity generation technologies life cycle stages and time frame 2010e2030.

- by Vyrmas Matas
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- External costs

"Aim of the study is the evaluation of the environmental advantages and potential reduction of external costs that can be achieved through substitution of the traditional iron based materials (pig iron and steel) with aluminium in the production of road transport vehicles. Data about circulating car and lorry fleets, mileage, vehicles composition, etc., refer to year 1997.
Quantification of environmental impacts has been carried out by using LCI data provided with the SimaPro software.
Results show that primary aluminium production determines external costs per unit mass higher than those due to iron and steel production (3.900 lire97/kg, 460 lire97/kg, 760 lire97/kg respectively). However, secondary (80%) aluminium production determines much lower costs (700 lire97/kg), very similar to those than iron and steel. These data indicate the importance of aluminium recovery and recycling.
Fiat Research Centre states that for a 1000 kg car a weight reduction of 10% determines a consumption reduction of 6% , similarly to what behold Alcan Europe and other in the document “Aluminium for the future generations”.
Two different scenarios have been simulated that include a short term modest weight reduction (10%, scenario A) and a mid term higher weight reduction (20%, scenario B): for both scenarios has been assumed the option of using primary (A.1, B.1) and secondary (A.2, B.2) aluminium in substitution of iron and steel.
The study indicates that a vehicle weight reduction obtained through a progressive substitution of iron with aluminium in some components determines a reduction of the external costs evaluated over the whole vehicle life.
"

- by Laura Cutaia
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- Life Cycle Assessment, Car Industry, External costs, Aluminium

As the electricity supply sector in developing countries undergoes increasingly rapid restructuring, and technology and fuel choices widen, understanding the environmental implications of investment choices becomes ever more important. The objective of this paper is to expand previous analysis of the external costs of electric power generation in South Africa. We present a quantitative analysis of air pollution impacts on human health, damages from greenhouse gas emissions, and the avoided health costs from electrification, as well as discussing other impacts qualitatively. The central estimate of total external costs is R7.3 billion, or 4.4 cents per unit of coal-fired power generated. Relative to current electricity prices, the external costs are approximately 40 and 20 per cent of industrial and residential tariffs, respectively. We then discuss policy options for addressing these costs, including taxation, tradable permit systems, and integrated resource planning, as well as expanded regional energy trade and the possibility of accessing climate change-related funding for cleaner electricity production. r

- by Randall Spalding-Fecher
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- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Developing Countries, Air pollution

Here, we review the delivery of ecosystem services from Enclosed Farmland in the UK, and explore how the expected demands for ecosystem services might be met in the future. Most Enclosed Farmland is managed for agriculture; the UK is 60% self-sufficient in foods. Pollinators are in serious decline, but little is known of trends of predators of crop pests. Effects of agriculture on water quality and climate regulation are negative but improving; GHG emissions fell by 20% between 1990 and 2008. Recent declines in numbers of some farmland birds and in plant species richness have been halted, though not reversed. Enclosed Farmland provides considerable leisure and cultural value. Effective delivery of multiple ecosystem services requires improved understanding of how ecosystem services are generated, and of their economics and governance. Food production can be integrated with the delivery of other ecosystem services by promoting a diversity of farming systems and allocating land to different ecosystem services according to its suitability. Approaches include, minimising negative environmental impacts of food production through technology; mitigating environmental harm by managing areas for environmental benefit, from patches within fields to much larger areas; and developing markets and regulations for environmental protection.

- by L. Firbank and +1
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- Sustainable agriculture, Environmental Sciences, External costs, Trade Offs
- by Sameer Akbar
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- Economics, Air Quality, Forestry, Climate Change

The application of social marginal cost pricing (SMCP) in PPP's in the railway sector faces several challenges. We examine in detail the practical applicability of SMCP in railway PPPs from the perspectives of cost accounting and effectiveness of SMCP towards the allocative efficiency goal, addressing the likely drawbacks in conciliating the welfare objectives of SMCP with the objectives of project financing (cost recovery) and value for money that justify the realization of PPP's. To this end, we combine theoretical analysis with the observation of empirical results of a case study. We split the analysis per type of private service provision, which can be for service operation or infrastructure management. For infrastructure management, we recommend splitting the operator remuneration and the track access charges. For service operation, we argue that the correct decision on source of funding of the service operator should depend on the characteristics of the contract.

- by João Bernardino
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- Transport Economics, Transport, PPPs, External costs

A pricing methodology adapted to specific railroad infrastructures and the trains that use them is one way to ensure that railroad networks used by several different operators are used optimally. The diversity of railway networks (new lines and old lines) and services (long-distance and suburban passenger trains, freight trains, etc.) make it difficult to develop such a pricing methodology. This paper proposes a pricing methodology for a mixed use rail network designed to encourage efficient network use and thereby contribute to development of a sustainable transport system. The proposed methodology considers internal and external costs. It could be applied by different network operators (e.g. national rail networks) differently based on policy objectives. One feature of the pricing methodology is that it would partially subsidize a rail service's infrastructure charges based on the savings in external costs when a certain level of demand is met by railroad rather than road. The proposed methodology also considers the rail service operator's willingness to pay and public service issues. The paper describes how the proposed methodology would be applied for different train services. The conclusions show that under the proposed pricing methodology, charges would increase in the following order: suburban, regional passenger trains and freight trains (lowest) to high-speed trains (highest).

- by Andrew Nash and +1
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- Civil Engineering, Sustainable Transportation, Methodology, Urban And Regional Planning

Increasing obesity, which is increasingly seen in modern societies due to increased sedentary lifestyle and irregular nutrition,
is a disease that threatens the health of individuals. Nowadays, increasing incidence of obesity in developed and developing
countries threatens many age groups from children to old age. Nonetheless, this disease, which has become one of the most
dangerous diseases of our age, is responsible for the economic cost of trillions of dollars worldwide. The increasing number of
obese individuals in the society is the result, social productivity is decreasing and health costs are increasing. Because of the
obesity of these people, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and similar diseases are also increasing the likelihood of getting caught.
Obesity-related diseases such as these can increase health expenditures. In addition, as a result of being overweight individuals
also decreased work productivity. The result of the decrease in productivity of the working population is decreasing economic
efficiency. All of these economic costs of obesity are defined as external costs.
External costs of obesity, creating a burden on the economies of countries emerges as a factor that distorts economic activity.
Therefore, stopping and reducing this cost increase is very important for increasing economic efficiency. Even achieving a
certain level of obesity in the country saves in the long term in the country's economy. For this reason, it is very important for
economic efficiency to determine the economic costs of obesity and to develop policy related it. The aim of this study is to
reveal the economic costs of obesity in the direction of academic studies. In line with this direction, global cost and external
costs of obesity in the various countries are discussed.

- by Melih KABAYEL and +1
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- Obesity, Economic Efficiency and Productivity, External costs

The European Commission's ExternE Project has made major advances in the quantification of external costs of electricity. Although some impacts cannot be valued, important conclusions are possible. This paper outlines some provisional implications for energy policy. External costs are technology dependent and for some older power plants are large compared to electricity prices. Global warming and nuclear accidents have very uncertain external costs and pose threats to sustainability. Well located renewable energy sources have low external costs and provide sustainable energy options. Both economic and regulatory instruments may he used for internalizing environmental externalities-a mix will be most appropriate.

- by Nick Eyre
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- Engineering, Energy Policy, Multidisciplinary, Global Warming

- by Davy McCracken
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- Sustainable agriculture, Environmental Sciences, External costs, Trade Offs

Significant progress in seawater desalination technology has lowered its costs considerably, making it an attractive option to policy makers in countries facing water shortages. However, in making the decision to implement desalination, two issues are often ignored: firstly, seawater desalination is also associated with external costs. Secondly, alternative measures of managing water shortage may potentially be more cost-efficient. The current study estimates the external costs of desalination, and then compares the full costs of desalination with those associated with three alternative solutions for water supply shortage: increasing wastewater reclamation and reuse, investing in water savers and reducing the amount of water used in the agricultural sector. The main contribution of this paper is thus in providing a complete methodological framework for the evaluation of desalination projects, taking into account both direct and external costs. Contrary to common wisdom, the study reveals that desalination is the least economically efficient and sustainable of all alternatives considered, even without taking into account the externalities involved.

- by Nir Becker
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- Sustainable Development, Applied Economics, Israel, Water Policy

Telework is often suggested as an instrument to improve sustainability by reducing environmental and socio-economical impacts of mobility on society. Currently, telework is however not yet implemented as a widespread measure in companies in Belgium. Goal of this paper is to determine if further encouragement of telework is indeed desirable from a sustainable mobility viewpoint and whether it should be supported by future policies. Based on survey data, an appraisal of the environmental, mobility and socio-economic impacts of telework for companies located in the Brussels Capital Region (BCR) is performed. Traffic on the road network in and around the BCR is heavily congested during peak periods and every additional vehicle causes additional externalities. Congestion, climate change, air pollution, noise, traffic accidents and externalities linked to up-and downstream processes are the most well known transport related externalities, and are taken into account in the calculations. Survey data was generated through a questionnaire that was distributed to both workers and management of six large companies, whose main offices are located in the BCR and where teleworking is already practiced. For these companies, the external costs of trips to the central office are compared to the external costs of trips to satellite offices and the external costs caused by additional distances travelled when teleworking at home. Modal shifts occurring between trips travelled to the central office and trips travelled to the satellite office are taken into account and play an important role in the overall impact on external transport costs. Also receptor density and congestion levels along the routes travelled are taken into account. Results are calculated for the different modal choice scenarios, as well as on an aggregated level.

- by Tom van Lier
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- External costs

Abstract: In the present paper, after reviewing the results of the ExternE project and its follow-up stages in the estimation of the external costs of electricity production, we look at the policy instruments for the internalization of... more

- by Anil Markandya
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- Electricity Market, Electricity, External costs, Electricity Generation

numerous innovations, absence of fuel and fuel-related problems, excellent environmental characteristics and other economic and technical factors result in a permanent decline of PV systems cost and unprecedented growth of photovoltaic markets. Because of this, PV energy production technologies are becoming economically viable even in the northern countries where the annual solar irradiation on the horizontal surface is around 900-1 100 kWh/m 2 . new circumstances allow reconsideration of PV systems viability for electricity production in high latitude countries not excepting the Baltic States. This paper provides a review of broad data on global development trends for solar power plants, including countries where solar irradiations are moderate. advantages of PV systems development are justified by taking into account electricity generation costs, external costs and positive impact on climate change mitigation. Further reduction of PV systems cost is reasoned by describing recent innovations that will have a major impact on a new decrease of PV modules prices. The paper also discusses possible ways that could allow minimizing of PV power plants integration costs by reduction of expenditures for power balancing. The provided data reflect that good results in integration costs reduction can be achieved by combining several renewable energy sources like wind, solar and hydro in proper ratios. Finally, the presented data and their analysis indicate that PV power plants could definitely take a certain part in the future electricity generation mix in high latitude countries due to its wide accessibility, economic efficiency, maturity and environmental benefits.

- by Vytautas Adomavicius
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- Climate Change, Renewable Energy, External costs, Energetika

This report will inform about the development and selection of social indicators for the measurement of social effects of energy systems. As in the NEEDS project the aim of Workpackage 2 is to define social indicators for the assessment of social effects of energy systems, we applied a multi-step-approach. In a first step, we looked for existing indicators available in publications from the last twenty years. The keywords "social indicator", "sustainability", environmental indica-6 Establishment of social criteria for energy systems energy systems. In order to do this, the existing scientific literature has been reviewed to collect existing indicators for the evaluation of the social dimension of energy systems. Where the review of the literature did not lead to applicable indicators, new indicators had to be developed. This report gives an overview on the selected indicators. An updated version of indicators will be the outcome of an Expert-Delphi. This will form the basis for the final selection of social indicators that will be integrated into the corresponding sets of environmental and economic indicators established in Research Stream 2b. This integration will require some readjustment to avoid redundancy and to identify potential gaps or needs for revisions.

- by Jurgen Hampel
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- External costs, Stakeholder, Sustainability

Author's Note on Important Terminology: "Indigenous" The Indigenous Operational Directive of the World Bank has a flexible working concept of "Indigenous" which identities Indigenous people in terms of marginality, customary institutions, territoriality, cultural distinction, language and self-identification. Under this working concept, although they do not have a clearly distinct language, Afro-Colombians of the Pacific littoral and rural Afro-Colombians in general can be considered Indigenous. This is because they make up some of the poorest populations in Colombia, they possess distinct social and customary institutions and consider themselves a distinct cultural group. More importantly they have traditionally occupied and used ancestral lands. Considering Afro-Colombians as Indigenous opened up a space for their inclusion as part of the NRMP, the legal protections of their lands and their participation in the management and conservation of the environment. However, for purposes of Bank policy and future projects, the recognition of Afro-Colombians as Indigenous with all its implications, is a novel step that addresses poverty and inequality at a fundamental level. If Afro-Colombians had not been recognized under the rubric of Indigenous in this NRMP, the program would not have had the rational to address the community demands of the majority of the population affected by the project in a manner relevant to the actual situation on the ground, and possibly territorial conflicts would have increased with little avenues for resolution. Reserves vs. Resguardos The Colombian institution of the resguardo is similar to that of Native American Reservations in the USA, in that they delimit a territory within which there is a measure of self-government, autonomy and control in the hands of the Indigenous population and the resguardo has a particular and separate relationship with the central government. Resguardo could be translated as "reserve" or "reservation" in English, however, this would lead to a confusion with "reservas indígenas" or "Indigenous reserves" which delimit much more limited autonomy, control and self-government and have a much more dependent relationship to the state.

- by Bettina Ngweno
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- Forestry, Natural Resources, Natural Resource Management, Ecology

In this paper we examine the transit network design problem under the assumption of elastic demand, focusing on the problem of designing the frequencies of a regional metro. In this problem, investments in transit services have appreciable effects on modal split. Neglecting demand elasticity can lead to solutions that may not represent the actual objectives of the design. We propose four different objective functions that can be adopted to assume demand as elastic, considering the costs of all transportation systems (car, bus and rail) as well as the external costs, and we define the constraints of the problem. Heuristic and meta-heuristic solution algorithms are also proposed. The models and algorithms are tested on a small network and on a real-scale network.

- by Mariano Gallo
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- Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Transport Engineering, Railway Transport

Environmental Agencies require Decision Support Systems, in order to plan Air Quality Policies considering the cost of emission reduction measures and the human health effects (with related social costs). The use of Decision Support Systems is also useful to spread information to general public, explaining the effectiveness of proposed air quality plans. In this paper, a multi-objective approach to control PM10 concentration at a regional level is presented. The problem considers both the internal costs (due to the implementation of emission reduction measures) and the external costs (due to population exposure to high PM10 concentrations). To model PM10 concentrations, a single surrogate model is used for the entire domain, allowing the implementation of a very efficient optimization procedure. The surrogate model is derived through a set of 10 simulations, performed using a Chemistry Transport Model fed with different emission reduction scenarios. The methodology is applied to Northern Italy, a region affected by very high PM10 concentrations that exceed the limit values specified by the EU legislation.

- by enrico pisoni
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- Air Quality, Environmental Management, Multidisciplinary, Aerosols

The contribution of nuclear power to a sustainable energy future is a contested issue. This paper presents a critical review of an attempt to objectify this debate through the calculation of the external costs of a potential large-scale nuclear accident in the ExternE project. A careful dissection of the ExternE approach resulted in a list of 30 calculation steps and assumptions, from which the 6 most contentious ones were selected through a stakeholder internet survey. The policy robustness and relevance of these key assumptions were then assessed in a workshop using the concept of a 'pedigree of knowledge'. Overall, the workshop outcomes revealed the stakeholder and expert panel's scepticism about the assumptions made: generally these were considered not very plausible, subjected to disagreement, and to a large extent inspired by contextual factors. Such criticism indicates a limited validity and useability of the calculated nuclear accident externality as a trustworthy sustainability indicator. Furthermore, it is our contention that the ExternE project could benefit greatly – in terms of gaining public trust – from employing highly visible procedures of extended peer review such as the pedigree assessment applied to our specific case of the external costs of a potential large-scale nuclear accident.

- by Jeroen P. van der Sluijs and +1
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- Disaster risk management, Energy, Risk Management, Decision Making Under Uncertainty
- by Miguel Brandão
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- Economics, LCM, Compensation, External costs
- by Ian W Parry
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- Economics, External costs, First-Order Logic, Deadweight Loss

We analyse a number of different externalities to identify conceptual challenges for the practical implementation of their internalisation. Three issues were identified: i) The balance between compensation and technology change and the respective effects on the nominal and real GDP; ii) The relevance and efficiency of different instruments for internalisation and compensation; and iii) Implementing internalisation over large geographical and temporal distances. We find taxation to be a more relevant and efficient tool for internalisation than insurance and litigation. With increasing geographical and especially temporal distance between the benefitting actor and the victim of the external cost, the involvement of a non-governmental intermediate actor becomes increasingly necessary to provide the short-term capital required to ensure a successful implementation.

- by Miguel Brandão
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- Economics, LCM, External costs

In this paper a model for the optimisation of transit fares is proposed and tested on a trial network. This model considers a multimodal transportation system under the assumption of elastic demand for simulating the impacts of fare policies on modal split. The model takes into account all system and social costs: (transit and road) user costs, firm costs and external costs. First tests on a trial network show the non-negligible impacts of transit fare design on the overall transportation system conditions and on social costs. Keywords: Transit fares, Multimodal optimisation, External costs, Elastic demand.

- by Nir Becker
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- Sustainable Development, Applied Economics, Israel, Water Policy

- by Les Firbank
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- Sustainable agriculture, Environmental Sciences, External costs, Trade Offs

We demonstrate that accelerated policies beyond the steady improvement of technologies and the fleet turnover are not always justified by assumptions about health benefits. Between the years 2000 and 2010, particulate matter (PM) exhaust emissions from traffic in Flanders, a region of Belgium, will be reduced by about 44% without taking any extra reduction measures (baseline scenario). The PM emissions from road traffic were calculated using the MIMOSA model. Furthermore, we explored a range of options to increase attempts to reduce PM exhaust emission from traffic in 2010. When installing particle filters on heavy-duty trucks and buses, introducing biodiesel and diesel/hybrid cars, as well as slowing down the increase of private diesel cars, only an extra reduction of about 8% PM can be achieved in Flanders. The costs to achieve this small reduction are very high. To justify these costs, benefits for public health have been calculated and expressed in external costs. We demonstrate that only an enhanced effort to retrofit trucks and buses with particle filters has a net benefit. We have used Monte Carlo techniques to test the validity of this conclusion. It is concluded that a local or national policy that goes beyond European policies is not always beneficial and that additional measures should be assessed carefully. r

- by Filip Lefebre
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- Environmental Engineering, Air Quality, Monte Carlo, Public Health