An emerging equilibrium in the EU emissions trading scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bredin, Don; Muckley, Cal

2011-01-01

The European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is the key policy instrument of the European Commission's Climate Change Program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to eight percent below 1990 levels by 2012. A critically important element of the EU ETS is the establishment of a market determined price for EU allowances. This article examines the extent to which several theoretically founded factors including, economic growth, energy prices and weather conditions determine the expected prices of the European Union CO 2 allowances during the 2005 through to the 2009 period. The novel aspect of our study is that we examine heavily traded futures instruments that have an expiry date in Phase 2 of the EU ETS. Our study adopts both static and recursive versions of the Johansen multivariate cointegration likelihood ratio test as well as a variation on this test with a view to controlling for time varying volatility effects. Our results are indicative of a new pricing regime emerging in Phase 2 and point to a maturing market driven by the fundamentals. These results are valuable both for traders of EU allowances and for those policy makers seeking to improve the design of the European Union ETS.

6. Analisis Implementasi Cyber Security Di Uni Eropa: Studi Kasus Carbon Credits Hacking Dalam European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) Tahun 2010-2013

OpenAIRE

Aisya, Naila Sukma; Putranti, Ika Riswanti; Wahyudi, Fendy Eko

2017-01-01

Since the last two decades in the 20th century, the European Union (EU) has presented itself as a leader in climate change issues. The leadership manifested in the formation of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) as an effort to fulfill the commitments of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce emissions in the region. But the existence of the EU ETS has been challenged by the emergence of carbon credits hacking case in some national registration systems in the EU ETS. This study discuss...

Bonus schemes and trading activity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pikulina, E.S.; Renneboog, L.D.R.; ter Horst, J.R.; Tobler, P.N.

2014-01-01

Little is known about how different bonus schemes affect traders' propensity to trade and which bonus schemes improve traders' performance. We study the effects of linear versus threshold bonus schemes on traders' behavior. Traders buy and sell shares in an experimental stock market on the basis of

Putting a price on carbon. Econometric essays on the European Union emissions trading scheme and its impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aatola, P.

2013-06-01

This dissertation examines the main instrument of the European Union climate policy, the emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) during its first years. Emission trading provides a cost-efficient way to reduce emissions. It creates a price on carbon dioxide and thereby incentives for cleaner production. The four empirical studies in this dissertation provide new information on the price determination in the emissions trading market, market efficiency and market interactions with the electricity markets. This information is useful for many purposes. It benefits the market participants who make choice between trading of emission allowances in the market and abatement of emissions. For the authorities and policy planners the price signal and the efficiency of the markets reveal unique real-time information on marginal abatement costs, impacts of policy decisions and impacts of institutional design of this policy instrument. To be a well-functioning policy instrument the EU ETS should create a credible price signal and efficient markets for trading allowances. The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the EU ETS markets and the price of the European Union emissions allowance, EUA, with econometric time series models. A large data set on market fundamentals is used to analyze the price series. The results of this dissertation reveal that EU ETS is functions well. Carbon has a price that reflects to a large extent the market fundamentals in the study period. The markets are maturing even if not fully informational efficient yet. Interactions with electricity markets are close. The impact of price of carbon on the price of electricity is positive but spatially uneven. In the long run, also climate change affects the electricity bill. The first study of this dissertation investigates the price determination in the market. The empirical results based on years 2005-2011 show that the price of the EUA is largely determined by the market fundamentals. Especially the price of

ETUDE - European Trade Union Distance Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Creanor, Linda; Walker, Steve

2000-01-01

Describes transnational distance learning activities among European trade union educators carried out as part of the European Trade Union Distance Education (ETUDE) project, supported by the European Commission. Highlights include the context of international trade union distance education; tutor training course; tutors' experiences; and…

The Political Economy of International Emissions Trading Scheme Choice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boom, Jan-Tjeerd; Svendsen, Jan Tinggard

2000-01-01

The Kyoto Protocol allows emission trade between the Annex B countries. We consider three schemes of emissions trading: government trading, permit trading and credit trading. The schemes are compared in a public choice setting focusing on group size and rent-seeking from interest groups. We find ...

The EU Emissions Trading Scheme and Biomass. Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwaiger, H.; Tuerk, A.; Arasto, A.; Vehlow, J.; Kautto, N.; Sijm, J.; Hunder, M.; Brammer, J.

2009-02-01

Within its Energy and Climate Package, adopted by the European Parliament in December 2008, the European commission set a 10% minimum for the market share of renewables in the transport sector in 2020. To find the appropriate instruments to reach this target and the instrument mix with which biomass use in general could be best stimulated are the main questions of this project. An important instrument of the European Climate Policy is the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS), which started operation in 2005. Previous work done within Bioenergy NoE showed that only a high share of auctioning of allowances and a high CO2 price provide necessary incentives for a higher biomass use. According to the Energy and Climate Package, all allowances will be auctioned in the energy sector from 2013 on, with exceptions for a few CEE countries. Based on work done within the project, a model has been developed to analyse at which CO2 price biomass becomes competitive in case of 100 per cent auctioning or at a lower level. The European Commission furthermore decided not to include the road transport sector into the EU-ETS until 2020. Whether the inclusion of the road transport sector in the EU-ETS, could help introducing biofuels, a separate trading scheme for biofuels should be set up, or biofuels should be addressed with other policy instruments, was another main question of this project. The first result shows that an integrated scheme would hardly have any effects on the use of liquid biofuels in the transportation sector, but might cause higher CO2 prices for the energy and industry sector. A separate trading scheme has been implemented in the UK in 2008, California is planning such as scheme in addition to include the road transport sector into the future ETS. Within this project the design of such as system has been elaborated based on the comparison of several policy instruments to increase the use of liquid biofuels in the transportation sector. Policy interaction

Emission trading schemes: potential revenue effects, compliance costs and overall tax policy issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pope, Jeff; Owen, Anthony D.

2009-01-01

The case for the imposition of carbon (emission) taxes or tradable carbon permits in important tax jurisdictions is arguably strong, based upon the polluter pays principle first proposed by Pigou almost a century ago. This paper briefly reviews the arguments for and against these market-based instruments, and discusses their relative advantages and disadvantages in a practical context. In the case of Australia, the revenue effect of the proposed tradable carbon permits scheme is estimated to be A$11.5 billion in 2010-11. For comparison, this is roughly equivalent to a quarter of the revenue from the Goods and Services Tax. The paper focuses on three neglected aspects of climate change taxation discussion to date: how much tax revenue is likely to be raised, and the administrative and compliance costs of an emissions trading scheme, with particular reference to Australia. In discussing these issues, the paper draws upon selected and relevant international experience, particularly the European Union emissions trading scheme. The challenges of an emissions trading scheme, including integration with the existing tax system, particularly in an Australian context, are also discussed. The paper concludes by emphasising the key challenges and issues facing this 'ultimate externality' debate, particularly from a taxation policy perspective.

European wood-fuel trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hillring, B.; Vinterbaeck, J.

2001-01-01

This paper discusses research carried out during the l990s on European wood fuel trade at the Department of Forest Management and Products, SLU, in Sweden. Utilisation of wood-fuels and other biofuels increased very rapidly in some regions during that period. Biofuels are replacing fossil fuels which is an effective way to reduce the future influence of green house gases on the climate. The results indicate a rapid increase in wood-fuel trade in Europe from low levels and with a limited number of countries involved. The chief products traded are wood pellets, wood chips and recycled wood. The main trading countries are, for export, Germany and the Baltic states and, for import, Sweden, Denmark and to some extent the Netherlands. In the future, the increased use of biofuel in European countries is expected to intensify activity in this trade. (orig.)

European schemes for promoting renewables in liberalised markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, Niels I.

2003-01-01

The paper describes possibilities and problems for penetration of supply systems based on renewable energy sources in liberalised markets. The analysis is based on recent development in EU with different models for support of installations based on renewable energy. These include feed-in models with guaranteed minimum tariffs, tender models for different bands of technologies, and green certificates trading models with obligatory consumer quota. The paper describes the market situation in selected European countries, including Germany, the UK, Holland and Denmark. An EU directive from September 2001 has postponed the decision on a possible harmonisation of promotional models until at least 2005 in order to obtain more practical experience with the different support schemes. A critical evaluation is given in this paper of the different models with proposals for a balanced development between environmental and trading concerns. It is argued that too much emphasis is presently given to the side of free trade at the expense of long range planning for a sustainable energy development

Emissions trading in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zapfel, P.

2002-01-01

In the article 'Emissions trading in the Netherlands. The optimal route towards an international scheme?' (issue 1, 2002) Mulder asks the question to what extent a Dutch national CO2 trading scheme is a worthwhile effort toward an international trading scheme (i.e. is it a first step toward a European-wide emissions trading scheme) when presenting the proposal of the Dutch Commission on CO2 trade and related economic analysis. His conclusion, underlined by modeling results, is that a national scheme along the lines proposed by the Dutch Commission is an expensive policy instrument due to the high transaction costs. The first-best option according to Mulder is to impose CO2-emissions trading with an absolute ceiling on an international level. In the meantime, he states, improving the design of the energy tax system may be an efficient alternative. In this comment I would like to address two issues. First, does the approach proposed by the Dutch Commission make sense from a European perspective towards an EU-wide cap and trade allowance scheme as proposed by the European Commission in October 2001? and Second, what might this Dutch model and philosophy, scaled up to the EU level, look like?

Leaving an emissions trading scheme : Implications for the United Kingdom and the European Union

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tol, Richard S.J.

2018-01-01

The United Kingdom (UK) may opt to leave the European Union (EU) emissions trading system (ETS) for greenhouse gases. This policy brief examines the implications. The UK is a large importer of emission permits. Thus, meeting its climate policy targets would be much more difficult without the EU ETS,

Impacts of the EU emissions trading scheme on the industrial competitiveness in Germany

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graichen, Verena; Schumacher, Katja; Matthes, Felix C.; Mohr, Lennart [Oeko Institut e.V., Berlin (Germany); Duscha, Vicky; Schleich, Joachim [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (ISI), Karlsruhe (Germany); Diekmann, Jochen [DIW, Berlin (Germany)

2008-09-15

The authors of the contribution under consideration present a discussion of methods, and provide empirical results for the analysis of effects of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on product costs and subsequent impacts on international competitiveness. The discussion shows that the combination of intensity of trade indicators and value at stake indicators reveals meaningful results that allow assessing the potential for distortion in competitiveness by the EU Emissions Trading Schemes. The analysis of trade intensities and value at stake showed that a small number of sectors may in fact be exposed to distortions in competitiveness due to both high trade intensity and high value at stake. For Germany, these include 'basic iron and steel', 'fertilizers and nitrogen compounds', 'paper and paperboard', 'aluminium and aluminium products' and 'other basic inorganic chemicals'. A number of other sectors reveal a high intensity of trade but low value at stake which implies that the increase in product costs due to the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is relatively small and negative effects on competitiveness may not be likely. For the sectors that reveal high values at stake and high trade intensities, market positions are likely to change under the EU Emissions Trading system due to increased production costs and high exposure to international competition. When deciding on which sectors are highly exposed to possible distortions in competitiveness and which measures should be implemented to address competitiveness and leakage it should be kept in mind that CO{sub 2} costs are only one of multiple factors affecting companies' production and investment decisions. Other factors that may deserve detailed investigation include product differentiation and market segmentation within a sector (including specialty products), close cooperation with domestic/European partners and intrafirm trade, differences across countries in the

Energy supplier obligations and white certificate schemes: Comparative analysis of experiences in the European Union

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bertoldi, Paolo, E-mail: paolo.bertoldi@ec.europa.e [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy, Via E. Fermi 1, TP 450, 21027 Ispra (Vatican City State, Holy See) (Italy); Rezessy, Silvia, E-mail: silvia.rezessy@ec.europa.e [European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Energy, Via E. Fermi 1, TP 450, 21027 Ispra (Vatican City State, Holy See) (Italy); Lees, Eoin, E-mail: eoin@eoinleesenergy.co [Eoin Lees Energy, 4 Silver Lane, West Challow, Wantage, Oxon OX12 9TX (United Kingdom); Baudry, Paul, E-mail: paul.baudry@edf.f [EDF R and D, Centre des Renardieres, 77818 Moret sur Loing (France); Jeandel, Alexandre, E-mail: alexandre.jeandel@gdfsuez.co [GDF SUEZ, 16, rue Ville L' Eveque, 75008 Paris (France); Labanca, Nicola, E-mail: nicola.labanca@polimi.i [eERG, Politecnico di Milano, Via Lambruschini n. 4, 20156 Milano (Italy)

2010-03-15

A number of Member States of the European Union (EU) have introduced market-based policy portfolios based on quantified energy savings obligations on energy distributors or suppliers, possibly coupled with certification of project-based energy savings (via white certificates), and the option to trade the certificates or obligations. The paper provides an up-to-date review and analysis of results to date of white certificate schemes in the EU. In the EU supplier obligations and white certificate schemes have delivered larger savings than originally expected with obliged companies exceeding targets and, in some cases, at cost below what policy makers have anticipated. Supplier obligations foster the uptake of standardised energy efficiency actions often targeting smaller energy users (residential sector), lowering the transaction costs and contributing to market transformation. The role of certificate trading is more ambiguous. Trading can bring benefits where the target is set sufficiently high with respect to the energy-saving potential in the sectors covered. Theoretically trading may be better suited for broader systems with comprehensive coverage, but even in smaller schemes trading may reduce the transaction costs of compliance for obliged actors without sufficient expertise on end-use energy efficiency. Yet, trading increases the administrative cost ratio of energy-saving obligations.

Energy supplier obligations and white certificate schemes: Comparative analysis of experiences in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertoldi, Paolo; Rezessy, Silvia; Lees, Eoin; Baudry, Paul; Jeandel, Alexandre; Labanca, Nicola

2010-01-01

A number of Member States of the European Union (EU) have introduced market-based policy portfolios based on quantified energy savings obligations on energy distributors or suppliers, possibly coupled with certification of project-based energy savings (via white certificates), and the option to trade the certificates or obligations. The paper provides an up-to-date review and analysis of results to date of white certificate schemes in the EU. In the EU supplier obligations and white certificate schemes have delivered larger savings than originally expected with obliged companies exceeding targets and, in some cases, at cost below what policy makers have anticipated. Supplier obligations foster the uptake of standardised energy efficiency actions often targeting smaller energy users (residential sector), lowering the transaction costs and contributing to market transformation. The role of certificate trading is more ambiguous. Trading can bring benefits where the target is set sufficiently high with respect to the energy-saving potential in the sectors covered. Theoretically trading may be better suited for broader systems with comprehensive coverage, but even in smaller schemes trading may reduce the transaction costs of compliance for obliged actors without sufficient expertise on end-use energy efficiency. Yet, trading increases the administrative cost ratio of energy-saving obligations.

Emissions trading and competitiveness: pros and cons of relative and absolute schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuik, Onno; Mulder, Machiel

2004-01-01

Emissions trading is a hot issue. At national as well as supranational levels, proposals for introduction of emissions trading schemes have been made. This paper assesses alternative emissions trading schemes at domestic level: (1) schemes where the total level of emissions is fixed (absolute cap-and-trade), (2) schemes where the allowable level of emissions per firm is related to some firm-specific indicator (relative cap-and-trade), and (3) mixed schemes which combine elements of the above alternatives. We present a quantitative assessment of these alternatives for climate change policy in the Netherlands. It is concluded that while relative cap-and-trade would avoid negative effects on competitiveness, it would not reduce emissions at the lowest costs. Besides, the addition of a trade system to existing relative standards does not result in additional emission reduction; it should be combined with other policy measures, such as energy taxes, in order to realise further reduction. Absolute cap-and-trade leads to efficient emissions reduction, but, implemented at the national level, its overall macroeconomic costs may be significant. The mixed scheme has as drawback that it treats firms unequal, which leads to high administrative costs. We conclude that none of the trading schemes is an advisable instrument for domestic climate policy

Trade Integration and Trade Imbalances in the European Union: A Network Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Krings, Gautier M.; Carpantier, Jean-François; Delvenne, Jean-Charles

2014-01-01

We study the ever more integrated and ever more unbalanced trade relationships between European countries. To better capture the complexity of economic networks, we propose two global measures that assess the trade integration and the trade imbalances of the European countries. These measures are the network (or indirect) counterparts to traditional (or direct) measures such as the trade-to-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and trade deficit-to-GDP ratios. Our indirect tools account for the European inter-country trade structure and follow (i) a decomposition of the global trade flow into elementary flows that highlight the long-range dependencies between exporting and importing economies and (ii) the commute-time distance for trade integration, which measures the impact of a perturbation in the economy of a country on another country, possibly through intermediate partners by domino effect. Our application addresses the impact of the launch of the Euro. We find that the indirect imbalance measures better identify the countries ultimately bearing deficits and surpluses, by neutralizing the impact of trade transit countries, such as the Netherlands. Among others, we find that ultimate surpluses of Germany are quite concentrated in only three partners. We also show that for some countries, the direct and indirect measures of trade integration diverge, thereby revealing that these countries (e.g. Greece and Portugal) trade to a smaller extent with countries considered as central in the European Union network. PMID:24465381

Trade integration and trade imbalances in the European Union: a network perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Krings, Gautier M; Carpantier, Jean-François; Delvenne, Jean-Charles

2014-01-01

We study the ever more integrated and ever more unbalanced trade relationships between European countries. To better capture the complexity of economic networks, we propose two global measures that assess the trade integration and the trade imbalances of the European countries. These measures are the network (or indirect) counterparts to traditional (or direct) measures such as the trade-to-GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and trade deficit-to-GDP ratios. Our indirect tools account for the European inter-country trade structure and follow (i) a decomposition of the global trade flow into elementary flows that highlight the long-range dependencies between exporting and importing economies and (ii) the commute-time distance for trade integration, which measures the impact of a perturbation in the economy of a country on another country, possibly through intermediate partners by domino effect. Our application addresses the impact of the launch of the Euro. We find that the indirect imbalance measures better identify the countries ultimately bearing deficits and surpluses, by neutralizing the impact of trade transit countries, such as the Netherlands. Among others, we find that ultimate surpluses of Germany are quite concentrated in only three partners. We also show that for some countries, the direct and indirect measures of trade integration diverge, thereby revealing that these countries (e.g. Greece and Portugal) trade to a smaller extent with countries considered as central in the European Union network.

Skill Content of Intra-European Trade Flows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zeddies, Goetz

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In recent decades, the international division of labor has expanded rapidly in the wake of European integration. In this context, especially Western European high-wage countries should have specialized on (human-capital intensively manufactured goods and should have increasingly sourced labor-intensively manufactured goods, especially parts and components, from Eastern European low wage countries. Since this should be beneficial for the high-skilled and harmful to the lower-qualified workforce in high-wage countries, the opening up of Eastern Europe is often considered as a vital reason for increasing unemployment of the lower-qualified in Western Europe. This paper addresses this issue by analyzing the skill content of Western European countries’ bilateral trade using input-output techniques in order to evaluate possible effects of international trade on labor demand. Thereby, differences in factor inputs and production technologies have been considered, allowing for vertical product differentiation. In this case, skill content of bilateral exports and imports partially differs substantially, especially in bilateral trade between Western and Eastern European countries. According to the results, East-West trade should be harmful particularly to the medium-skilled in Western European countries.

Impact of the european emission trading scheme for the air transportation industry on the valuation of aircraft purchase rights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tarradellas-Espuny, J.; Salamero-Salas, A.; Martinez-Costa, C.

2009-01-01

The European Commission issued a legislative proposal in December 2006, suggesting a cap on CO 2 emissions for all planes arriving or departing from EU airports, while allowing airlines to buy and sell pollution credits on the EU carbon market (Emission Trading Scheme, or ETS). In 2008 the new scheme got the final approval. Real options appear to be ab appropriate methodology to capture the extra value brought by the new legislation on new airplane purchase rights: The airline will surely have the purchase right to the new plane if the operation of the plane generates unused pollution credits that the airline can sell at a minimum price in the carbon market. This paper tries to determine if the impact of ETS in the valuation of aircraft purchase rights is significant enough in monetary terms to include the new legislation in a complex real-option model already proposed by the authors recently. The research concludes that even the impact of ETS justifies its inclusion in the model, the quality of the available sets of historical data still raises some questions. Particularly, the assumption of market efficiency for the Carbon Pool over the recent years needs to be treated with caution. (Author) 9 refs

Revenue, welfare and trade effects of European Union Free Trade Agreement on South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kore M.A. Guei

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Using the partial equilibrium WITS-SMART Simulation model to assess the impact of liberalisation under the Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA of a free trade area between the European Union and South Africa. The identification of the impact of such agreement allows for trade policy negotiation adjustment that can be beneficial for South Africa. Aim: The aim of the study is to estimate and discuss the impact of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA with the European Union and South Africa. More specifically, the study intends to estimate the impact of revenue, welfare, imports, exports, trade creation and to come up with policies options for South Africa that can be used in negotiations and policy formulations. Setting: The study used international trade data (2012 available in the WITS-SMART model to assess bilateral trade agreement between the European Union and South Africa. Methods: To identify the impact on revenue, welfare, imports, exports and trade creation, the study simulated an FTA (0% tariff rate for all goods exchanged between the European Union and South Africa. Also, the elasticity of substitution used for the simulation model was 99%. Results: The findings of the study reveal that total trade effects in South Africa are likely to surge by US$ 1.036 billion with a total welfare valued at US$ 134 million. Dismantling tariffs on all European Union (EU goods would be beneficial to consumers through net trade creation. Total trade creation would be US$ 782 million. However, South African producers are likely to contribute a trade diversion of US$ 254 million which has a negative impact on consumer welfare. The country might also experience a revenue loss amounting to US$ 562 million because of the removal of tariffs. In trade, the country’s exports and imports to the EU are expected to increase by US$ 12.419 million and US$ 1.266 million, respectively. Conclusion: The European Union–South Africa FTA would

The european union emission trading scheme and energy markets: economic and financial analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertrand, Vincent

2012-01-01

This thesis investigates relationships between the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and energy markets. A special focus is given to fuel switching, the main short term abatement measure within the EU ETS. This consists in substituting Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGTs) for hard-coal plants in off-peak power generation. Thereby coal plants run for shorter periods, which allows power producers to reduce their CO 2 emissions. In Chapter 1, we outline different approaches explaining relationships between carbon and energy markets. We also review the literature relating to these issues. Next, we further describe the fuel switching process and, in particular, we analyze the influence of energy and environmental efficiency of thermal power plants (coal and gas) on fuel switching. In Chapter 2, we provide a theoretical analysis that shows how differences in the efficiency of CCGTs can rule interactions between gas and carbon prices. The main result shows that the allowance price becomes more sensitive to the gas price when the level of CO 2 emissions increases. In Chapter 3, we examine interactions between carbon, coal, gas and electricity prices in an empirical study. Among the main results, we find that there is a significant link between carbon and gas prices in the long-run equilibrium. In Chapter 4, we analyze the cross-market price discovery process between gas and CO 2 markets. We identified in previous chapters that there is a robust significant link between gas and CO 2 markets. They are linked commodities, and their prices are affected by the same information. In an empirical analysis, we find that the carbon market is the leader in cross-market price discovery process. (author)

A Study of the Determinants of Emissions Unit Allowance Price in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alina Maydybura

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In 2005 the European Union (EU began the first phase of the largest and most ambitious emissions trading system (EU ETS ever attempted, which then applied to all members of the EU. In its second phase whichbegan in 2008 the EU ETS now applies to all 27 members of the EU together with Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein, the members of the European Economic Area (EEA which are not members of the Union. Inthe first phase of the EU ETS permits to emit carbon into the atmosphere known as European Union Allowances (EUA were traded in a market where the price rose to €30 and eventually fell to well below 10 Euro cents as the imperfections of the market became obvious. In the second phase which began in 2008 the price has fluctuated between €30 and €8. EUA are traded in a manner which is similar to the trading of financial instruments and a range of derivatives has developed with the total value of the market now above €120b, a growing market dominated by a few large players.This paper reports some results of an empirical investigation into the factors which appear to drive the carbon price and the key determinants of the price of an EUA. Over the last decade a number of environmental products have been developed alongside the EUA, including Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs, Renewable Energy Certificates and White Certificates (energy efficiency credits and markets have developed for a range of these environmental products. A better understanding of the determinants of these markets willhelp regulators manage these new markets and this paper aims to enhance our knowledge of the market.

The Political Economy of International Emission Trading Scheme Choice: Empirical Evidence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boom, J.T.; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

2000-01-01

The Kyoto Protocol allows emissions trading. It does however not specify how this is to take place and the discussion on the design of an emissions trading scheme is ongoing. In this paper, we give some empirical evidence on the preference of industry and environmental organizations for internati...... for international emissions trading scheme. Since they may have an influence on decision makers, their opinion is important. Our conclusion is that both industry and environmental organizations prefer credit trading, although for widely different reasons....

Carbon Countdown. Emissions trading to combat climate change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-06-01

The European Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is a crucial cornerstone of climate change policy in Europe and the first international trading system for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the world. The ETS is a major part of the solution to one of the biggest challenges humanity is facing: global warming. A WWF review of Phase 1 of the European Emission Trading Scheme and recommendations to improve its environmental effectiveness and economic efficiency for Phase 2

DEVELOPMENT STAGE OF RETAIL TRADE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catana Adina

2012-07-01

Full Text Available According to Karel De Gucht, Trade Commissioner from the European Commission, trade is working for Europe's economic recovery by ensuring growth and jobs. The European renewed trade strategy will open markets and connect Europe to the main sources and regis of global growth. The aim is to ensure that European business gets a fair deal and that countries’ rights are respected so that all can enjoy the benefits of trade. Thanks to the ease of modern transport and communications, it is now easier to produce, buy and sell goods around the world which gives European companies of every size the potential to trade outside Europe. This paper’s objective is to analyse the development stage of the European Union’s retail, and its member countries. The study is based on the research taken in the project of PhD research with the theme: The impacts of Economic Integration on Romanian Retail. For my research I used data from Eurostat, National Statistical Institute, European Union official website In the past 10 years, the volume of retail trade in EU member states has increased, but the extent of the changes varies substantially from one country to another.

Greenhouse gas emission trading schemes: a new tool for the environmental regulator's kit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soleille, Sebastien

2006-01-01

As the European Union greenhouse gas emission trading scheme (ETS) is emerging, it seems interesting to look back on previous experiments and to bring together a few elements of reflection about the pertinence of ETS as a new policy tool to regulate industrial pollution. So far, several regulatory tools have been used to decrease pollution. This article focuses on two of them, command-and-control (CAC) and ETS. There is no simple answer to which one is more efficient. It depends strongly on the context. Given a few elements outlined in this paper, the choice of an ETS to abate industrial emissions of greenhouse gases in the European Union (EU) can be considered pertinent. But, ultimately, what makes a scheme environmentally efficient is not the tool in itself (ETS or CAC) but the ambition of the target. Hence the design of the National Allocation Plans setting the emission caps are of paramount importance. They will make the EU ETS either a useless mess or an effective climate change mitigation policy tool

The impact of Romanian adhesion to European Union on exterior trade

OpenAIRE

Craciunas, Diana

2009-01-01

Analysis of the Romanian external trade policies in European integration context underlining the external trade policy of Romania which according with European Union policies after the joining to the European Union, the improvement and adaptation of external trade policy to the European standards through internal and external measures and the commercial effect of the extensions of the European Union over non member countries of Europe and on the European Union position in the international co...

Legal frameworks for emissions trading in the European Union

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maeaettae, K.; Anttonen, K. (Univ. of Joensuu (Finland)). Email: kalle.maatta@joensuu.fi; Upston-Hooper, K. (GreenStream Networks, Helsinki (Finland)); Mehling, M. (Univ. of Greifswald (Germany)); Perrels, A. (Government Institute for Economic Research VATT, Helsinki (Finland)), email: adriaan.perrels@vatt.fi

2009-07-01

The project is based on a comparative and pragmatic review of the legal frameworks for implementing the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) in four EU jurisdictions (Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom and Germany). The project does not seek to examine the rationale of utilizing tradable mechanisms nor assess the costs and benefits of doing so. Its primary focus is to undertake a detailed study of the legal realities involved in implementing the EU ETS, particularly those issues of commercial importance such as taxation and accounting rules. The methodology adopted has been to formulate a comprehensive questionnaire (of approximately 70 questions) to be used as the basis of national reports together with a stand alone analysis by VATT, and in turn use the national reports and VATT study as the building blocks of a comparative overview report. The questionnaire seeks to highlight those significant legal and regulatory issues that impact on the establishment of emission allowance trading arrangements within the respective jurisdictions. The comparative analysis of these issues will focus on 'golden threads' of similarity and difference that impact on the establishment of an internal market within the European Union for the trading of emissions allowances. (orig.)

Legal frameworks for emissions trading in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Upston-Hooper, K.; Perrells, A.; Anttonen, K.; Mehling, M.

2007-01-01

The Project is based on a comparative and pragmatic review of the legal frameworks for implementing the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) in four EU jurisdictions (Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom and Germany). The Project does not seek to examine the rationale of utilizing tradable mechanisms nor assess the costs and benefits of doing so. Its primary focus is to undertake a detailed study of the legal realities involved in implementing the EU ETS, particularly those issues of commercial importance such as taxation and accounting rules. The methodology adopted has been to formulate a comprehensive questionnaire (of approximately 70 questions) to be used as the basis of national reports together with a stand alone analysis by VATT, and in turn use the national reports and VATT study as the building blocks of a comparative overview report. The questionnaire seeks to highlight those significant legal and regulatory issues that impact on the establishment of emission allowance trading arrangements within the respective jurisdictions. The comparative analysis of these issues will focus on 'golden threads' of similarity and difference that impact on the establishment of an internal market within the European Union for the trading of emissions allowances. (orig.)

The efficiency costs of separating carbon markets under the EU emissions trading scheme: A quantitative assessment for Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boehringer, Christoph; Hoffmann, Tim; Manrique-de-Lara-Penate, Casiano

2006-01-01

From 1 January 2005 onwards the European Union has launched the first large-scale international carbon emissions trading program. As the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) covers only part of domestic carbon emissions, it implies a segmented environmental regulation scheme: Each EU Member State must specify additional domestic abatement policies for the sectors outside the EU-ETS in order to meet its emissions budget under the EU Burden Sharing Agreement. We highlight the generic problems of segmented carbon regulation in terms of information requirements for international carbon prices and domestic abatement costs of sectors outside the EU-ETS. Based on numerical simulations for Germany, we quantify the excess costs of segmented carbon regulation and conclude that inefficiencies can be much better explained by lobbying of influential EU-ETS sectors than by information problems. (Author)

Trade Union Channels for Influencing European Union Policies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bengt Larsson

2015-10-01

Full Text Available This paper analyzes what channels trade unions in Europe use when trying to influence European Union (EU policies. It compares and contrasts trade unions in different industrial relations regimes with regard to the degree to which they cooperate with different actors to influence EU policies, while also touching on the importance of sector differences and organizational resources. The study is based on survey data collected in 2010–2011 from unions affiliated with the European Trade Union Confederation and from below peak unions in 14 European countries. Results of the survey show that the ‘national route’ is generally the most important for trade unions in influencing EU policies in the sense that this channel is, on average, used to the highest degree. In addition, the survey delineates some important differences between trade unions in different industrial relations regimes with regard to the balance between the national route and different access points in the ‘Brussels route’.

Globalized Trade, Logistics and Intermodality: European Perspectives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Henstra, D.; Ruijgrok, C.J.; Tavasszy, L.A.; Capineri, C.; Leinbach, T.; Black, W.

2007-01-01

This chapter describes megatrends that are shaping international trade, logistics organization and (multi)modal transport in Europe. It focuses on impacts on the European context, both from the peculiarities arising from the European uni?cation process and the European transport policies but also

Define a course for the France in the european system of emissions quotas exchange in agreement with the European Emission Trading Scheme directive; Definir un cap pour la France dans le systeme europeen d'echange de quotas d'emissions en accord avec la directive 'ETS'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-04-15

The project aims to define an independent evaluation of a course in France for the application of the European Emissions Trading Scheme, in the part I and II, taking into account the objective of the emission trading directive, using public data available in march 2006. In a first part the author presents the five key criteria which should be used to define the National Allocation Plan. The next part is the definition of the course and the last part the implications of the course. (A.L.B.)

Judicial aspects of emission trade. Emission trade in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Beuge, M.J.J.

2004-01-01

Emission trade will start in Europe in 2005. In a series of articles an overview will be given of several juridical aspects with respect to the international and national trade of emission. In part 1 attention was paid to the international judicial basis for the present climate policy. In this article an overview is given of developments with regard to emission trade in the European Union [nl

Influence of the Emissions Trading Scheme on generation scheduling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kockar, Ivana; McDonald, James R.; Conejo, Antonio J.

2009-01-01

The paper investigates the effects of emissions constraints and Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) on the generation scheduling outcome. ETS is a cap-and-trade market mechanism that has been introduced in European Union in order to facilitate CO 2 emissions management. This scheme gives generators certain amount of CO 2 allowances which they can use to cover emissions produced during energy generation. In a current setting, most of the allowances are given for free. However, under ETS generators also have an opportunity to buy and sell CO 2 allowances on the market. Since generation power outputs are bounded by the amount of CO 2 emissions that they are allowed to produce over time, it is becoming increasingly important for generating units to manage their allocations in the most profitable way and decide when and how much of permissions to spent to produce electricity. The method proposed here allows for modeling of this new limitation by including costs of buying and selling of CO 2 allowance in the generation scheduling procedure. It also introduces additional emissions constraints in the problem formulation. Although CO 2 permissions and energy are traded in separate markets, the proposed formulation permits analysis on how emission caps and emission market prices can influence market outcome. The method is illustrated on a 5-unit system. Given examples compare (i) a base-case when all generators have made a decision to use portions of their total free allocations that do not cause any shortfall during the investigated time period; (ii) two cases when the least expensive generators' decisions on the amount of free allowances they are willing to use during the considered period are insufficient. In all cases generators also submit prices at which they expect to be able to ''top-up'' or sell allowances on the market, however, only in the second and third case the ''buying'' option becomes active and affects generation scheduling and total costs. In addition, the

Strategic partitioning of emission allowances under the EU Emission Trading Scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boehringer, Christoph [Univ. of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, and Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW) (Germany); Rosendahl, Knut Einar [Statistics Norway, Research Department, Pob. 8131 Dep., N-0033 Oslo (Norway)

2009-08-15

The EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) is breaking new ground in the experience with emission trading regimes across multiple jurisdictions. Since the EU ETS covers only some industries, it implies a hybrid emission control scheme where EU member states must apply complementary domestic emissions regulation for the non-trading sectors of their economies in order to comply with their national emission reduction targets. The EU ETS thus opens up for strategic partitioning of national emissions budgets by the member states between trading and non-trading sectors. In this paper we examine the potential effects of such strategic behavior on compliance cost and emissions prices. We show that concerns on efficiency losses from strategic partitioning are misplaced. In turn, our analysis implicitly indicates significant political economy forces behind EU climate policy, as both cost-effective and strategically motivated partitioning of national emission budgets are far off from the actual break-down between trading and non-trading sectors. (author)

Hitting emissions targets with (statistical) confidence in multi-instrument Emissions Trading Schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shipworth, David

2003-12-01

A means of assessing, monitoring and controlling aggregate emissions from multi-instrument Emissions Trading Schemes is proposed. The approach allows contributions from different instruments with different forms of emissions targets to be integrated. Where Emissions Trading Schemes are helping to meet specific national targets, the approach allows the entry requirements of new participants to be calculated and set at a level that will achieve these targets. The approach is multi-levelled, and may be extended downwards to support pooling of participants within instruments, or upwards to embed Emissions Trading Schemes within a wider suite of policies and measures with hard and soft targets. Aggregate emissions from each instrument are treated stochastically. Emissions from the scheme as a whole are then the joint probability distribution formed by integrating the emissions from its instruments. Because a Bayesian approach is adopted, qualitative and semi-qualitative data from expert opinion can be used where quantitative data is not currently available, or is incomplete. This approach helps government retain sufficient control over emissions trading scheme targets to allow them to meet their emissions reduction obligations, while minimising the need for retrospectively adjusting existing participants' conditions of entry. This maintains participant confidence, while providing the necessary policy levers for good governance

Extension of EU Emissions Trading Scheme to Other Sectors and Gases: Consequences for Uncertainty of Total Tradable Amount

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Monni, S.; Syri, S.; Pipatti, R.; Savolainen, I.

2007-01-01

Emissions trading in the European Union (EU), covering the least uncertain emission sources of greenhouse gas emission inventories (CO 2 from combustion and selected industrial processes in large installations), began in 2005. During the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2008-2012), the emissions trading between Parties to the Protocol will cover all greenhouse gases (CO 2 , CH 4 , N 2 O, HFCs, PFCs, and SF 6 ) and sectors (energy, industry, agriculture, waste, and selected land-use activities) included in the Protocol. In this paper, we estimate the uncertainties in different emissions trading schemes based on uncertainties in corresponding inventories. According to the results, uncertainty in emissions from the EU15 and the EU25 included in the first phase of the EU emissions trading scheme (2005-2007) is ±3% (at 95% confidence interval relative to the mean value). If the trading were extended to CH 4 and N 2 O, in addition to CO 2 , but no new emissions sectors were included, the tradable amount of emissions would increase by only 2% and the uncertainty in the emissions would range from -4 to +8%. Finally, uncertainty in emissions included in emissions trading under the Kyoto Protocol was estimated to vary from -6 to +21%. Inclusion of removals from forest-related activities under the Kyoto Protocol did not notably affect uncertainty, as the volume of these removals is estimated to be small

The trading game : emissions trading schemes offer pollution as a market commodity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bradbury, D.

2005-07-01

This paper discussed the market mechanisms for emissions trading. The concept emerged in signatory countries to the Kyoto Protocol in response to their commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Emissions trading systems allow large polluters to buy and sell pollution credits in order to meet emission reduction targets. While member states in the European Union (EU) started trading in February 2005, Canada is still developing its own proposal that will be introduced in 2008 to correspond with the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol. In contrast to the European model that places absolute limits on GHG emissions, the Canadian system is intensity-based. Heavy polluters, known as large final emitters, will have to cut emissions of the 6 GHGs covered under the Kyoto Protocol as a percentage of their total industrial output. Companies that reduce their emissions more than their defined targets can trade the surplus as credits on the open domestic market. It was argued that this allows businesses to meet their own emissions targets while failing to contribute effectively to Canada's overall Kyoto target. In addition, in order to lessen the burden to industry, Canada has imposed a $15 cap on the price of credits, which is in contrast to the European system. It was argued that businesses in Europe will be more motivated to meet their targets because of the higher value on European pollution credits. With less onus on business in Canada to reduce absolute targets, the burden of reducing GHG emissions has shifted to federal taxpayers. The paper addressed some of the factors that led to Canada's decision to use an intensity-based system. One main factor was the refusal of the United States to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and the cost disadvantage this would create for Canadian firms. However, some argue that by paying more attention to energy use, companies can reduce emissions and increase shareholder value by achieving cost savings that are greater than the

Greenhouse gas emissions trading: Cogen case studies in the early trading market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buerer, Mary Jean

2001-01-01

An increasing number of companies are interested in opportunities to trade their reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from cogeneration on the emerging greenhouse gas emissions market. Only the UK and Denmark currently have emissions trading schemes, but they are under development in other European countries. Two frameworks currently exist for trading. Baseline-and-credit trading is used in Canada where companies can take part in two voluntary schemes (Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Trading Pilot or Clean Air Canada Inc). An example project from the CHP unit at DuPont's Maitland chemical production facility is given, with details of the baselines and calculations used. The other option is company-wide emissions trading. The example given here features the CHP units at BP's refinery and chemicals operations in Texas. The potential revenue from emission reduction projects could help to boost the economics of cogeneration projects

Examination of forest products trade between Turkey and European ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The success of getting in the foreign trade forms one of the basic stones of economic development for countries. The current and potential trading volume among countries and determining the main factors affecting trade are quite important. The trade currents of the European Union (EU) countries and Turkey in the forest ...

The construction of Shenzhen's carbon emission trading scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Jing Jing; Ye, Bin; Ma, Xiao Ming

2014-01-01

The Shenzhen ETS is the first urban-level “cap-and-trade” carbon emissions trading scheme to operate in China. This paper gives an overview of the economic and emissions situation in Shenzhen and focuses on the development of the Shenzhen ETS regulatory framework. It is devised as an ETS with an intensity-based cap, output-based allocation and a market for trading of allowances. The design of the Shenzhen ETS attaches great importance to coordinate the dynamic relationships between economic growth, industrial transition and emissions control. The cap and its allocation are determined by carbon intensity reduction targets and economic output, with an aim to slow down emissions growth while mitigating shocks from economic fluctuation and industrial adjustment to market stability. The Shenzhen ETS features extensive coverage consisting of three types of regulated entities and four categories of covered emissions, in order to control carbon emissions by both improving energy efficiency and restraining growing energy demand. A competitive game theory method is created for allocation of free allowances to manufacturing enterprises. Mechanisms for carbon offsets and market stabilization are developed to promote active and orderly trading in the carbon market. Moreover, several challenges and their policy choices are detailed for the development of the Shenzhen ETS. - Highlights: • The Shenzhen ETS is the first urban-level “cap-and-trade” carbon emission trading scheme operated in China. • This paper focuses on the construction of Shenzhen carbon emission trading scheme. It is devised as the intensity-based cap, output-based allocation and allowance trade carbon market. • It has some signatures in the general principles, coverage and scope, cap and allocation and other mechanisms. • Several challenges and their policy choices are detailed for the development of Shenzhen ETS

Eu emission trading scheme and its implications on energy sector of Lithuania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streimikiene, D.; Mikalauskiene, A.

2004-01-01

The main objectives of the article are to analyse the theoretical principles of emission trading and to emphasize the main features and requirements of EU emission trading scheme. The goal of the article to assess the impact of GHG emission trading on economy and GHG emission reduction in EU and Lithuania

A plausible congestion management scheme for the internal electricity market of the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez-Arriaga, I.J.; Olmos, L.

2005-01-01

This paper proposes a scheme for the management of network congestion in the Internal Electricity Market (IEM) of the European Union. This scheme tries to combine the rigor in the treatment of the energy and transmission capacity transactions with the flexibility and pragmatism that are necessary to make the scheme compatible with the current diversity of regulatory approaches and market structures in the Member States participating in the IEM. First, a reference scheme is presented with a complete formulation that jointly deals with the energy and capacity markets. Because of the implementation difficulties of this conceptually ideal approach, a more pragmatic scheme is proposed instead. The core of this scheme is an explicit auction mechanism that must be run prior to any short-term (daily, typically) energy markets. In this auction, where only transmission capacity is traded, both bilateral contracts and energy bids to Power Exchanges can participate in order to acquire the capacity that is necessary to carry out their transactions. Some technical issues related to the practical implementation of the proposed approach are also examined; these include market liquidity, the financial or physical nature of the long-term contracts, the potential problems of 'slicing' transmission capacity and the allocation of congestion rents. Market power issues are ignored. (author)

A plausible congestion management scheme for the internal electricity market of the European Union

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perez-Arriaga, I.J.; Olmos, L. [Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Madrid (Spain). Instituto de Investigacion Tecnologica

2005-06-01

This paper proposes a scheme for the management of network congestion in the Internal Electricity Market (IEM) of the European Union. This scheme tries to combine the rigor in the treatment of the energy and transmission capacity transactions with the flexibility and pragmatism that are necessary to make the scheme compatible with the current diversity of regulatory approaches and market structures in the Member States participating in the IEM. First, a reference scheme is presented with a complete formulation that jointly deals with the energy and capacity markets. Because of the implementation difficulties of this conceptually ideal approach, a more pragmatic scheme is proposed instead. The core of this scheme is an explicit auction mechanism that must be run prior to any short-term (daily, typically) energy markets. In this auction, where only transmission capacity is traded, both bilateral contracts and energy bids to Power Exchanges can participate in order to acquire the capacity that is necessary to carry out their transactions. Some technical issues related to the practical implementation of the proposed approach are also examined; these include market liquidity, the financial or physical nature of the long-term contracts, the potential problems of 'slicing' transmission capacity and the allocation of congestion rents. Market power issues are ignored. (author)

Emissions Trading Schemes under IFRS - Towards a “true and fair view”

OpenAIRE

Haupt, Madlen; Ismer, Roland

2011-01-01

This research paper seeks to contribute to the latest discussions on the financial reporting for emissions trading schemes. It starts out by giving an overview of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) accounting policies, which are currently applied by the majority of participants in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. It then argues that in order to fulfil the aims of financial reporting under IFRS, namely to provide a true and fair view, accounting must depict CO2 as a cost of...

ANALYSIS OF EUROPEAN UNION LEGISLATION ON TRADE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

GRIBINCEA Lilia;

2016-12-01

Full Text Available On June 27, 2014 there was signed an Association Agreement between the Republic of Moldova, on one hand and the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and its Member States, on the other hand (hereinafter - the Association Agreement. The Association Agreement entered into force on 1 July 2016. The signing of the Association Agreement was as a result of the close ties between the parties established by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, on the one hand, and the Republic of Moldova on the other hand, which develops within the European Neighborhood policy and the Eastern Partnership, as well as recognition of the shared desire of the parties to further develop, strengthen and expand their relationships. The Association Agreement contributes to the development of trade and economic relations between the parties. The Republic of Moldova is obliged to take necessary measures to ensure compliance with the objectives of Union's regulations and to follow the principles and practices set out in the relevant acquis of the Union. The Republic of Moldova will also gradually include relevant acquis of the Union in its legislation, in accordance with the provisions of the Association Agreement. The legislative background regulatory EU trade is subject studies only a small circle of researchers, approaches and sequential episodic in character, without being integrated into a systemic study, complex, integrated. The objectives of the research are to analyze the most important EU regulations on trade.

Foreign Trade Dvelopment between Libya and the European Union

OpenAIRE

Mansoor Maitah; Nassir Salim; Abulgasem Bazina

2011-01-01

This article deals with the analysis of foreign trade development betweenLibyaand the European Union in the recent years. Libya is one of the developing countries with large area, low density of population and large endowment of natural resources, oil and gas. The Libyan economy like a number of other Arab economies, depends heavily on oil revenue, it relies heavily on a single exportable commodity, as the main source of foreign exchange earnings. Trade relations betweenLibyaand the European ...

European emissions trading - the business perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pocklington, D.

2002-01-01

Annex I parties to the Kyoto Protocol will commit to reducing the emissions of the basket of greenhouse gases by the equivalent of 135 MtC by the first commitment period of 2008-2012. Within the overall target, the EU has agreed to an average reduction of 8%, although this is subject to burden sharing within an EU ''bubble'', in which there are substantial differences in Member States' allocations. The instruments for reduction are emissions trading, industrial country joint implementation and clean development mechanism. By their nature, market instruments, such as emissions trading, are reliant upon the efficient operation of the market, which in turn depends upon the full involvement of the maximum number of participants to ensure liquidity. Although emissions trading has been generally welcomed by industry, when the proposals were published, many representative organisations expressed reservations concerning its format and details. The position papers of those organisations reviewed in this article demonstrate that within industry there is a high degree of unanimity on the majority of the critical issues within the current proposal, and agreement on the components that should be included in the final version. If the Commission's ambitious timetable is to be achieved, significant changes will need to be made to the proposal, for it is unlikely to achieve early adoption in its present form, and the longer the process takes, the more the national schemes will have the opportunity to develop and ultimately shape the EU scheme that is eventually agreed. In this respect, there certainly will be ''early mover advantage'' to those Member States that have or are currently establishing their own schemes, and have the requisite political weight to impose their views. (author)

Emissions trading to combat climate change: The impact of scheme design on transaction costs

OpenAIRE

Betz, Regina

2006-01-01

This paper explores the likely impact of emissions trading design on transaction costs. Transaction costs include both the costs for the private sector to comply with the scheme rules and the costs of scheme administration. In economic theory transaction costs are often assumed to be zero. But transaction costs are real costs and there is no reason for treating them differently to other costs. Thus, in setting up an emissions trading scheme, transaction costs have to be taken into account in ...

Trade With the European Union: Recent Trends and Electronic Commerce Issues

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1999-01-01

.... trade with the European Union (EU). As major trading partners, the United States and the EU are currently addressing several trade-related issues, including their approach to electronic commerce, or e-commerce...

Emission trading scheme: market analysis and forecasting scenarios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clo, Stefano

2006-01-01

This article offers an economic analysis of the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and its institutional framework; we introduce an economic model able to simulate some possible market price's scenarios. The aim of this article is to offer a better market fundamentals' comprehension and to help economic agents building their expectations about market's development [it

Analysis of Ukraine’s foreign trade turnover in context of free trade zone with European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

К.Shymanska

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The implementation of the free trade zone between Ukraine and the European Union has many advantages and disadvantages for our country. The changes in Ukraine’s economic integration vector cause much dispute about its prospects and profitability. Nevertheless, the strengthening of economic and political crisis leads to the reduction in foreign trade of Ukraine with the EU. Although in recent years, many institutional limitations for the Ukrainian producers’ entrance to European markets have been removed. The analysis of Ukraine's foreign trade turnover with EU countries showed the indicators of exports and imports structure in the partner countries and allowed to reveal decreasing of intensity of these operations. This can be a negative indicator of activities for the implementation of the Association Agreement with the EU. The study has formulated the perspective directions of foreign trade policy of Ukraine, in particular with respect to the modernization of informational and technical support of the customs clearance of the goods movement, increasing control over the quality of Ukrainian goods and opportunities for the small and mediumsized entities entrance to the European markets.

Trading scheme 'key' to low-carbon economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beazley has emphasised the importance of getting the economics of environmental policy right by introducing market-based mechanisms for pricing emissions. 'Market-based mechanisms such as emissions trading are central to moving to a low-carbon economy,' he said in his latest blueprint. 'A functioning carbon market will deliver a price signal, so there is a long-term incentive to cut emissions further, and a mechanism for trading, so that energy can be allocated efficiently in the economy. It will also encourage greater private investment in clean energy technology.' Mr Beazley said the new market would also reward the many companies who were already adapting to a carbon-constrained world. 'This includes those global companies in Australia that already operate in emissions trading markets overseas. An effective price signal for carbon in Australia will allow these companies to benefit directly from their good corporate citizenship and long-term vision.' Mr Beazley has committed a federal Labor government to work with state governments and business to establish the national trading scheme. He also criticised the Federal Government for refusing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which he argued excluded Australian businesses from participating in the emerging global carbon trade. This made it harder for businesses to break into the market for cleaner production technologies overseas. While again admitting Kyoto was not perfect, Mr Beazley said ratification would see Australia part of what would potentially be 'the biggest market in the world by 2020'. He said the recent Asia Pacific Climate Change Pact was a positive step but was not an alternative to Kyoto. 'Above all, it has no economic mechanisms to drive further change. 'Without ratifying Kyoto some of our businesses are missing out on effective participation in international schemes that offer substantial financial rewards for greenhouse gas reductions. 'By ratifying Kyoto and adopting

Emissions trading for climate policy - US and European perspectives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernd Hansjuergens (ed.) [Martin Luther-Universitaet Halle-Wittenburg (Germany)

2005-07-01

The 1997 Kyoto Conference introduced emissions trading as a new policy instrument for climate protection. Bringing together scholars in the fields of economics, political science and law, this book provides a description, analysis and evaluation of different aspects of emissions trading as an instrument to control greenhouse gases. The authors analyse theoretical aspects of regulatory instruments for climate policy, provide an overview of US experience with market-based instruments, draw lessons from existing trading schemes for the control of greenhouse gases, and discuss options for emissions trading in climate policy. They also highlight the background of climate policy and instrument choice in the US and Europe and of the emerging new systems in Europe, particularly the new EU's directive for a CO{sub 2} emissions trading system. 8 figs., 15 tabs.

EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT OF ECO‐MANAGEMENT AND AUDIT SCHEME (EMAS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justyna SŁONIMIEC

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The paper presents the implementation of the Environmental Management and Audit Scheme System (EMAS in Poland and the European Union. It analyzes the existing rules on the implementation and the process of its implementation. It also defines the benefits and costs arising from the registration of organizations in the system. The paper presents the current status of implementation of EMAS in the European Union.

Stochastic Differential Equation Models for the Price of European CO2 Emissions Allowances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wugan Cai

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Understanding the stochastic nature of emissions allowances is crucial for risk management in emissions trading markets. In this study, we discuss the emissions allowances spot price within the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme: Powernext and European Climate Exchange. To compare the fitness of five stochastic differential equations (SDEs to the European Union allowances spot price, we apply regression theory to obtain the point and interval estimations for the parameters of the SDEs. An empirical evaluation demonstrates that the mean reverting square root process (MRSRP has the best fitness of five SDEs to forecast the spot price. To reduce the degree of smog, we develop a new trading scheme in which firms have to hand many more allowances to the government when they emit one unit of air pollution on heavy pollution days, versus one allowance on clean days. Thus, we set up the SDE MRSRP model with Markovian switching to analyse the evolution of the spot price in such a scheme. The analysis shows that the allowances spot price will not jump too much in the new scheme. The findings of this study could contribute to developing a new type of emissions trading.

Emissions trading and competitive positions. The European Proposal for a Directive establishing a Framework for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading and Methods for the initial Allocation of Pollution Rights

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grimeaud, D.; Peeters, M.

2002-10-01

The study on the intention to introduce emissions trading on a European Union level was conducted on the basis of the following three questions: Which methods can be used (by the Member States) to distribute the tradable emissions rights en which legal preconditions should be observed considering the EU-Treaty and the relevant directive proposal? Whenever necessary and possible international agreements on climate change and international trade law will be mentioned. Which safeguards are available for fair competition and which system of emissions trading is advisable in this perspective? How should the PSR (performance standard rate) system, which is preferred by industry, be valued? The structure of this study is as follows: in chapter 2 insight is given into the various methods that can be used to start an emissions trading system, i.e. the way tradable pollution rights are distributed (initial allocation). Chapter 3 will further examine the system of the initial allocation of pollution rights as it has been chosen in the proposal for the European directive. The aim is to give an exact qualification of the method of emissions trading, especially the method of initial allocation, that is used in the directive proposal. Chapter 4 examines whether safeguards are available to prevent competition distortions between firms that fall under the scope of the emissions trading scheme. Special attention will be given to conditions that result from the EU-Treaty in this context, such as the prohibition of state aid. In this chapter the international trade law will be dealt with as well. Chapter 5 will present an executive summary and the specific question whether the PSR-system is legally acceptable or maybe even recommendable, will be answered

The Doha Negotiations on Trade in Goods: An European Perspective

OpenAIRE

Messerlin , Patrick

2006-01-01

The note reviews the basic market access issues in the Doha negotiations on trade in goods from an European perspective. First, it shows that some European negotiators are demanding more concessions in manufacturing (NAMA) that the European business community is asking for - adding strong tensions in a context already marked by severe problems in farm talks. Second, the note reveals the European interests really at stake in the agricultural negotiations, before addressing the negotiating issu...

Trade agreements with side-effects? : European Union and United States to negotiate Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

OpenAIRE

Mildner, Stormy-Annika; Schmucker, Claudia

2013-01-01

"At the G8 summit in Northern Ireland on June 17, the European Union and the United States kicked off the negotiations for a comprehensive Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) to reduce tariffs and non-tariff trade barriers. While the expected economic benefits for both sides would be more than welcome in an era of gloomy growth forecasts, a TTIP is not entirely without risks for global trade and the multilateral trading system. The talks could tie up a considerable portion o...

Further development of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in Germany and the European Union under consideration of experiences in other EU Member States; Weiterentwicklung des Emissionshandels - national und auf EU-Ebene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wartmann, S; Klaus, S; Scharte, M; Harnisch, J [Ecofys GmbH, Nuernberg (Germany); Heilmann, S; Bertenrath, R [FiFo Koeln (Germany)

2008-02-15

The study analyses options for further development of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) after 2012. The first analysis focuses on the effects of the EU-ETS on companies, power prices, competitiveness and employment. It is followed by an analysis of overlaps or lacking coverage regarding the climate policies EU-ETS, Eco-Tax (Oekosteuer) resp. Energy Tax, the Renewable Energy Sources Act and the Combined Heat and Powert Act. These instruments are analysed with regards to their coherence. As a next step, the national allocation plans of France, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Poland are evaluated and recommendations are developed. Best practice recommendations for further developing the EU-ETS after 2012 both at the European and the national level are developed from the comparison of these European national allocation plans. Finally, design features of certificate systems relevant for international linking of such systems are addressed. In the analysis such design features are identified and approaches for problems potentially arising when certificate systems are linked, are developed. (orig.)

The adverse effect of real effective exchange rate change on trade balance in European transition countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Selena Begović

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Most European transition countries have fixed or highly managed flexible exchange rate regimes. This exchange rate rigidity is sometimes argued to worsen the trade balance by keeping the currency overvalued. However, there is no unambiguous evidence that currency depreciation/devaluation positively affects trade balance and leads towards the adjustment, even in the short-run. Therefore, we examine the effect of real effective exchange rate (hereafter REER on trade balance in European transition economies over the period 2000-2015. By using fixed effect model for static and generalised method of moments for dynamic estimation, we find that there is an adverse effect of the REER on trade balance in European transition countries over the period 2000-2015. Namely, depreciation of REER deteriorates trade balance in European transition countries, which could be explained by high import dependence and low export capacity. This implies that policymakers in European transition countries should not use exchange rate policy to improve trade balance. This is important in the light of their accession towards European economic and monetary integration, implying that these countries should focus more on using fiscal, rather than monetary (and exchange rate, policy to adjust trade balance, which is one of the required real convergence towards the EU standards.

Implementing greenhouse gas trading in Europe. Lessons from economic literature and international experiences

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boemare, Catherine; Quirion, Philippe

2002-01-01

The European Commission (document COM (2001) 581) has recently presented a directive proposal to the European Parliament and Council in order to implement a greenhouse gas emission trading scheme. If this proposal survives the policy process, it will create the most ambitious trading system ever implemented. However, the legislative process is an opportunity for various interest groups to amend environmental policies, which as a result generally deviate further from what economic literature proposes. A close look at implemented emission trading schemes, stressing their discrepancies with economic literature requests, is thus useful to increase the chances of forthcoming emission trading schemes to go through the political process. We thus review ten emission trading systems, which are either implemented or at an advanced stage of the policy process. We draw attention to major points to be aware of when designing an emission trading system: sectoral and spatial coverage, permits allocation, temporal flexibility, trading organisation, monitoring, enforcement, compliance, and the harmonisation vs. subsidiarity issue. The aim is to evaluate how far experiences in emission trading move away from theory and why. We then provide some lessons and recommendations on how to implement a greenhouse gas emission trading program in Europe. We identify some pros of the Commission proposal (spatial and sectoral coverage, temporal flexibility, trading organisation, compliance rules), some potential drawbacks (allocation rules, monitoring and enforcement) and items on which further guidance is needed (monitoring and allocation rules). Lastly, the European Commission should devote prominent attention to the US NO X Ozone Transport Commission budget program, as the only example of integration between the federal and state levels

The competences of European Union institutions in the trade policy (Lisbon Treaty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margareta Timbur

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The European Union is the best known at the world’s leading trade power and the common trade policy is the core of EU external relations. The events of the last years and the extension of the EU to 27 member proved that the functioning system could no longer continue and was requiring a new institutional framework. The Lisbon Treaty was the right solution. It purposes are to bring changes for the citizens, institutions, external relations foe the consolidation of democracy in EU. This paper attempts to provide an overview of the major revisions introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon regarding the trade policy. Also, it analyses the extension and clarification of EU competence, the greater role of the European Parliament and the inclusion of investment policy in trade policy, the voting rules in trade area and the international negotiation of trade agreements. The study describes, as well, the impact of Lisbon Treaty implementation on the MS which are independent nations, but without power of decision in the common trade policy.

The impact of CO{sub 2} emissions trading on the European transport sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaageson, Per

2001-07-01

The objective of this report is to analyse how a common European scheme for CO{sub 2} emissions trading covering all sectors of society would affect the transport sector. Transport externalities other than CO{sub 2} are assumed to be internalised by kilometer charging. This means road fuels will no longer be subject to taxation. The European Union's commitment under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol can be reached at a marginal abatement cost around 65 Euro per tonne of CO{sub 2} in a case where emissions trading replaces all current taxes on fossil fuels. In a case where emissions trading is supplementary to today's energy and carbon taxes, the current average taxation (45-50 Euro per tonne CO{sub 2}) and the shadow price of the emission permits (33 Euro per tonne) would together give a total marginal abatement cost around 80 Euro per tonne Of CO{sub 2}. Having to buy emission permits would significantly raise the cost of fuel and electricity used in rail, aviation and short sea shipping, as these modes are currently not taxed at all. The resulting long-term (2025) improvement in specific energy efficiency is estimated at around 25 per cent compared to trend for rail and 20 and 40 per cent respectively for aviation and sea transport. A combination of CO{sub 2} emissions trading and km charging would moderately raise the variable cost of driving a gasoline car. The cost of using diesel vehicles would rise considerably in most Member States. Annual mileage per car would therefore decline somewhat. The fuel, however, would become cheaper than today (especially gasoline) and this would reduce the incentive to buy fuel-efficient vehicles. The reform would thus hamper the introduction of new, more efficient, technologies that might be needed for meeting more long-term commitments. Emissions trading would not encourage the introduction of biofuels in road transport. The incremental cost of producing ethanol or RME is much too high and cannot be expected to fall to the

Does EU ETS lead to emission reductions through trade? The case of the Swedish emissions trading sector participants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandoff, Anders; Schaad, Gabriela

2009-01-01

The first trading period of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) has recently come to an end. The experiences of the actors in the trading sector will be of great importance in evaluating the aim and direction of this 'Grand Policy Experiment'. This paper gives an account of the attitudes and actions of the companies included in the Swedish emissions trading sector after about 15 months of experience with the system. The data are based on a study commissioned by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, and is a comprehensive survey that encompasses all companies operating installations included in the Swedish Emission Trading Registry. However, the results point in a somewhat disquieting direction. Although the Swedish companies have shown significant interest in reducing emissions, this survey indicates that this is done without close attention to the pricing mechanism of the market-based instruments. If this praxis is widespread within the European trading sector, it can have a serious negative effect on the efficiency of the system.

Diversity-Multiplexing Trade-off for Coordinated Direct and Relay Schemes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thai, Chan; Popovski, Petar; De Carvalho, Elisabeth

2013-01-01

The recent years have brought a significant body of research on wireless Two-Way Relaying (TWR), where the use of network coding brings an evident advantage in terms of data rates. Yet, TWR scenarios represent only a special case and it is of interest to devise similar techniques in more general...... Direct/Relay (CDR) schemes, which involve two flows, of a direct and a relayed user. In this paper we characterize a CDR scheme by deriving/bounding the Diversity-Multiplexing Trade-off (DMT) function. Two cases are considered. In the first case a transmitter knows the Channel State Information (CSI...

Romania’s foreign trade with the European Union in 2008

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ancuta Stangaciu

2010-12-01

Full Text Available In this study, I proposed to analyze the spatial concentration of international trade flows between Romania and the European Union both overall and by the sections of the Combined Nomenclature. Using statistical analysis methods such as square and Gini’s index or Onicescu informational energy, I concluded that Romania’s main trade partners are Italy, Germany and France and trade relations with these 3 countries are characterized by exchanges of good to cover, generally a wide range of products.

Position of the European Union in the Global Trade System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jovićević Mladen

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Only a few decades ago, the main drivers of globalization were the exchange of goods and capital flows, while the global trading system of today, fuelled by rapid technological changes increasingly bases itself on knowledge. The Key events - such as the use of the Internet and the increasingly important role of the rising countries economies - have contributed to a faster global exchange, but to a new nature as well. In order to illustrate the scope of the increase, perhaps it would be the best to mention the fact that in the 1970’s the share of trade in the world GDP amounted to 20%, whereas today it makes about one half. On the other hand, modern products represent compounds of raw materials, components, technologies and services originating from different areas and different continents, which has globalized the products themselves. In such conditions of the market competition, imposed by globalization and liberalization, for the European Union to remain as a leader, it had to prepare a sound and well-founded foreign policy strategy. The aim of this paper is to analyse the current position of the European Union in the global trading system, instruments of foreign trade policy, goals, foreign trade and the main challenges placed before the Union.

The Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – A Challenge for the European Union?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana–Antonia Colibășanu

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Since the early 2000s, the United States and European Union have discussed the development of bilateral and regional trade agreements. The TTIP – Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was announced in February 2013 and is currently under negotiation. The initiative aims at establishing a trade agreement between the two blocs, removing all trade barriers, including the non-tariff ones, in a wide range of economic sectors. The paper looks at several key elements that the bilateral negotiations are set to challenge from the European Union perspective. We focus on the main causes for resistance within the EU towards establishing the agreement, seeking to understand the future framework for international trade for the European states. While the EU continues integration to establish a functioning internal market, still continuing the process of diminishing and eliminating non-tariff barriers among the member states, we examine whether liberalisation of trade and investment between the US and the EU will benefit the EU as a whole, considering the current socio-economic trends at the Union’s level.

Building Trust in Emissions Reporting. Global Trends in Emissions Trading Schemes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kruijd, J.; Walrecht, A.; Laseur, J.; Schoolderman, H.; Gledhill, R.

2007-02-15

This report highlights the key characteristics of the world's main emission trading schemes, presents a new vision for compliance in emissions trading and calls for global action to develop this. Climate change is now at the top of the political and business agenda. Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth', the Stern Review and the now almost daily press coverage of climate change science and impacts have engaged many of the global leaders in government and in business. Emissions trading is increasingly seen as a central plank in the response to climate change. But market mechanisms like this depend on trust and confidence. Any widespread or systemic failure, as a result of deficient monitoring and reporting, flawed compliance processes or fraud, could undermine confidence in markets and regulation and jeopardise the crucial policy goals that they are designed to address. Key to this trust are the three central criteria of transparency, accountability and integrity. The PricewaterhouseCoopers report looks at how the patchwork of trading schemes that are emerging around the globe stacks up against these criteria. Despite good intentions across the board, the general picture is one of new and immature markets, inconsistent and complex compliance frameworks and risk. PricewaterhouseCoopers make the case for urgent and coordinated action to develop a framework of generally accepted principles and practice that will underpin trust and efficiency in these new markets - in effect, a new Global Emissions Compliance Language.

Building Trust in Emissions Reporting. Global Trends in Emissions Trading Schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruijd, J.; Walrecht, A.; Laseur, J.; Schoolderman, H.; Gledhill, R.

2007-02-01

This report highlights the key characteristics of the world's main emission trading schemes, presents a new vision for compliance in emissions trading and calls for global action to develop this. Climate change is now at the top of the political and business agenda. Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth', the Stern Review and the now almost daily press coverage of climate change science and impacts have engaged many of the global leaders in government and in business. Emissions trading is increasingly seen as a central plank in the response to climate change. But market mechanisms like this depend on trust and confidence. Any widespread or systemic failure, as a result of deficient monitoring and reporting, flawed compliance processes or fraud, could undermine confidence in markets and regulation and jeopardise the crucial policy goals that they are designed to address. Key to this trust are the three central criteria of transparency, accountability and integrity. The PricewaterhouseCoopers report looks at how the patchwork of trading schemes that are emerging around the globe stacks up against these criteria. Despite good intentions across the board, the general picture is one of new and immature markets, inconsistent and complex compliance frameworks and risk. PricewaterhouseCoopers make the case for urgent and coordinated action to develop a framework of generally accepted principles and practice that will underpin trust and efficiency in these new markets - in effect, a new Global Emissions Compliance Language

An evaluation of possible EU air transport emissions trading scheme allocation methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrell, Peter

2007-01-01

The European Commission has been requested by member states to study the incorporation of air transport into their existing emissions trading scheme (ETS). Only CO 2 is to be included, at least initially. This paper focuses on the method of allocation of emissions permits in the EU context. It has been assumed here that the EU ETS will be applied only to intra-EU flights and that airlines will be the entities selected for implementation. Three UK airlines were selected to evaluate three main types of allocation: grandfathering, auctioning and benchmarking. The airlines were representative of the three major airline business models: network, low-cost carrier and charter/leisure. Based on 2003/2004 aircraft/engine type and operating data, the per passenger impact of each allocation option was analysed for each airline. A new benchmarking approach is proposed that takes into account both the landing and take-off (LTO) cycle and per kilometre emissions: this avoids penalising shorter sector operators and focuses on the damage caused by aircraft and their engines and not on passengers. (author)

Revision of the European trading scheme. Business views

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-06-01

Created in 1992, Entreprises pour l'Environnement (EpE) is an association of large companies which have gathered to progress together in integrating environment in the strategy and daily management. Its members are companies from various sectors from industry and services, including energy intensive industries, energy producers, financial service providers, among others. EpE serves as a think tank for its members, whose experience is brought as the main feed for thoughts. Climate change has been one of the major topics for many years, and EpE has been the first circle where market-based solutions have been discussed in France. In 2002, EpE initiated the creation of AERES (www.aeres-asso.org), a group of industrial companies who made voluntary reduction commitments on the six greenhouse gases of the Kyoto protocol and have been since measuring, verifying and publishing how they stick to this commitment. In addition, many of the EpE members are directly active on the ETS carbon market, whether as financial actors or compliance users, power producer or energy-intensive industrial international groups, and the association has dedicated significant work to the analysis of the first years of operation of this market as well as discussion on future commitments and/or processes / approaches This document results from this work. It encompasses notes on: - predictability for regulators and clear visibility to industry's investments; - auctioning process; - the need for a market authority on the European carbon market; - allocation mechanisms. The document provides a summary of this material. In many instances it presents a choice that can only be made by political decision. Its purpose is to express views on such political choices stakes and consequences. These notes are based on the experience from the first period, as well as discussions among EpE members for future approaches. This contribution should be viewed as a contribution to the European dialogue on this

Incentives for energy efficiency in the EU emission trading scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schleich, Joachim [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (ISI), Karlsruhe (Germany); Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States); Rogge, Karoline [Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Systemtechnik und Innovationsforschung (ISI), Karlsruhe (Germany); ETH Zurich (Switzerland). Group for Sustainability and Technology; Betz, Regina [New South Wales Univ. (Australia). Centre for Energy and Environmental Markets

2008-07-01

This paper explores the incentives for energy efficiency induced by the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) for installations in the energy and industry sectors. Our analysis of the National Allocation Plans for 27 EU Member States for phase 2 of the EU ETS (2008-2012) suggests that the price and cost effects for improvements in carbon and energy efficiency in the energy and industry sectors will be stronger than in phase 1 (2005-2007), but only because the European Commission has substantially reduced the number of allowances to be allocated by the Member States. To the extent that companies from these sectors (notably power producers) pass through the extra costs for carbon, higher prices for allowances translate into stronger incentives for demand- side energy efficiency. With the cuts in allocation to energy and industry sectors these will be forced to greater reductions, thus the non-ET sectors like household, tertiary and transport will have to reduce less, which is more in line with the cost-efficient share of emission reductions. The findings also imply that domestic efficiency improvements in the energy and industry sectors may remain limited since companies can make substantial use of credits from the Kyoto mechanisms. The analysis of the rules for existing installations, new projects and closures suggests that incentives for energy efficiency are higher in phase 2 than in phase 1 because of the increased application of benchmarking to new and existing installations and because a lower share of allowances will be allocated for free. Nevertheless, there is still ample scope to further improve the EU ETS so that the full potential for energy efficiency can be realized. (orig.)

North American free trade and the European situation compared.

Science.gov (United States)

Weintraub, S

1992-01-01

The author analyzes and compares the trade situation in the European Community (EC) with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He finds that "while both the EC and NAFTA are designed to provide trade preferences to the member countries, the two groupings differ markedly in other respects. The Treaty of Rome, establishing what is now the EC, consciously used economic means to foster political cohesion in Western Europe; whereas, the NAFTA negotiations seek free trade rather than more comprehensive economic integration precisely to minimize political content. The EC contains many social provisions absent from the NAFTA discussions, the most important of which is the right of migration from one EC country to another." The effects of NAFTA on the economy of Mexico and on Mexican migration to the United States are also assessed. excerpt

Potential gains from CO2 trading in the EU

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard; Vesterdal, Morten

2003-01-01

A new Green Paper from the European Commission on emissions trading foresees the setting-up of a CO2 trading system within the EU for the energy sector. Because any such international environmental agreement is self-enforcing, the participants must have an economic net gain from joining the propo......A new Green Paper from the European Commission on emissions trading foresees the setting-up of a CO2 trading system within the EU for the energy sector. Because any such international environmental agreement is self-enforcing, the participants must have an economic net gain from joining...... the proposed system. Our contribution is therefore to follow the Green Paper proposal and investigate whether member countries and the largest industrial boilers in the electricity sector actually will get significant net gains from CO2 trade in the European Union rather than undertaking domestic actions...... solely. We show, based on PRIMES model, that a full CO2 emission trading system between Annex B countries suggest overall cost savings in the order of 40 % compared to a situation with no trading at all between Member States. A tradable CO2 permit scheme with comprehensive coverage of emissions within...

Emissions Trading: The Ugly Duckling in European Climate Policy?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wraake, Markus

2009-07-15

The initial years of the European Union's Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) have provided a large-scale testing ground for trading of a new environmental commodity, carbon dioxide. This paper provides an overview of the origins and characteristics of the EU ETS. It then goes on to analyse the most contentious issues that have been discussed in the economics literature and in the public debate surrounding the trading system. The lessons learned are diverse and not all experiences are positive. Nevertheless, invaluable information has been gained from the EU ETS and policy makers in Europe and elsewhere would be wise to make use of it, be they supporters of emissions trading or sceptics to such policies. The paper concludes with a look toward the future, highlighting some upcoming revisions of the EU ETS and at what issues remain unresolved

European Trading Companies and Economic Development in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper focuses on the gradual planting of European colonial presence in the interior of the Basin through the agency of their trading companies and the activities of the African middlemen. With time, the result was the establishment of pioneer oil mills and a gradual but peaceful interaction with the rural dwellers of the ...

Carbon Emission Trading. A survey of regional and national emission trading schemes outside the European Union; Handel med utslaeppsraetter. Kartlaeggning av EU-externa regionala och nationella system foer handel med koldioxidutslaepp

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Widegren, Karin

2007-03-15

For those countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol this is naturally one of the most important incentives for the introduction of mandatory measures such as emissions trading schemes. At the same time, there are major similarities between the political discussions in countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol and countries that did not. In all countries there is a great interest in market-based regulation such as emissions trading, at the same time as the political difficulties in achieving unity on the limits and shaping of the systems are very substantial. In countries with a federal government, operators at the regional level frequently have a prominent role. The driving force for the regional players is frequently a desire to influence the federal policy from below at the same time as goodwill is created and a learning process is developed that may become a competitive advantage the day a federal system is introduced. Regional initiatives and the introduction of different voluntary programs for emissions trading have also contributed to an increased interest on the part of industry and industrial operators. They have in several cases actively participated in the design of such programs. When it comes to the operational status of the different schemes none of the studied countries is expected to have a nationally compulsory trading system in operation prior to 2010. Most initiatives are at the initial stage and have been delayed many times on account of significant administrative and political difficulties. It may be established that as regards market volume, liquidity and practical experiences EU ETS is in a class of its own. The most common trading system that is planned or debated is of the type 'cap and trade'. Systems focus almost without exception on the energy sector and on emissions of carbon dioxide. Frequently, proposals include a wide variety of approved emission credits (offset). The design of these emission credits often reflects other

Carbon Emission Trading. A survey of regional and national emission trading schemes outside the European Union; Handel med utslaeppsraetter. Kartlaeggning av EU-externa regionala och nationella system foer handel med koldioxidutslaepp

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Widegren, Karin

2007-03-15

For those countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol this is naturally one of the most important incentives for the introduction of mandatory measures such as emissions trading schemes. At the same time, there are major similarities between the political discussions in countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol and countries that did not. In all countries there is a great interest in market-based regulation such as emissions trading, at the same time as the political difficulties in achieving unity on the limits and shaping of the systems are very substantial. In countries with a federal government, operators at the regional level frequently have a prominent role. The driving force for the regional players is frequently a desire to influence the federal policy from below at the same time as goodwill is created and a learning process is developed that may become a competitive advantage the day a federal system is introduced. Regional initiatives and the introduction of different voluntary programs for emissions trading have also contributed to an increased interest on the part of industry and industrial operators. They have in several cases actively participated in the design of such programs. When it comes to the operational status of the different schemes none of the studied countries is expected to have a nationally compulsory trading system in operation prior to 2010. Most initiatives are at the initial stage and have been delayed many times on account of significant administrative and political difficulties. It may be established that as regards market volume, liquidity and practical experiences EU ETS is in a class of its own. The most common trading system that is planned or debated is of the type 'cap and trade'. Systems focus almost without exception on the energy sector and on emissions of carbon dioxide. Frequently, proposals include a wide variety of approved emission credits (offset). The design of these emission credits often reflects other political

Cap and trade schemes on waste management: A case study of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) in England

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calaf-Forn, Maria; Roca, Jordi; Puig-Ventosa, Ignasi

2014-01-01

Highlights: • LATS has been effective to achieve a reduction of the amount of landfilled waste. • LATS has been one of the few environmental instruments for waste management with a cap and trade methodology. • LATS has achieved to increase recycling of the biodegradable and other waste fractions. - Abstract: The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) is one of the main instruments used in England to enforce the landfill diversion targets established in the Directive 1999/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (Landfill Directive). Through the LATS, biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) allowances for landfilling are allocated to each local authority, otherwise known as waste disposal authorities (WDAs). The quantity of landfill allowances received is expected to decrease continuously from 2005/06 to 2019/20 so as to meet the objectives of the Landfill Directive. To achieve their commitments, WDAs can exchange, buy, sell or transfer allowances among each other, or may re-profile their own allocation through banking and/or borrowing. Despite the goals for the first seven years – which included two target years (2005/06 and 2009/10) – being widely achieved (the average allocation of allowances per WDA was 22.9% higher than those finally used), market activity among WDAs was high and prices were not very stable. Results in terms of waste reduction and recycling levels have been satisfactory. The reduction of BMW landfilled (in percentage) was higher during the first seven years of the LATS period (2005/06–2011/12) (around 7% annually) than during the previous period (2001/02–2004/05) (4.2% annually). Since 2008, the significance of the LATS diminished because of an increase in the rate of the UK Landfill Tax. The LATS was suppressed after the 2012/13 target year, before what it was initially scheduled. The purpose of this paper is to describe the particularities of the LATS, analyse its performance as

Cap and trade schemes on waste management: A case study of the Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) in England

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calaf-Forn, Maria, E-mail: mcalaf@ent.cat [Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), E-08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain); ENT Environment and Management, Carrer Sant Joan 39, First Floor, E-08800 Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona (Spain); Roca, Jordi [Departament de Teoria Econòmica, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Diagonal, 696, E-08034 Barcelona (Spain); Puig-Ventosa, Ignasi [ENT Environment and Management, Carrer Sant Joan 39, First Floor, E-08800 Vilanova i la Geltrú, Barcelona (Spain)

2014-05-01

Highlights: • LATS has been effective to achieve a reduction of the amount of landfilled waste. • LATS has been one of the few environmental instruments for waste management with a cap and trade methodology. • LATS has achieved to increase recycling of the biodegradable and other waste fractions. - Abstract: The Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS) is one of the main instruments used in England to enforce the landfill diversion targets established in the Directive 1999/31/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 April 1999 on the landfill of waste (Landfill Directive). Through the LATS, biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) allowances for landfilling are allocated to each local authority, otherwise known as waste disposal authorities (WDAs). The quantity of landfill allowances received is expected to decrease continuously from 2005/06 to 2019/20 so as to meet the objectives of the Landfill Directive. To achieve their commitments, WDAs can exchange, buy, sell or transfer allowances among each other, or may re-profile their own allocation through banking and/or borrowing. Despite the goals for the first seven years – which included two target years (2005/06 and 2009/10) – being widely achieved (the average allocation of allowances per WDA was 22.9% higher than those finally used), market activity among WDAs was high and prices were not very stable. Results in terms of waste reduction and recycling levels have been satisfactory. The reduction of BMW landfilled (in percentage) was higher during the first seven years of the LATS period (2005/06–2011/12) (around 7% annually) than during the previous period (2001/02–2004/05) (4.2% annually). Since 2008, the significance of the LATS diminished because of an increase in the rate of the UK Landfill Tax. The LATS was suppressed after the 2012/13 target year, before what it was initially scheduled. The purpose of this paper is to describe the particularities of the LATS, analyse its performance as

Supply-chain trade and labor market outcomes : The case of the 2004 European Union enlargement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaplan, Lennart C.; Kohl, Tristan; Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada

2018-01-01

The structure of international trade is increasingly characterized by fragmentation of production processes and trade policy. Yet, how trade policy affects supply-chain trade is largely unexplored territory. This paper shows how the accession of 10 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) to

Emissions trading in international aviation. Possible design options for an emissions trading scheme and their impact on climate change and the aviation industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deuber, Odette; Cames, Martin

2003-01-01

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the contribution of aviation to global warm-ing was 3.5 % in 1992. Considering the average growth rate of 4 % per year, the share might be more than doubled by the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol (2012). However, due to difficulties in allocating emissions from international aviation to individual countries, these emissions are exempt from commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, although in Article 2.2 the Parties to the Protocol are obliged to stabilize and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international aviation. To comply with this obligation, the introduction of emissions trading in international aviation is being discussed within the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). This paper analyses the design options of such an emissions trading scheme and its impact on climate change and the aviation industry. Among other matters, it discusses issues such as open and closed emissions trading schemes, coverage of gases, initial allocation of allowances and possible caps for the aviation industry. It is based on a re-search project that has been carried out on behalf of the German Federal Environmental Agency. The paper reveals that despite complex tropospheric and stratospheric interactions, as well as allocation problems, there are adequate structural options for the design of an emissions trading scheme. Given an adequate structure, emissions trading offers a great incentive to optimise flight routes not only according to economic but also to climatic factors. Consequently, the system would effectively reduce the contribution of aviation to climate change

The Belgian deposit guarantee scheme in a European perspective

OpenAIRE

Ch. Van Nieuwenhuyze; M. D. Zachary

2010-01-01

During the recent financial crisis, the deposit guarantee scheme in Belgium – as in other European countries – played a role in preventing bank runs and restoring confidence : to that end, the intervention ceilings were raised substantially and the scope of the scheme was extended to include certain life insurance policies. Finally, the expansion of the system’s coverage had to be financed by a sharp increase in the contributions from financial institutions. First of all, that measure had a p...

EU-Type Carbon Emissions Trade and the Distributional Impact of Overlapping Emissions Taxes

OpenAIRE

Thomas Eichner; Rüdiger Pethig

2009-01-01

The European Union fulfills its emissions reductions commitments by means of an emissions trading scheme covering some part of each member state’s economy and by national emissions control in the rest of their economies. The member states also levy energy/emissions taxes overlapping with the trading scheme. Restricting our focus on cost-effective policies, this paper investigates the distributive consequences of increasing the overlapping emissions tax that is uniform across countries. For ...

Opportunities for Pellet Trade - Towards a Single European Pellet Market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pigaht, Maurice; Janssen, Rainer; Rutz, Dominik; Boehm, Thorsten; Vasen, Norbert; Vegas, Laura; Karapanagiotis, Nicolas

2006-01-01

The potential for Pellets trade in Europe was researched and assessed. Such trade is of key importance for the development of a European pellet market of sufficient supply, demand, price and quality standards. Three target markets were taken as case studies for the trade assessment: Greece, Spain and Italy. All three markets stand to profit greatly from international trade. For these markets, pellet imports could supply the basis for the development of a domestic boiler market. At the same time, pellet exports would allow the planning of larger pellet production plants. Whilst these additional costs amount to some 10-20% of the Pellets price, they are financially acceptable, especially for new markets and 'peaks' in the demand/supply of established markets

Carbon trading thickness and market efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montagnoli, Alberto; De Vries, Frans P.

2010-01-01

This note tests for the efficient market hypothesis (EMH) in the market for CO 2 emission allowances in Phase I and Phase II of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). As usually is the case in emerging and non-competitive markets such as the EU ETS, trading often not occurs on a frequent basis. This has adverse implications for both the gains from permit trade as well as biases the EMH tests. Variance ratio tests are employed to adjust for the thin trading effect. The results indicate that Phase I - the trial and learning period - was inefficient, whereas the first period under Phase II shows signs of restoring market efficiency. (author)

Trading green electricity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, M.

1997-01-01

A study has been carried out into the feasibility of developing an electricity trading mechanism which would allow consumers to purchase electricity which has been derived from renewable energy resources. This study was part funded by the European Commission (ALTENER), the Department of Trade and Industry and a number of private sector companies. The trading mechanism is known as the Green Pool. As a result of the findings of this study discussions are being held with potential generators and suppliers to establish a Green Pool plc. The aim is to encourage the development of new renewable energy projects outside the NFFO and SRO schemes. The Green Pool plc will be owned by the generators and its main objective will be to market the electricity produced by its members. (Author)

Internalizing carbon costs in electricity markets: Using certificates in a load-based emissions trading scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gillenwater, Michael; Breidenich, Clare

2009-01-01

Several western states have considered developing a regulatory approach to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the electric power industry, referred to as a load-based (LB) cap-and-trade scheme. A LB approach differs from the traditional source-based (SB) cap-and-trade approach in that the emission reduction obligation is placed upon Load Serving Entities (LSEs), rather than electric generators. The LB approach can potentially reduce the problem of emissions leakage, relative to a SB system. For any of these proposed LB schemes to be effective, they must be compatible with modern, and increasingly competitive, wholesale electricity markets. LSE's are unlikely to know the emissions associated with their power purchases. Therefore, a key challenge for a LB scheme is how to assign emissions to each LSE. This paper discusses the problems with one model for assigning emissions under a LB scheme and proposes an alternative, using unbundled Generation Emission Attribute Certificates. By providing a mechanism to internalize an emissions price signal at the generator dispatch level, the tradable certificate model addresses both these problems and provides incentives identical to a SB scheme

Efficiency of European emissions markets: Lessons and implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krishnamurti, Chandrasekhar; Hoque, Ariful

2011-01-01

While prior studies have shown that emission rights and futures contracts on emission rights are efficiently priced, there are no studies on the efficiency of the options market. Therefore, this study fills the gap. We examine empirical evidence regarding the efficiency of the options market for emissions rights in Europe. We employ the put-call parity approach to test the efficiency of options on emission rights traded in the European market. This implies that firms can trade options on emission rights in addition to other existing strategies in order to manage their greenhouse gas emissions. - Highlights: → Efficiency of the European options market for emissions. → Design implications for the development of emissions trading schemes in other countries. → Governance issues pertaining to emissions trading.

Options of biofuel trade from Central and Eastern to Western European countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dam, J.; Faaij, A.P.C.; Lewandowski, I.M.; Van Zeebroeck, B.

2009-01-01

Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) have a substantial biomass production and export potential. The objective of this study is to assess whether the market for biofuels and trade can be profitable enough to realize a supply of biofuels from the CEEC to the European market and to estimate

The European Window: Challenges in the Negotiation of Mexico's Free Trade Agreement with the European Union

OpenAIRE

Sergio Gómez Lora; Jaime Zabludovsky

2005-01-01

On 1 July 2000 regulations to liberalize trade flows between Mexico and the European Union came into force, after more than six years of diplomatic work and complex negotiations. These regulations are part of the ¿Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLCUEM), which is also one of the components of the Agreement on Economic Association, Political Concertation and Cooperation (¿Global Agreement¿). The Global Agreement through its three components ¿ political dialogue, trade liberalization and cooperation...

National CO2 emissions trading in European perspective; Nationale CO2-emissiehandel in Europees perspectief

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-06-01

This report is the reaction of the Social and economic council (SER) in the Netherlands to the request of the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning en Environment (VROM) to formulate an advice on the final report of the Committee CO2 Trade (a.k.a the Vogtlander Committee). This Committee has drafted a proposal for a CO2 emission trade system in the Netherlands. The SER has also taken into account the proposal of the European Committee on a guideline for CO2 emission trade in the European Union (EU)

The competitiveness of Slovak foreign trade in the European market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavličková Viera

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the competitiveness of the Slovak Republic in its ability to succeed in foreign markets. It provides a complex view of Slovak foreign trade within the European Union using a sectoral classification of products. Several appropriate methods (Constant Market Share Analysis, Revealed Comparative Advantage, Michaely Index, and unit export and import values are applied to quantify the competitiveness of Slovak foreign trade and to identify the level and trend of its specialisation. The analysis uses the data provided by the Eurostat Comext database for the period 1999-2011. The results confirmed Slovakia as a former transition country to be a fast developing open economy. Its production is competitive in the European market, although mainly with prices. Labour- and capital-intensive commodities, along with the automotive industry, dominate Slovak foreign trade. Technology- and R&D-driven goods have a comparative disadvantage as a consequence of several factors, such as lack of innovation and creativity in the business sphere. A shift towards export of more sophisticated products would be beneficial in supporting long-term sustainable development; however, no significant change in Slovak commodity structure has occurred over the past years.

Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA 2006 - Opportunities, Trade Relation and Evolution of Macedonian Economic Diplomacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krum Efremov

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Main activity in the foreign trade policy of the Republic of Macedonia during the past 10 years was the integration of the country on the Central European Free Trade Agreement – (CEFTA. The reason for this is the expectation that the membership of the Republic of Macedonia in CEFTA will significantly contribute to the continual efforts for strengthening the regional trade cooperation, further liberalisation of foreign trade exchange, and continuation of activities for harmonisation of trade rules with international standards. Additionally, CEFTA 2006 provides a much more comprehensive framework for development of mutual relations and economic cooperation among the countries of South Easte Europe. We will explain the concept of development of economic diplomacy in the Republic of Macedonia as a tool for supporting Macedonian economy. The purpose of these activities is to present the Republic of Macedonia as an attractive destination for foreign investments through the promotion of business advantages, and giving incentive to Macedonian export, as well as through strengthening of the country’s position as a attractive touristic destination.

THE FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE EUROPEAN UNION AND LATIN AMERICA. THE PERUVIAN AND MEXICAN CASE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Manrique de LUNA BARRIOS

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The European Union has signed a number of free trade agreements with different countries in Latin America because it is aware of the great importance that this region has gained as a destination for its exports and investments. Furthermore, the European Union wishes to reaffirm its ties with countries in the region because it hopes to consolidate its political and economic position as an international player with its presence in those markets. In this paper we will discuss the free trade agreements that the EU has signed with Mexico and later with Peru, because they are two examples where Latin American countries have achieved significant economic growth and where the trade has generated significant benefits. Additionally they are two major trading partners of the European Union and they have allowed the EU to continue to expand its zone of influence in Latin America.

Local Economic Trading Schemes and their implications for marketing assumptions, concepts, and practices

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Crowther, D.; Greene, A-M.; Hosking, D.M.

2002-01-01

This paper focuses on the relationship between a particular social practice - local exchange trading systems or schemes (LETS) - and what we here call the "mainstream" marketing paradigm. It begins by discussing some of the key principles that are thought to set LETS apart from other, "more

A comparison between national scheme for the acoustic classification of dwellings in Europe and in the U.S

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berardi, Umberto; Rasmussen, Birgit

2015-01-01

, focusing on sound insulation performance, national schemes for sound classification of dwellings have been developed in several European countries. These schemes define acoustic classes according to different levels of sound insulation. Due to the lack of coordination among countries, a significant...... scheme may facilitate exchanging experiences about constructions fulfilling different classes, reducing trade barriers, and finally increasing the sound insulation of dwellings....... diversity in terms of descriptors, number of classes, and class intervals occurred between national schemes. However, a proposal ”acoustic classification scheme for dwellings” has been developed recently in the European COST Action TU0901 with 32 member countries. This proposal has been accepted as an ISO...

Poland's Services Trade with the European Union During the Preaccession Period

OpenAIRE

Dariusz Mongiało

2004-01-01

The fact that, since 1 May 2004, Poland has the status of European Union member involves certain consequences for Poland's competitiveness in the international services trade market. What competitive position will Poland finally occupy among the EU countries in the postaccession period will to a large extent depend on Poland's present position in the services trade with the EU countries. So, the paper tries to present, on the basis of the most recent available statistical data published by th...

A Dragon and a Dove? A Comparative Overview of Chinese and European Trade Relations with Sub-Saharan Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bert Jacobs

2011-01-01

Full Text Available As China’s footprint in African trade grows larger by the day, the need to contextualize this rise through comparative analysis becomes ever more necessary. This paper contrasts the sub-Saharan trade relations of both China and Europe with their respective designated stereotypes: those of a dragon and a dove. The article compares the trade dynamics on four levels: the policies and institutional mechanisms that shape the relationship; the composition of the trade flows; the geographic distribution of trade dominance; and the influence of norms and values on the trade pattern. It concludes that although there are empirical grounds behind these stereotypes, Chinese and European trade relations with sub-Saharan Africa are becoming more similar, partly due to a more hawkish European stance.

Public Interest vs. Interest Groups: Allowance Allocation in the EU Emission Trading Scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anger, Niels; Oberndorfer, Ulrich (Centre for European Economic Research, Mannheim (Germany)); Boehringer, Christoph (Carl von Ossietzky Univ., Oldenburg (Germany))

2008-07-01

We assess the political-economy determinants of allowance allocation in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). A common-agency model suggests that the government considers the preferences of sectoral interest groups when allocating emissions permits, so that industries with a more powerful lobby face a lower regulatory burden. An empirical analysis of the first trading phase of the EU ETS corroborates our theoretical prediction, but also reveals that the political-economy determinants of permit allocation are more complex. Employing instrumental-variable estimation technique, we find that large carbon emitters that were represented by powerful interest groups received higher levels of emissions allowances

Mapping the Teaching of Laboratory Animal Science and Medicine in the European Union and European Free Trade Area.

Science.gov (United States)

Iatridou, Despoina; Nagy, Zsuzsanna; De Briyne, Nancy; Saunders, Jimmy; Bravo, Ana

2018-06-13

Developing a common market and allowing free movement of goods, services, and people is one of the main objectives of the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Area. In the field of scientific research, Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes aims to improve the welfare of laboratory animals by following the principle of the 3Rs (replacement, reduction, and refinement). Each breeder, supplier, and user must appoint a designated veterinarian to advise on the well-being and treatment of the animals. In our report we investigate how the undergraduate veterinary curriculum prepares future veterinarians for the role of designated veterinarian, by analyzing data from 77 European veterinary education establishments. Over 80% of them provide training in laboratory animal science and medicine in their curriculum. All countries in the EU and the European Free Trade Area, having national veterinary schools, include such training in the curriculum of at least one of their establishments. Laboratory animal science and medicine courses can be obligatory or elective and are often part of more than one subject in the veterinary curricula. Post-graduate courses or programs are available at more than 50% of those veterinary schools. Most authorities in the European region consider graduate veterinarians ready to seek the role as designated veterinarian immediately after graduation.

The European climate change program. An evaluation of stakeholder involvement and policy achievements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maxian Rusche, Tim

2010-01-01

In order to step up its efforts in reducing climate change, the European Commission (hereafter: the Commission) has launched in June 2000 its European climate change program (hereafter: ECCP). This wide-ranging stakeholder consultation aimed at identifying and developing all elements necessary for a European climate change strategy. The ECCP formally came to a close in April 2003. This paper analyses the inner workings of ECCP, and how ECCP has delivered with regard to its objectives. Special attention is paid to ECCP's Working Group 1, 'Flexible Mechanisms', which developed the foundations for the European emission trading scheme (hereafter: EU ETS). The paper draws on documents published on the Commission's ECCP web-site, on academic literature, on press releases from stakeholders and on interviews with four participants in the ECCP process. Using this method, the paper offers important insights as to how the consensus-building for establishing the world's biggest carbon-trading scheme has started long time before the formal legislative process. (author)

European Schemes for Promoting Renewables in Liberalised Markets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meyer, Niels I.

2003-01-01

The paper describes possibilities and problems for penetration of supply systems based on renewable energy sources in liberalised markets. The analysis is based on recent development in EU with different models for support of installations based on renewable energy. These include feed-in models...... with guaranteed minimum tariffs, tender models for different bands of technologies, and green certificates trading models with obligatory consumer quota. The paper describes the market situation in selected European countries, including Germany, the UK, Holland and Denmark.An EU directive from September 2001 has...

The EU Seal Products Ban – Why Ineffective Animal Welfare Protection Cannot Justify Trade Restrictions under European and International Trade Law

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Hennig

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In this article, the author questions the legitimacy of the general ban on trade in seal products adopted by the European Union. It is submitted that the EU Seal Regime, which permits the marketing of Greenlandic seal products derived from Inuit hunts, but excludes Canadian and Norwegian seal products from the European market, does not ensure a satisfactory degree of animal welfare protection in order to justify the comprehensive trade restriction in place. It is argued that the current ineffective EU ban on seal products, which according to the WTO Appellate Body cannot be reconciled with the objective of protecting animal welfare, has no legal basis in EU Treaties and should be annulled.

Muslim and European Perceptions of Oceanic "Trade" in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries and their Implications for International Politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdullah al-Ahsan

1999-12-01

Full Text Available In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Muslim and European powers perceived the importance of oceanic trade routes differently. During this earliest phase of European colonial expansion, Muslim powers, particularly the Osmanlis who claimed to be the champion of Islam, did not consider the loss of oceanic trade routes to Europeans a serious threat to Muslim interests. However, this gradually led not only to the loss of trade which was once dominated by Mus1im merchants, but might have contributed to the total disappearance of Muslim powers from their supremacy of world politics later in history.

EU Energy Law. Volume 4. The EU Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delbeke, J.; Hartridge, O.; Lefevere, J.; Meadows, D.; Runge-Metzger, A.; Slingenberg, Y.; Vainio, M.; Vis, P.; Zapfel, P.

2006-06-01

Gives valuable insights in the why's, how's, trade-offs, and critical design choices of the Emission Trading System of the European Union (EU ETS). The chapters deal with (1) The EU ETS: the result of a decade of policy action on the economic dimension of EU environmental policy; (2) The international climate policy developments of the 1990s: UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol, the Marrakech Agreements and the EU's Kyoto ratification decision; (3) Emissions trading: What is it? Design options and misconceptions; (4) The EU ETS Directive 2003/87/EEC explained; (5) The EU ETS Linking Directive explained; (6) The economic efficiency benefits of the EU ETS; (7) The NAP I experience; (8) The key importance of the Registry Regulation and of solid monitoring and verification; and (9) The potential role of the EU ETS for the elaboration of the post-2012 international climate regime. Conclusions are in chapter 10

Rents in the European power sector due to carbon trading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keppler, Jan Horst; Cruciani, Michel

2010-01-01

The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) has imposed a price on the allowances for CO 2 emissions of electricity companies. Integrating this allowance price into the price of electricity earns a rent for companies who have received these allowances for free. During Phase I, 2005-2007, rents corresponding to the aggregate value of allocated allowances amounted to roughly EUR 13 billion per year. However, due to the specific price-setting mechanism in electricity markets true rents were considerably higher. This is due to the fact that companies also that have not received any allowances gain additional infra-marginal rents to the extent that their variable costs are below the new market price after inclusion of the allowance price. Producers with low carbon emissions and low marginal costs thus also benefit substantially from carbon pricing. This paper develops a methodology to determine the specific interaction of the imposition of such a CO 2 constraint and the price-setting mechanism in the electricity sector under the assumption of marginal cost pricing in a liberalized European electricity market. The article thus provides an empirical estimate of the true total rents of power producers during Phase I of the EU-ETS (2005-2007). The EU ETS generated in Phase I additional rents in excess of EUR 19 billion per year for electricity producers. These transfers are distributed very unevenly between different electricity producers. In a second step, the paper assesses the impact of switching from free allocation to an auctioning of allowances in 2013. We show that such a switch to auctioning will continue to create additional infra-marginal rents for certain producers and will leave the electricity sector as a whole better off than before the introduction of the EU ETS. (author)

EU Emission Trading: Starting with Carbon Dioxide

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vesterdal, Morten; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

2003-01-01

The Commission of the European Union wants to start a limited emission trading scheme by 2005 within the Community to enable "learning-by-doing" prior to the Kyoto Protocol. This to accomplish the desired 8% target level for six different greenhouse gases. However, in the EU it is not clear whether...... all the six relevant greenhouse gases or only CO2 should be traded. What is the simplest and most practicable solution? We argue in favour of the latter option for three main reasons: the possible dominating global warming potential of CO2, expected future developments in CO2 emissions and the fact...

Designing an emissions trading scheme for China—An up-to-date climate policy assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hübler, Michael; Voigt, Sebastian; Löschel, Andreas

2014-01-01

We assess recent Chinese climate policy proposals in a multi-region, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model with a Chinese carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS). When the emissions intensity per GDP in 2020 is required to be 45% lower than in 2005, the model simulations indicate that the climate policy induced welfare loss in 2020, measured as the level of GDP and welfare in 2020 under climate policy relative to their level under business-as-usual (BAU) in the same year, is about 1%. The Chinese welfare loss in 2020 slightly increases in the Chinese rate of economic growth in 2020. When keeping the emissions target fixed at the 2020 level after 2020 in absolute terms, the welfare loss will reach about 2% in 2030. If China's annual economic growth rate is 0.5 percentage points higher (lower), the climate policy-induced welfare loss in 2030 will rise (decline) by about 0.5 percentage points. Full auctioning of carbon allowances results in very similar macroeconomic effects as free allocation, but full auctioning leads to higher reductions in output than free allocation for ETS sectors. Linking the Chinese to the European ETS and restricting the transfer volume to one third of the EU's reduction effort creates at best a small benefit for China, yet with smaller sectoral output reductions than auctioning. These results highlight the importance of designing the Chinese ETS wisely. - Highlights: • 45% Chinese carbon intensity target for 2020 implemented via emissions trading. • 1% GDP/welfare loss in 2020 and 2% in 2030 for a fixed emissions target after 2020. • 0.5 percentage points higher (lower) growth, increases (decreases) climate policy-induced welfare loss in 2030 by about 0.5 percentage points. • Similar macroeconomic effects for free allocation and full auctioning, but higher reductions in output under full auctioning in ETS sectors. • Restricted linking to EU emissions trading creates at best a small benefit for China

A Case Study of the Accounting Models for the Participants in an Emissions Trading Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius Deac

2013-10-01

Full Text Available As emissions trading schemes are becoming more popular across the world, accounting has to keep up with these new economic developments. The absence of guidance regarding the accounting for greenhouse gases (GHGs emissions generated by the withdrawal of IFRIC 3- Emission Rights - is the main reason why there is a diversity of accounting practices. This diversity of accounting methods makes the financial statements of companies that are taking part in emissions trading schemes like EU ETS, difficult to compare. The present paper uses a case study that assumes the existence of three entities that have chosen three different accounting methods: the IFRIC 3 cost model, the IFRIC 3 revaluation model and the “off balance sheet” approach. This illustrates how the choice of an accounting method regarding GHGs emissions influences their interim and annual reports through the chances in the companies’ balance sheet and financial results.

[PICS: pharmaceutical inspection cooperation scheme].

Science.gov (United States)

Morénas, J

2009-01-01

The pharmaceutical inspection cooperation scheme (PICS) is a structure containing 34 participating authorities located worldwide (October 2008). It has been created in 1995 on the basis of the pharmaceutical inspection convention (PIC) settled by the European free trade association (EFTA) in1970. This scheme has different goals as to be an international recognised body in the field of good manufacturing practices (GMP), for training inspectors (by the way of an annual seminar and experts circles related notably to active pharmaceutical ingredients [API], quality risk management, computerized systems, useful for the writing of inspection's aide-memoires). PICS is also leading to high standards for GMP inspectorates (through regular crossed audits) and being a room for exchanges on technical matters between inspectors but also between inspectors and pharmaceutical industry.

Global climate regulation and border adjustment mechanisms: the case of carbon importers inclusion in the european trading scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-06-01

The creation of an inclusion mechanism applied to imports whose production process increases significantly the global climate risk is looked upon as a solution to a collective-action problem. Such a mechanism would provide those States that will sign the next United Nations Convention on Climate Change with a potential remedy if and when gaps between quantified objects, to which all are committed, entail significant competition distortions. Whether this mechanism assumes the form of an external carbon tax or consists in including importers in the European system of CO 2 quota exchanges, it would surely respond to the re-distributive need generated by global warming, provided that the proceeds are used to help bring industrial production in developing countries up to standard. These restrictive measures aimed at preserving the planet are probably compatible with the extraordinary regimes applied by the WTO, which already uses exogenous non-trade norms to arbitrate conflicts. This would validate further the legitimacy of authority transfers onto the WTO, whose scope of legal authority increases constantly, along with that of conflicts that stem from collective preferences. (author)

Legal Frameworks for Emissions Trading in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karl Upston-Hooper, K.; Anttonen, K.; Mehling, M.

2006-01-01

The Project is based on a comparative and pragmatic review of the legal frameworks for implementing the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) in four EU jurisdictions (Finland, Sweden, United Kingdom and Germany). The project does not seek to examine the rationale of utilizing tradable mechanisms nor assess the costs and benefits of doing so. Its primary focus is to undertake a detailed study of the legal realities involved in implementing the EU ETS, particularly those issues of commercial importance such as taxation and accounting rules. (orig.)

Prediction of Pig Trade Movements in Different European Production Systems Using Exponential Random Graph Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Relun, Anne; Grosbois, Vladimir; Alexandrov, Tsviatko; Sánchez-Vizcaíno, Jose M; Waret-Szkuta, Agnes; Molia, Sophie; Etter, Eric Marcel Charles; Martínez-López, Beatriz

2017-01-01

In most European countries, data regarding movements of live animals are routinely collected and can greatly aid predictive epidemic modeling. However, the use of complete movements' dataset to conduct policy-relevant predictions has been so far limited by the massive amount of data that have to be processed (e.g., in intensive commercial systems) or the restricted availability of timely and updated records on animal movements (e.g., in areas where small-scale or extensive production is predominant). The aim of this study was to use exponential random graph models (ERGMs) to reproduce, understand, and predict pig trade networks in different European production systems. Three trade networks were built by aggregating movements of pig batches among premises (farms and trade operators) over 2011 in Bulgaria, Extremadura (Spain), and Côtes-d'Armor (France), where small-scale, extensive, and intensive pig production are predominant, respectively. Three ERGMs were fitted to each network with various demographic and geographic attributes of the nodes as well as six internal network configurations. Several statistical and graphical diagnostic methods were applied to assess the goodness of fit of the models. For all systems, both exogenous (attribute-based) and endogenous (network-based) processes appeared to govern the structure of pig trade network, and neither alone were capable of capturing all aspects of the network structure. Geographic mixing patterns strongly structured pig trade organization in the small-scale production system, whereas belonging to the same company or keeping pigs in the same housing system appeared to be key drivers of pig trade, in intensive and extensive production systems, respectively. Heterogeneous mixing between types of production also explained a part of network structure, whichever production system considered. Limited information is thus needed to capture most of the global structure of pig trade networks. Such findings will be useful

International proposal for an acoustic classification scheme for dwellings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit

2014-01-01

Acoustic classification schemes specify different quality levels for acoustic conditions. Regulations and classification schemes for dwellings typically include criteria for airborne and impact sound insulation, façade sound insulation and service equipment noise. However, although important...... classes, implying also trade barriers. Thus, a harmonized classification scheme would be useful, and the European COST Action TU0901 "Integrating and Harmonizing Sound Insulation Aspects in Sustainable Urban Housing Constructions", running 2009-2013 with members from 32 countries, including three overseas...... for quality of life, information about acoustic conditions is rarely available, neither for new or existing housing. Regulatory acoustic requirements will, if enforced, ensure a corresponding quality for new dwellings, but satisfactory conditions for occupants are not guaranteed. Consequently, several...

The enlargement of the European Union. Effects on trade and emissions of greenhouse gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Xueqin; Van Ierland, Ekko

2006-01-01

With the gradual accession of various Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) to the European Union (EU), international trade between the EU and the CEECs will change as a result of trade liberalisation and the mobility of production factors within the EU. The EU and most of the CEECs have already committed themselves to reduce by 2008-2012 their emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) by 8% compared to the 1990 level. This paper reports on an investigation of the potential consequences of the enlargement of the EU and of the emission reduction target set by the Kyoto Protocol on the sectoral production patterns and international trade. A comparative-static general equilibrium model was developed to examine the impacts under different scenarios. For illustrative purposes, two regions (the EU and the CEECs) and three categories of goods and services (agricultural goods, industrial goods, and services) were included. The model was calibrated by the 1998 data. The model was subsequently applied to study the effects of free trade, the mobility of factors and the environmental constraints on production and international trade in light of the enlargement of the EU. We show that in this specific context, free trade is beneficial to economic welfare and does not necessarily increase emissions of greenhouse gases. The mobility of factors also increases economic welfare, but in the case of fixed production technology it may harm the environment through more emissions of GHGs. (author)

EU Emissions Trading Scheme and Investments in the power sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sapienza, M.D.; Stefanoni, S.

2007-07-01

How environmental regulation affects electricity players' investment decisions? Should policy makers look beyond for alternative mechanisms - such as energy efficiency, capture and storage of carbon dioxide, and incentives for renewables - to fulfill the environmental objectives set by Kyoto Protocol? This paper suggests - through a Real Option approach - how the efficacy of the EU Emission Trading Scheme on technological innovation, emissions reduction and energy price dynamics, is strongly affected by the 'hysteresis' emerging from the capital budgeting process of main utilities. As a matter of fact, long-term substitutions between coal-fired units and Combined Cycle Gas Turbine plants production only take place under quite restrictive conditions. (auth)

Baltic Pathways from Liberal Trade Model to Neo-Mercantilism in the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viljar Veebel

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The economic progress of the Baltic States after the restoration of independence has been closely related to the liberal ideology and values of their economies: openness to investments, simple tax system and low tax burden, liberal trade policy, and flexible labour market. Unlike the Baltic States, some of their main partners in the European Union (EU have focused on promoting their economic growth by the neo-mercantilist way of expanding exports, supported by the economic structure of these countries exporting high technology and capital goods. As a result, when the Baltic States are expecting that in a broader context the other eu member states share the same vision of the liberal market economy, their motives have not been fully understood among their regional trade and cooperation partners. Current study will debate whether the practical implementation and needs of the European neo-mercantilism meet the economic and social needs of the Baltic States. Additionally, the study focuses on the question whether in practice the Baltic countries should be ready for the European neo-mercantilist project in upcoming years.

The timeline of trading frictions in the European carbon market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Medina, Vicente; Pardo, Ángel; Pascual, Roberto

2014-01-01

During its trial phase (Phase I), the EU Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) collapsed because of an over-allocation of emission allowances. We evaluate the progress of this market from the trial phase to the next commitment period (Phase II) from a microstructure angle. We show that trading frictions, as measured by the relative spread, information-asymmetry risk, and market-making profits decreased from Phase I to Phase II. Although volatility decreased, its noise-related component gained in importance at the expense of its information-related component, resulting in lower quality of the price changes. - Highlights: • We compare Phases I and II of the EU-ETS from a microstructure angle. • Phase II shows lower spreads, information-asymmetry risk and market making profits. • The contribution of noise to the volatility of prices increased during Phase II

Advancing the experiment to reality: Perspectives on Shanghai pilot carbon emissions trading scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Libo; Qian, Haoqi; Li, Jin

2014-01-01

Shanghai, as the most advanced mega city in China, has launched a pilot carbon emission trading scheme (SH-ETS) that is designed to achieve a compromise between the domestic context in Shanghai, and a need for national policy appeal. This paper gives an overview of the latest progress of the SH-ETS and sheds some light on the features of key design components, such as the threshold for inclusion, sector coverage, cap setting, allowance allocation and the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system. Based on a concern that manipulative principles and economic dynamics may lead to uncertainties and ultimately influence the emission reduction effect of the scheme, this paper conducts an evaluation of potential uncertainties, such as those caused by changes in patterns of economic growth, strategic trading activities related to the bankable allowances, carbon leakage risks and insufficient MRV capabilities. To advance the experiment to reality, this paper suggests some changes are made to the pilot, which include adjusting the allowance allocation principles to facilitate change in the domestic energy structure, improving the disclosure of emission data to guarantee information symmetry, gauging the carbon leakage risks to strengthen compliance, and introducing risk management for non-regulated players and derivatives products

European biorefineries: Implications for land, trade and employment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thornley, Patricia; Chong, Katie; Bridgwater, Tony

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Five diverse European member states could support around 30 biorefineries. • The facilities would create around 2 million man-years of employment. • Biorefineries create more jobs per unit of feedstock than bioelectricity plants. • Contribution to national GDP is very small; but agriculturally significant. • Increased straw demand could indirectly increase greenhouse gas emissions. - Abstract: Biorefineries are expected to play a major role in a future low carbon economy and substantial investments are being made to support this vision. However, it is important to consider the wider socio-economic impacts of such a transition. This paper quantifies the potential trade, employment and land impacts of economically viable European biorefinery options based on indigenous straw and wood feedstocks. It illustrates how there could be potential for 70–80 European biorefineries, but not hundreds. A single facility could generate tens of thousands of man-years of employment and employment creation per unit of feedstock is higher than for biomass power plants. However, contribution to national GDP is unlikely to exceed 1% in European member states, although contributions to national agricultural productivity may be more significant, particularly with straw feedstocks. There is also a risk that biorefinery development could result in reduced rates of straw incorporation into soil, raising concerns that economically rational decisions to sell rather than reincorporate straw could result in increased agricultural land-use or greenhouse gas emissions

Sound classification of dwellings – A diversity of national schemes in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit

2011-01-01

Sound classification schemes for dwellings exist in ten countries in Europe, typically prepared and published as national standards. The schemes define quality classes intended to reflect different levels of acoustical comfort. The main criteria concern airborne and impact sound insulation between...... dwellings, facade sound insulation and installation noise. This paper presents the sound classification schemes in Europe and compares the class criteria for sound insulation between dwellings. The schemes have been implemented and revised gradually since the early 1990s. However, due to lack...... constructions fulfilling different classes. The current variety of descriptors and classes also causes trade barriers. Thus, there is a need to harmonize characteristics of the schemes, and a European COST Action TU0901 "Integrating and Harmonizing Sound Insulation Aspects in Sustainable Urban Housing...

Self-seeding scheme for the soft X-ray line at the European XFEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geloni, Gianluca; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni

2012-02-01

This paper discusses the potential for enhancing the capabilities of the European FEL in the soft X-ray regime. A high longitudinal coherence will be the key to such performance upgrade. In order to reach this goal we study a very compact soft X-ray self-seeding scheme originally designed at SLAC. The scheme is based on a grating monochromator, and can be straightforwardly installed in the SASE3 undulator beamline at the European XFEL. For the European XFEL fully-coherent soft X-ray pulses are particularly valuable since they naturally support the extraction of more FEL power than at saturation by exploiting tapering in the tunable-gap SASE3 undulator. Tapering consists of a stepwise change of the undulator gap from segment to segment. Based on start-to-end simulations we show that soft X-ray FEL power reaches about 800 GW, that is about an order of magnitude higher than the SASE level at saturation (100 GW). The self-seeding setup studied in this work is extremely compact (about 5 m long), and cost-effective. This last characteristic may justify to consider it as a possible addition to the European XFEL capabilities from the very beginning of the operation phase. (orig.)

Self-seeding scheme for the soft X-ray line at the European XFEL

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Geloni, Gianluca [European XFEL GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

2012-02-15

This paper discusses the potential for enhancing the capabilities of the European FEL in the soft X-ray regime. A high longitudinal coherence will be the key to such performance upgrade. In order to reach this goal we study a very compact soft X-ray self-seeding scheme originally designed at SLAC. The scheme is based on a grating monochromator, and can be straightforwardly installed in the SASE3 undulator beamline at the European XFEL. For the European XFEL fully-coherent soft X-ray pulses are particularly valuable since they naturally support the extraction of more FEL power than at saturation by exploiting tapering in the tunable-gap SASE3 undulator. Tapering consists of a stepwise change of the undulator gap from segment to segment. Based on start-to-end simulations we show that soft X-ray FEL power reaches about 800 GW, that is about an order of magnitude higher than the SASE level at saturation (100 GW). The self-seeding setup studied in this work is extremely compact (about 5 m long), and cost-effective. This last characteristic may justify to consider it as a possible addition to the European XFEL capabilities from the very beginning of the operation phase. (orig.)

THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN GOODS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES AFTER TWO YEARS OF CRISIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babucea Ana-Gabriela

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In the context of globalization, more countries, rich and poor alike, enter global markets and are forced to face fierce competition. The European Union is the largest trading power in the world, accounting for 20% of total imports and exports worldwide. In recent years EU trade in goods has evolved very positively both in absolute terms and relative. As was expected, the global economic crisis dramatically affected trade flows globally and regionally and inevitably affected the trade of the EU through a tumultuous period. Time analysis will show that reducing the volume of EU trade is in line with the decreases in global trade and regional registered and that exports were affected differently.

Understanding the effect of an emissions trading scheme on electricity generator investment and retirement behaviour: the proposed carbon pollution reduction scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lambie, N.R. [Australian National University, Canberra, ACT (Australia). Crawford School of Economics & Government

2010-04-15

The objective of a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trading scheme (ETS) is to reduce emissions by transitioning the economy away from the production and consumption of goods and services that are GHG intensive. A GHG ETS has been a public policy issue in Australia for over a decade. The latest policy initiative on an ETS is the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). A substantial share of Australia's total GHG reduction under the CPRS is expected to come from the electricity generation sector. This paper surveys the literature on investment behaviour under an ETS. It specifically focuses on the relationship between the design of an ETS and a generator's decisions to invest in low emissions plant and retire high emissions plant. The proposed CPRS provides the context for presenting key findings along with the implications for the electricity generation sector's transition to lower emissions plant. The literature shows that design features such as the method of allocating permits, the stringency of the emissions cap along with permit price uncertainty, provisions for banking, borrowing and internationally trading permits, and the credibility of emissions caps and policy uncertainty may all significantly impact on the investment and retirement behaviour of generators.

Evaluation of the European Union-United States oil and petroleum-based fuels trade potential in the context of the negotiated TTIP agreement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olkuski Tadeusz

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article evaluates the European Union-United States oil and petroleum-based fuels trade potential. The planned trade structure and balance according to IEA (International Energy Agency and IHS (IHS CERA www.ihs.com scenarios, the projected volume of imports and exports, and differences in price levels and costs are presented. The projected potential of the trade volume, taking into account the possible impact of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP, is also presented. The analysis has shown that the elimination of trade barriers between the European Union and the United States would be more beneficial to US refineries. Due to the higher import tariffs to the EU, the potential benefits of US exporters are higher than those of the EU exporters to the US. This confirms the fears of European negotiators that some aspects of the agreement will have a negative impact on European businesses. However, in the case of petroleum products the TTIP agreement will have a negligible impact on increasing the export volume.

Influencing Factors of Companies’ Behavior for Mitigation: A Discussion within the Context of Emission Trading Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yidan Chen

2018-02-01

Full Text Available China built pilot carbon emission trading schemes in seven regions and established a national carbon trading market in electricity sector in December 2017. This study conducted a questionnaire survey of 570 companies in 29 regions nationwide and found that companies still need to improve mitigation measures regarding fossil fuel combustion, production technology, output adjustment and environmental management. By establishing regression models, influencing factors of carbon emission reduction are identified. Pilot emission trading policy has a significant impact on company emission reduction behaviors. Companies inside or outside the pilot region respond differently to the influencing factors. Companies inside emphasize more on energy price and mitigation potential, while enterprises outside pay more attention to investment and familiarity with technology and policy.

Opportunities and Prospects of Trade Development between Romania and the Russian Federation in the European Context

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Virginia Câmpeanu

2010-10-01

Full Text Available The present paper has as main objective the analysis of the opportunities and development perspectives of the trade relationship between Romania and the Russian Federation, linked to the latest evolutions of the European and global economic context. Keeping in mind this objective, our paper is structured around three main sections, as follows. The first part, “Economic Context of Romania-Russian Federation Trade Development” is centered upon the global crisis and its effects on the EU, Romania and Russia as well as the EU-Russia increasing bilateral merchandise trade flows. We examine how the global economic crisis interrupted increasing merchandise trade between EU-27 and the Russian Federation and present the main exporter countries from the EU-27 to Russia and the major EU importers from Russia and analyze in a comparative manner the very concentrated trade pattern between EU-27 and Russia. In the next section, “Romania-Russia Trade Development”, we underline that the Russian Federation is the second extra-EU trading partner of our country. We explore Romania’s trade relationship with Russia during pre and post accession to the European Union and also the actual trends of the bilateral trade, which pattern is extremely concentrated. In the last section, “Opportunities and Prospects for the Trade Development between Romania and Russian Federation”, we conclude, on the basis of the comparative and prospective analysis, that: Romania could be well positioned on Russian markets; there are many similarities in competitiveness characteristics of our countries; Romania and Russia have some problematic factors in doing business; strong points of the Romanian manufacturing industry could lead to the diversification of trade pattern and, finally, Romania has the possibility to develop a strong economic partnership with the Russian Federation under the framework of the EU-Russia relationship.

Trading CO2 emission; Verhandelbaarheid van CO2-emissies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

De Waal, J.F.; Looijenga, A.; Moor, R.; Wissema, E.W.J. [Afdeling Energie, Ministerie van VROM, The Hague (Netherlands)

2000-06-01

Systems for CO2-emission trading can take many shapes as developments in Europe show. European developments for emission trading tend to comprehend cap and-trade systems for large emission sources. In the Netherlands a different policy is in preparation. A trading system for sheltered sectors with an option to buy reductions from exposed sectors will be further developed by a Commission, appointed by the minister of environment. Exposed sectors are committed to belong to the top of the world on the area of energy-efficiency. The authors point out that a cap on the distribution of energy carriers natural gas, electricity and fuel seems to be an interesting option to shape the trade scheme. A cap on the distribution of electricity is desirable, but not easy to implement. The possible success of the system depends partly on an experiment with emission reductions. 10 refs.

Energy trading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glachant, J.M.; Kimman, R.; Schweickardt, H.E.

2001-05-01

This document brings together 18 testimonies of experts about energy trading: 1 - the energy trading experience on European deregulated markets: structure of deregulated energy markets in Europe, case study: a two years experience of a power exchange in western Europe, case study: European energy exchanges (experience of spot and future trading), case study: risk management on energy deregulated markets; 2 - the trading activity environment and realities in France: the French electrical law and the purchase for resale, experience feedback: status after 3 months of trading in France (the first experience of a French producer), the access to the power transportation network, which legal constraints for trading in France, the access of eligible clients to the French power market, conditions of implementation of a power exchange market in France, which real trading possibilities in France for producers and self-producers in the legal frame, case study: the role of trading in the company (main part or link to process), convergence of gas and electricity markets, gas-electricity trading: which pricing models; 3 - risk management and use of new technologies potentiality, the results outside the French borders: case study: what differences between the European and US markets, prices volatility and commodity risk management: towards the on-line trading, role and developments of E-business in energy trading, how to simplify trade in a liberalized market. (J.S.)

Indirect effects of grassland extensification schemes on pollinators in two contrasting European countries.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kohler, F.; Verhulst, J.; Knop, E.; Herzog, F.; Kleijn, D.

2007-01-01

Flower-visiting insects play a crucial role in ecosystem processes by providing essential services such as pollination. During the last decades, agricultural intensification has caused a widespread decline of insect diversity. Agri-environment schemes (AES) have been implemented in many European

The Climate-Energy package: Usage and impact of offsets in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galharret, S.

2009-09-01

This paper aims at clarifying the current European dispositions on the quantity of allowable carbon emission 'offsets' over the 2008-2012 and 2012-2020 periods, as well as the implications on the level of the European reduction effort with respect to a unilateral path of de-carbonation of economy by 2020. The author makes a distinction between sectors submitted or not to the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)

Permit trading and credit trading

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boom, Jan-Tjeerd; R. Dijstra, Bouwe

This paper compares emissions trading based on a cap on total emissions (permit trading) and on relative standards per unit of output (credit trading). Two types of market structure are considered: perfect competition and Cournot oligopoly. We find that output, abatement costs and the number...... of firms are higher under credit trading. Allowing trade between permit-trading and credit-trading sectors may increase in welfare. With perfect competition, permit trading always leads to higher welfare than credit trading. With imperfect competition, credit trading may outperform permit trading....... Environmental policy can lead to exit, but also to entry of firms. Entry and exit have a profound impact on the performance of the schemes, especially under imperfect competition. We find that it may be impossible to implement certain levels of total industry emissions. Under credit trading several levels...

Output-based allocations and revenue recycling. Implications for the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lennox, James A.; Nieuwkoop, Renger van

2010-01-01

The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is more comprehensive in its coverage of emissions than schemes introduced or proposed to date in any other country in that it includes agricultural greenhouse gases, which account for half of New Zealand's total emissions. But, motivated by concerns for the international competitiveness of emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industrial and agricultural activities, current legislation provides for substantial ongoing free allocations to such activities, linked to their output. Here we use a computable general equilibrium model to analyse the impacts of output-based allocation, given the possibility of recycling net revenues to reduce prior distorting taxes. Unlike previous modelling studies of alternative NZ ETS designs, we allow for a more realistic modelling both of capital and labour supply. We find that, as suggested by theoretical results, interactions between the ETS and existing taxes are important. Given any level of output-based allocation, the negative macroeconomic impacts can be reduced by recycling net revenues as efficiently as possible. Less obviously, we find that there may be an optimal non-zero level of output-based allocation. This optimal level increases as the carbon price and/or factor supply elasticities increase, but decreases if revenues are recycled with greater efficiency. (author)

Output-based allocations and revenue recycling. Implications for the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lennox, James A. [Landcare Research NZ, Lincoln (New Zealand); Nieuwkoop, Renger van [Center for Energy Policy and Economy, Zuerich (Switzerland)

2010-12-15

The New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme (NZ ETS) is more comprehensive in its coverage of emissions than schemes introduced or proposed to date in any other country in that it includes agricultural greenhouse gases, which account for half of New Zealand's total emissions. But, motivated by concerns for the international competitiveness of emissions-intensive, trade-exposed industrial and agricultural activities, current legislation provides for substantial ongoing free allocations to such activities, linked to their output. Here we use a computable general equilibrium model to analyse the impacts of output-based allocation, given the possibility of recycling net revenues to reduce prior distorting taxes. Unlike previous modelling studies of alternative NZ ETS designs, we allow for a more realistic modelling both of capital and labour supply. We find that, as suggested by theoretical results, interactions between the ETS and existing taxes are important. Given any level of output-based allocation, the negative macroeconomic impacts can be reduced by recycling net revenues as efficiently as possible. Less obviously, we find that there may be an optimal non-zero level of output-based allocation. This optimal level increases as the carbon price and/or factor supply elasticities increase, but decreases if revenues are recycled with greater efficiency. (author)

Energy trading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beckmann, K.; Schroeter, S.

2009-01-01

Two brief articles and two interviews deal with the subject of energy trading. Power and gas exchanges in Europe multiply, but, experts say, we are nowhere near a mature, integrated European energy market as yet. Trading regulations need to be improved and harmonised and interconnections expanded. European Energy Review assesses the state of energy trading in Europe and interviews the ceo's of NordPool (the Nordic power exchange) and APX (Amsterdam Power Exchange)

The European Union's potential for strategic emissions trading through permit sales contracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eyckmans, Johan; Hagem, Cathrine

2011-01-01

Strategic market behavior by permit sellers will harm the European Union (EU) as it is expected to become a large net buyer of permits in a follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol. In this paper, we explore how the EU could benefit from making permit trade agreements with non-EU countries. These trade agreements involve permit sales requirement, complemented by a financial transfer from the EU to the other contract party. Such agreements would enable the EU to act strategically in the permit market on behalf of its member states, although each member state is assumed to behave as a price taker in the permit market. Using a stylized numerical simulation model, we show that an appropriately designed permit trade agreement between the EU and China could significantly cut the EU's total compliance cost. This result is robust for a wide range of parameterizations of the simulation model. (author)

Why Does Emissions Trading under the EU ETS Not Affect Firms' Competitiveness? Empirical Findings from the Literature

OpenAIRE

Joltreau, Eugénie; Sommerfeld, Katrin

2017-01-01

Environmental policies may have important consequences for firms’ competitiveness or profitability. However, the empirical literature shows that hardly any statistically significant effects on firms can be detected for the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). On the basis of existing literature, we focus on potential explanations for why the empirical literature finds hardly any significant competitiveness effects on firms, least not during the first two phases of the scheme (...

Cost distribution for the EU ETS. Who pays for the costs of the third phase of the European Emissions Trading System?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Bruyn, S.M; De Jong, F.L.; Korteland, M.H.; Nelissen, D.; Markowska, A.Z.

2010-06-01

After 2012, the third phase of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) that lasts until 2020 will come into effect. New in this phase is the European harmonized rights issue in which for each sector the basic emission rights and the issue of those rights is fixed. Also, a significantly larger proportion of those rights will be auctioned. For the Netherlands the third phase of the EU ETS means that the emissions of companies in 2020 should be reduced by 21% compared to 2005. This involves costs for these companies, including the purchase of rights or taking technical and organizational measures to cut CO2 emissions. This study provides insight into the magnitude of these costs, who will bear the cost and the total direct income effects on businesses, consumers and government. [nl

A look at the European domestic and foreign energy policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lesourne, J.

2008-01-01

After having defined the main characteristics of energy considered as a good (a private good, a product of first necessity, a redistributed product, a strategic good), the author presents the actors of the European energy policy: European authorities, member state governments, firms (operators and big consumers), and households. He presents the European domestic energy policy which comprises three main themes: the creation of a domestic market, the taking of government commitments for 2020 into account, and the emission trading scheme. He identifies and comments the three main objectives of the European foreign energy policy: supply security, struggle against climate change, and support to the less developed countries

Improved Seasonal Prediction of European Summer Temperatures With New Five-Layer Soil-Hydrology Scheme

Science.gov (United States)

Bunzel, Felix; Müller, Wolfgang A.; Dobrynin, Mikhail; Fröhlich, Kristina; Hagemann, Stefan; Pohlmann, Holger; Stacke, Tobias; Baehr, Johanna

2018-01-01

We evaluate the impact of a new five-layer soil-hydrology scheme on seasonal hindcast skill of 2 m temperatures over Europe obtained with the Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM). Assimilation experiments from 1981 to 2010 and 10-member seasonal hindcasts initialized on 1 May each year are performed with MPI-ESM in two soil configurations, one using a bucket scheme and one a new five-layer soil-hydrology scheme. We find the seasonal hindcast skill for European summer temperatures to improve with the five-layer scheme compared to the bucket scheme and investigate possible causes for these improvements. First, improved indirect soil moisture assimilation allows for enhanced soil moisture-temperature feedbacks in the hindcasts. Additionally, this leads to improved prediction of anomalies in the 500 hPa geopotential height surface, reflecting more realistic atmospheric circulation patterns over Europe.

Assessment of emission trading impacts on competitive electricity market price

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, S.N.; Saxena, D.; Østergaard, Jacob

2011-01-01

analyzes the impact of electricity prices in the competitive electricity markets having a uniform market clearing price mechanism. Findings - It is found that the electricity prices depend on the system loading, generation mix, etc. at a particular hour. Various emission trading instruments are discussed...... side emission trading impact on electricity prices in the competitive power market. Design/methodology/approach - Various schemes are suggested and are being implemented to achieve this objective. It is expected that electricity price will increase due to imposition of emission taxes. This paper...... with a special emphasis on the European market. Research limitations/implications - Block bidding of the suppliers is considered whereas the demand is assumed to be inelastic. Originality/value - The emission trading impacts are analyzed on a simple example....

Challenges of a common climate policy. An analysis of the development of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aufenanger, Vanessa

2012-01-01

The emissions trading scheme (EU ETS) adopted by the European Union in 2003 was a new instrument for the EU and its Member States. It is one of the most important strategies of achieving the EU's greenhouse gas reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol. This book analyses the policy cycle of the EU ETS Directive, focusing on the crucial implementation phase. The revised EU ETS Directive of 2009 includes significant changes for greater ecological effectiveness, changes that were unlikely to have been adopted in 2003. It is evident that the experiences of the first phase influenced not only the second implementation phase but also the revision. The intensive learning process that took place on all levels was necessary to overcome institutional constraints so that the EU ETS could be successfully established and further developed. The EU ETS policy-making is a good example to demonstrate that output legitimacy challenges input legitimacy. With the centralisation of the EU ETS in 2013 it is likely to become a more effective system; however, the legislators from the Member States may lose influence. This problem will have to be addressed.

Options of biofuel trade from Central and Eastern to Western European countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

van Dam, J.; Faaij, A.P.C.; Lewandowski, I.; Van Zeebroeck, B.

2009-01-01

Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) have a substantial biomass production and export potential. The objective of this study is to assess whether the market for biofuels and trade can be profitable enough to realize a supply of biofuels from the CEEC to the European market and to estimate the cost performance of the energy carriers delivered. Five NUTS-2 (Nomenclature d'Unites Territoriales Statistiques) regions with high biomass production potentials in Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic were analysed for biofuel export options. From these regions pellets from willow can be provided to destination areas in Western European countries (WEC) at costs of 105.2-219.8 EUR t -1 . Ethanol can be provided at 11.95-20.89 EUR per GJ if the biomass conversion is performed at the destination areas in the WEC or at 14.84-17.83 EUR GJ -1 J if the biomass to ethanol conversion takes place (at small scale) at the CEEC region where the biomass is produced. Short sea shipping shows most cost advantages for longer distance international transport compared to inland waterway shipping and railway. Another reason for lower biofuel supply costs are shorter distances between the regions of biomass production and the destination areas. Therefore the Szczecin region in Poland, closely located to the Baltic Sea, shows a better economic performance for long distance trade of biomass production than the selected region in Hungary ('land-locked'). It is concluded that in future key CEEC regions can supply (pre-treated) biomass and biofuels to the European market at cost levels, which are sound and attractive to current and expected diesel and gasoline prices. (author)

European emissions trading and the international competitiveness of energy-intensive industries: a legal and political evaluation of possible supporting measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asselt, H. van; Biermann, F.

2007-01-01

The EU Emissions Trading Directive is expected by European energy-intensive industries to harm their competitiveness vis-a-vis non-European competitors. Many additional measures have thus been proposed to 'level the playing field' and to protect the competitiveness of European energy-intensive industries within the larger effort of reducing Europe's greenhouse gas emissions and of meeting its obligations under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. This article evaluates a range of proposed measures based on a set of political and legal criteria, including environmental effectiveness; the need to consider differentiated commitments, responsibilities and capabilities; conformity with world trade law and European Union law; and Europe's overall political interests. We discuss measures that could be adopted by the European Union and its member states, such as direct support for energy-intensive industries, restrictions of energy-intensive imports into the European Union through border cost adjustments, quotas or technical regulations, and cost reimbursement for affected developing countries. We also analyse measures available to multilateral institutions such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol and the World Trade Organisation. We conclude with a classification of the discussed measures with red (unfeasible), yellow (potentially feasible) or green (feasible) labels. (author)

European emissions trading and the international competitiveness of energy-intensive industries: a legal and political evaluation of possible supporting measures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asselt, Harro van; Biermann, Frank

2007-01-01

The EU Emissions Trading Directive is expected by European energy-intensive industries to harm their competitiveness vis-a-vis non-European competitors. Many additional measures have thus been proposed to 'level the playing field' and to protect the competitiveness of European energy-intensive industries within the larger effort of reducing Europe's greenhouse gas emissions and of meeting its obligations under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. This article evaluates a range of proposed measures based on a set of political and legal criteria, including environmental effectiveness; the need to consider differentiated commitments, responsibilities and capabilities; conformity with world trade law and European Union law; and Europe's overall political interests. We discuss measures that could be adopted by the European Union and its member states, such as direct support for energy-intensive industries, restrictions of energy-intensive imports into the European Union through border cost adjustments, quotas or technical regulations, and cost reimbursement for affected developing countries. We also analyse measures available to multilateral institutions such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol and the World Trade Organisation. We conclude with a classification of the discussed measures with red (unfeasible), yellow (potentially feasible) or green (feasible) labels

Emissions Trading - An Internet site on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS); Utslappshandel - En Internetsida om handel med utslaeppsraetter inom EU

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2009-07-01

Utslappshandel.se is a one-stop shop for overall information about the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) as applied in Sweden (the site is available in Swedish and English). It also offers a gateway to the Swedish Emissions Trading Registry (SUS), where companies report their transactions on an ongoing basis and surrender emission allowances once a year. The Swedish Energy Agency is in charge of the Swedish registry. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency decides on the allocation of emission allowances and is responsible for following up companies' annual reporting on their CO{sub 2} emissions. The EU ETS is expected to cover installations equivalent to approximately 50 per cent of total CO{sub 2} emissions in the EU. In Sweden, it is expected to cover only 40 per cent of emissions, mainly owing to the very low level of fossil electricity production

Agricultural Trade Restrictiveness in the European Union and the United States

OpenAIRE

Jean-Christophe Bureau; Luca Salvatici

2001-01-01

The paper provides a summary measure of the Uruguay Round tariff reduction commitments in the European Union and the United States, using the Mercantilistic Trade Restrictiveness Index (MTRI) as the tariff aggregator. We compute the index for agricultural commodity aggregates assuming a specific (Constant Elasticity of Substitution) functional form for import demand. The levels of the MTRI under the actual commitments of the Uruguay Round are computed and compared with two hypothetical cases,...

Greenhouse gas emission management in the US - current regional initiatives compared with international carbon trading programs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rink, A.G.; Law, S.

2009-01-01

In the United States (US) there are currently voluntary reporting programs (EPA Climate Leaders, Carbon Disclosure Project and The Climate Registry), organized market-based trading platforms (Chicago Climate Exchange and The Green Exchange) and proposed regional mandatory cap and trade programs in California, the Northeast, the West and the Midwest. The past success of the US Acid Rain 'cap-and-trade' system market-based format together with the availability of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme to serve as a template for future greenhouse gas regulations is promising as the US can participate in the world wide carbon markets already established. (author)

Learning architectures and negotiation of meaning in European trade unions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Linda Creanor

2005-12-01

Full Text Available As networked learning becomes familiar at all levels and in all sectors of education, cross-fertilisation of innovative methods can usefully inform the lifelong learning agenda. Development of the pedagogical architectures and social processes, which afford learning, is a major challenge for educators as they strive to address the varied needs of a wide range of learners. One area in which this challenge is taken very seriously is that of trade unions, where recent large-scale projects have aimed to address many of these issues at a European level. This paper describes one such project, which targeted not only online courses, but also the wider political potential of virtual communities of practice. By analysing findings in relation to Wenger's learning architecture, the paper investigates further the relationships between communities of practice and communities of learners in the trade union context. The findings suggest that a focus on these relationships rather than on the technologies that support them should inform future developments.

Customer satisfaction survey to improve the European cystic fibrosis external quality assessment scheme.

Science.gov (United States)

Berwouts, Sarah; Dequeker, Elisabeth

2011-08-01

The Cystic Fibrosis European Network, coordinated from within the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, is the provider of the European cystic fibrosis external quality assessment (EQA) scheme. The network aimed to seek feedback from laboratories that participated in the cystic fibrosis scheme in order to improve services offered. In this study we analysed responses to an on-line customer satisfaction survey conducted between September and November 2009. The survey was sent to 213 laboratories that participated in the cystic fibrosis EQA scheme of 2008; 69 laboratories (32%) responded. Scores for importance and satisfaction were obtained from a five-point Likert scale for 24 attributes. A score of one corresponded to very dissatisfied/very unimportant and five corresponded to very satisfied/very important. Means were calculated and placed in a two-dimensional grid (importance-satisfaction analysis). Means were subtracted from each other to obtain gap values (gap-analysis). No attribute had a mean score below 3.63. The overall mean of satisfaction was 4.35. Opportunities for improvement enclosed clarity, usefulness and completeness of the general report and individual comments, and user-friendliness of the electronic datasheet. This type of customer satisfaction survey was a valuable instrument to identify opportunities to improve the cystic fibrosis EQA scheme. It should be conducted on a regular basis to reveal new opportunities in the future and to assess effectiveness of actions taken. Moreover, it could be a model for other EQA providers seeking feedback from participants. Overall, the customer satisfaction survey provided a powerful quality of care improvement tool.

THE EUROPEAN UNION’S TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE ACP:ENTRAPPED BY ITS OWN RHETORICAL STRATEGY?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lotte Drieghe

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs between the European Union (EU and the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP countries. It addresses the question why the EU firmly insisted on upholding the negotiating deadline for these new trade agreements, despite the very damaging consequences; these hastily initialed trade deals entailed. Regional integration in the South was hampered; the development of the friendly image of the EU got a serious blow; the EU did not manage to include the WTO plus issues, and the prospect of full EPAs at later stage is not guaranteed. We first qualify the Union’s argument to the expiry of a waiver by the World Trade Organization (WTO, which legitimized the former trade regime, and placed an external and insurmountable pressure on the negotiations. There is no rational explanation for Europe’s harsh attitude on the EPA deadline, since neither legal, nor economic interests would have been harmed, if the deadline had been postponed. The main argument advanced in this article addresses whether the EU had to push through these trade deals, because it had entrapped itself through its own ‘rhetorical action’. In its negotiation discourse, the European Commission (EC had so often emphasized the deadline together with the fact that there were no alternatives to EPAs, that it could not change its mind overnight, when at the end of the 2007 negotiations they were still going nowhere. The Union was forced to keep up with the deadline it had imposed upon itself with the risk of losing all its credibility.

Condition-Dependent Trade-Off Between Weapon Size and Immunity in Males of the European Earwig.

Science.gov (United States)

Körner, Maximilian; Vogelweith, Fanny; Foitzik, Susanne; Meunier, Joël

2017-08-11

Investigating the expression of trade-offs between key life-history functions is central to our understanding of how these functions evolved and are maintained. However, detecting trade-offs can be challenging due to variation in resource availability, which masks trade-offs at the population level. Here, we investigated in the European earwig Forficula auricularia whether (1) weapon size trades off with three key immune parameters - hemocyte concentration, phenoloxidase and prophenoloxidase activity - and whether (2) expression and strength of these trade-offs depend on male body condition (body size) and/or change after an immune challenge. Our results partially confirmed condition dependent trade-offs between weapon size and immunity in male earwigs. Specifically, we found that after an immune challenge, weapon size trades off with hemocyte concentrations in low-condition, but not in good-condition males. Contrastingly, weapon size was independent of pre-challenge hemocyte concentration. We also found no trade-off between weapon size and phenoloxidase activity, independent of body condition and immune challenge. Overall, our study reveals that trade-offs with sexual traits may weaken or disappear in good-condition individuals. Given the importance of weapon size for male reproductive success, our results highlight how low-condition individuals may employ alternative life-history investment strategies to cope with resource limitation.

The European Union’s Trade Strategy and Its Reflections on Turkey: an Evaluation from the Perspective of Free Trade Agreements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sait AKMAN

2010-04-01

Full Text Available This study attempts to assess implications, of European Union’s (EU new trade strategy and its Free Trade Agreements (FTAs with third countries, on Turkey-EU relations. It analyses critics raised in the context of FTAs and puts forward that the sustainability of the relations is contingent to the satisfaction of a set of criteria.The EU shifted its trade policy from sole reliance on multilateral trade negotiations towards initiatives for bilateral and preferential agreements (PTAs under its ‘Global Europe’ strategy which was adopted in 2006, to propose its trade policy agenda and priorities in accordance with its Lisbon Strategy. WTO Doha Round is currently in deadlock and it is improbable that it will be concluded in the near future. Partly for this reason, the EU tends to implement its policy objectives constantly through a set of FTAs. Turkey has to align its trade policy to the EU’s preferential regimes, pursuant to its obligations arising from the Customs Union (CU. Hence, it has concluded so far sixteen FTAs with relevant countries. On the other hand, the intensification of critics about the FTAs process and the CU brings impediments for Turkey to commit itself to its CU obligations in the next period. Two main motives can be cited as a reason: First, the EU trade strategy obviously considers the global context within which the EU rests; and the Member States’ interests, which are subsequently reflected into its FTAs. Nevertheless, a harmonious action by Turkey becomes onerous as long as EU trade priorities diverge from Turkey’s long term trade strategy. Second reason, aside from technical aspects of the CU, can be attributed to the ‘political uncertainty’ converged around the ‘open-endedness’ of the membership process, which in turn affects the CU, Turkey’s most vital linkage to the EU, and the commitments there from.

Designing an emissions trading scheme for China. An up-to-date climate policy assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huebler, Michael [Zentrum fuer Europaeische Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH (ZEW), Mannheim (Germany); Hannover Univ. (Germany). Inst. for Environmental Economics and World Trade; Loeschel, Andreas; Voigt, Sebastian [Zentrum fuer Europaeische Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH (ZEW), Mannheim (Germany)

2014-07-01

We assess recent Chinese climate policy proposals in a multi-region, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model with a Chinese carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS). When the emissions intensity per GDP in 2020 is required to be 45% lower than in 2005, the model simulations indicate that the climate policy-induced welfare loss in 2020, measured as the level of GDP and welfare in 2020 under climate policy relative to their level under business-as-usual (BAU) in the same year, is about 1%. The Chinese welfare loss in 2020 slightly increases in the Chinese rate of economic growth in 2020. When keeping the emissions target fixed at the 2020 level after 2020 in absolute terms, the welfare loss will reach about 2% in 2030. If China's annual economic growth rate is 0.5 percentage points higher (lower), the climate policy-induced welfare loss in 2030 will rise (decline) by about 0.5 percentage points. Full auctioning of carbon allowances results in very similar macroeconomic effects as free allocation, but full auctioning leads to higher reductions in output than free allocation for ETS sectors. Linking the Chinese to the European ETS and restricting the transfer volume to one third of the EU's reduction effort creates at best a small benefit for China, yet with smaller sectoral output reductions than auctioning. These results highlight the importance of designing the Chinese ETS wisely.

Designing an emissions trading scheme for China. An up-to-date climate policy assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huebler, Michael

2014-01-01

We assess recent Chinese climate policy proposals in a multi-region, multi-sector computable general equilibrium model with a Chinese carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS). When the emissions intensity per GDP in 2020 is required to be 45% lower than in 2005, the model simulations indicate that the climate policy-induced welfare loss in 2020, measured as the level of GDP and welfare in 2020 under climate policy relative to their level under business-as-usual (BAU) in the same year, is about 1%. The Chinese welfare loss in 2020 slightly increases in the Chinese rate of economic growth in 2020. When keeping the emissions target fixed at the 2020 level after 2020 in absolute terms, the welfare loss will reach about 2% in 2030. If China's annual economic growth rate is 0.5 percentage points higher (lower), the climate policy-induced welfare loss in 2030 will rise (decline) by about 0.5 percentage points. Full auctioning of carbon allowances results in very similar macroeconomic effects as free allocation, but full auctioning leads to higher reductions in output than free allocation for ETS sectors. Linking the Chinese to the European ETS and restricting the transfer volume to one third of the EU's reduction effort creates at best a small benefit for China, yet with smaller sectoral output reductions than auctioning. These results highlight the importance of designing the Chinese ETS wisely.

Designing an emissions trading scheme for China: An up-to-date climate policy assessment

OpenAIRE

Hübler, Michael; Löschel, Andreas; Voigt, Sebastian

2014-01-01

We assess recent Chinese climate policy proposals in a multi‐region, multi‐sector computable general equilibrium model with a Chinese carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS). When the emissions intensity per GDP in 2020 is required to be 45% lower than in 2005, the model simulations indicate that the climate policy‐ induced welfare loss in 2020, measured as the level of GDP and welfare in 2020 under climate policy relative to their level under business‐as‐usual (BAU) in the same yea...

Korea's emission trading scheme and policy design issues to achieve market-efficiency and abatement targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Hojeong; Hong, Won Kyung

2014-01-01

In 2008, the government of Republic of Korea (Korea) announced the national abatement target aiming at 30% reductions from the Business-as-Usual projections by 2020. Accordingly, the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) will be implemented from 2015 onwards. As ETS performance substantially depends on the structural design, it is critically important to examine the details of Korean ETS for the achievement of cost effectiveness and concurrent development of an active emission trading market. This paper addresses several policy design issues for this purpose. After providing an overview on the current framework of Korean ETS, we propose ways to achieve flexibility, consistency and market efficiency of the program in consideration of the preexisting policies. Issues in policy design are discussed by focusing on allowance allocation, market stabilization measures and price mechanism in the emission and energy markets in Korea. This paper will serve as a practical guideline for establishing sustainable and market-efficient Korean ETS that can be compatible with the international standards as in the EU ETS. - Highlights: • Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) will be implemented from 2015 in Korea to reduce CO 2 . • ETS performance substantially depends on structural design. • We provide policy overview on the current framework of Korean ETS. • Several policy design issues are discussed for developing policy consistency. • We focus on allowance allocation, allowance reserve and market stabilization measures

Firm performance and employment in the EU emissions trading scheme: An empirical assessment for Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anger, Niels; Oberndorfer, Ulrich

2008-01-01

This paper empirically investigates the role of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) for firm performance and employment in Germany. We provide an overview of relative allowance allocation within the EU ETS as well as an econometric analysis for a large sample of German firms covered by the scheme in order to assess the impacts of EU emissions regulation on both firm revenues and employment. The dataset indicates that the EU ETS was in an overall long position in 2005, although allowance allocation was very heterogeneous across member states. Our econometric analysis suggests that, within the first phase of the EU ETS, relative allowance allocation did not have a significant impact on firm performance and employment of regulated German firms

European External Trade Policy: The Role of Ideas in German Preference Formation - www-publication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Alons, G.C.

2013-01-01

In the literature examining European Union external trade policy, the relative influence of the Commission, the member states and interest groups are an issue of ongoing debate. This article will argue that member states can still play an important role and that a focus on member state preferences

Rapid turns in European renewable energy policy: advocacy and framing of the proposed trading of guarantees of origin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Maans; Nilsson, Lars J.; Ericsson, Karin

2008-10-15

The EU has assumed ambitious targets and strategies for the promotion of renewable sources of energy (RES) binding to all its member states. This report sets out to examine the proposed EU-wide policy instrument designed to help achieve the targets on renewable electricity and heat - the trading of Guarantees of Origin (GO). It analyses the fate of the GO trading proposal in the European policy-making machinery during 2007 and 2008. It first discusses its origins, key components and points of contention, and then examines key factors behind the policy development leading first to its development and subsequently to its abandonment in 2008. Addressing these factors, the report explores first the near-term policy-making process before and after the proposal on GO trading was tabled in January 2008, focusing on processes in the European bureaucracy and how they were influenced by different interest groups and member state governments. It then takes a step back and looks at how competing policy frames over time have shaped the GO instrument debate. Results show how a strong internal market frame acted as a primary driving force in the Commission throughout the 2000s to promote the GO trading instrument. The subsequent collapse of the GO trading proposal can be largely attributed to a) the lack of a strong lobby in favour of GO, b) the accumulated experience with and institutionalisation of national RES support policy, and c) growing general political concerns for supply security, innovation and competitiveness. In the end, the fall of the GO trading instrument is indicative of how the underlying political battle line between advocates of the European internal market and guardians of national interests has moved in favour of the latter in recent years. (author). refs

Draft European resolution on energy transition within the European Union. Nr 597

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Michels, Thierry

2018-01-01

After references to European and international directives or agreements, this document aims at drawing up new flexible rules to promote energy transition within the EU. It therefore states the French National Assembly opinion on issues related to the reduction of European greenhouse emissions, the revision of the Carbon Emissions Trading Scheme, rules concerning the sharing of the burden to reduce these emissions in sectors not covered by the ETS, the revision of rules concerning energy efficiency and the energy performance of buildings, the revision of rules concerning renewable energies, the revision of rules in the electric power sector, the governance of the Union of energy, the revision of rules concerning the Agency of the Cooperation of Energy Regulators, the consideration of social impacts of energy transition, the Brexit, and the Paris agreement

Emissions trading and firms' strategies. The case of power producers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rousse, O.

2005-11-01

This thesis deals with the impacts of a domestic emissions trading scheme on firms' strategies. As recent experiences of such programs (Acid Rain Program, RECLAIM Program, NOx Budget Program and the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme) concern mainly heat and power producers, we analyze especially strategies of these companies. In context of electricity market deregulation, our study takes two directions: uncertainty and competitive distortions. Concerning uncertainty, we are interested in portfolio management of emission permits, that is choice under uncertainty between buying, selling and banking permits. Concerning competitive distortions, we consider manipulations on the permits and/or products markets. Among others, we investigate interactions between a pollution market and the wholesale electricity market. From a general point of view, we show that a permits market, even competitive, gives to power producers more opportunities to act strategically on wholesale electricity markets. By this way, our study attempts to indicate when these market distortions are more likely to occur and to give some emissions market design instructions. (author)

A public choice view on the climate and energy policy mix in the EU — How do the emissions trading scheme and support for renewable energies interact?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gawel, Erik; Strunz, Sebastian; Lehmann, Paul

2014-01-01

In this paper, we analyze the rationale for an energy policy mix when the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is considered from a public choice perspective. That is, we argue that the economic textbook model of the ETS implausibly assumes (1) efficient policy design and (2) climate protection as the single objective of policy intervention. Contrary to these assumptions, we propose that the ETS originates from a political bargaining game within a context of multiple policy objectives. In particular, the emissions cap is negotiated between regulators and emitters with the emitters' abatement costs as crucial bargaining variable. This public choice view yields striking implications for an optimal policy mix comprising RES supporting policies. Whereas the textbook model implies that the ETS alone provides sufficient climate protection, our analysis suggests that support for renewable energies (1) contributes to a more effective ETS-design and (2) may even increase the overall efficiency of climate and energy policy if other externalities and policy objectives besides climate protection are considered. Thus, our analysis also shows that a public choice view not necessarily entails negative evaluations concerning efficiency and effectiveness of a policy mix. - Highlights: • We analyze the interaction of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and support policies for RES. • Stylized framework with emission cap as variable to be negotiated between regulators and emitters. • RES-support contributes to a more stringent emission cap and may even increase overall efficiency

The impact of Chinese carbon emission trading scheme (ETS) on low carbon energy (LCE) investment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mo, Jian-Lei; Agnolucci, Paolo; Jiang, Mao-Rong; Fan, Ying

2016-01-01

China is planning to introduce emission trading scheme (ETS) to decrease CO_2 emission. As low carbon energy (LCE) will play a pivotal role in reducing CO_2 emissions, our paper is to assess the extent and the conditions under which a carbon ETS can deliver LCE investment in China. We chose wind technology as a case study and a real-option based model was built to explore the impact of a number of variables and design features on investment decisions, e.g. carbon and electricity price, carbon market risk, carbon price floor and ceiling and on-grid ratio. We compute critical values of these variables and features and explore trade-offs among them. According to our work, a carbon ETS has a significant effect on wind power plant investment although it cannot support investment in wind power on its own. Carbon price stabilization mechanisms such as carbon price floor can significantly improve the effect of carbon ETS but the critical floor to support investment is still much higher than the carbon price in China pilot ETSs. Our results show that other policy measures will be needed to promote low-carbon energy development in China. - Highlights: • The impact of Chinese emission trading scheme on low carbon energy investment is assessed. • A real-option based investment decision model under uncertainty is built and employed. • Key variables and features of ETS influencing wind power investment are explored. • Chinese carbon ETS cannot support low carbon energy investment on its own. • Other policy measures complementing ETS are still needed and should be coordinated.

Development of a tool to model European biomass trade : Report for IEA Bioenergy Task 40

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoefnagels, E.T.A.; Junginger, H.M.; Resch, G.; Matzenberger, J.; Panzer, C.; Pelkmans, L.

2011-01-01

This report investigated the potential of future intra- and inter-European trade of solid biomass for bioenergy purposes taking country to country specific intermodal transport routes into account and matching supply and demand for energy crops, forestry products and residues and agricultural

The Impacts of the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme on Economic and Environmental Factors

OpenAIRE

Saunders, Caroline M.; Saunders, John

2011-01-01

New Zealand implemented an emissions trading scheme, the NZ ETS, to regulate the production of Greenhouse Gases. This ETS is the first of its kind to include the agricultural sector, as is expected to significantly raise costs to both producers and consumers. The aim of the paper is to assess the potential impact of the New Zealand ETS on the economy and the environment. The paper reports first on the development and nature of the legislation itself, and then continues by mapping the cost of ...

Reintroducing regulation? Consequences of the European directives for electricity trade (1228/2003) and gas trade (1775/2005) for the European internal power market; Verordnete Regulierung? Die Bedeutung der Stromhandelsverordnung / Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1228/2003 - und der Gashandelsverordnung - Verordnung (EG) Nr. 1775/2005 - fuer den europaeischen Energiebinnenmarkt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaiser, J.

2007-07-01

On 23 June 2003, the European Parliament and Council issued the directive on grid access for transfrontier electricity trading (EltHVO). It is part of a bundle of directives comprising also directives on electricity and natural gas trading (EltRL and GasRL). This marks the third and final state of unbundling of the European internal power market. In December 2003, the European Commission also announced the issuing of a directive on access to natural gas pipelines (GasHVO) which was issued on 28 September 2005 and came into force on 1 July 2006. While the European Parliament views the legislation as a key project for standardizing the European internal market, others see a danger of centralisation and standardisation of concrete regulation decisions. The publication investigates the consequences of the EltHVO and GAsHVO for the internal power market, especially with a view to the possible danger of centralisation. (orig.)

Trading behaviour on the continuous intraday market ELBAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scharff, Richard; Amelin, Mikael

2016-01-01

Intraday markets for electricity allow for trading of energy until shortly before the period of delivery. This offers market participants a possibility to reduce their expected imbalances and to offer own unused flexibility. Because this form of distributed balancing before the period of delivery can be profitable for market participants as well as beneficial for system operations, intraday trading is expected to gain more importance in future, especially with increasing shares of variable renewable energy sources in the generation mix. So far, intraday markets are still a research field with many open questions. This paper contributes by a first analysis of intraday trades on ELBAS, one of the European intraday markets. The analysis gives a detailed picture on trading activity and price development and is intended to improve understanding of continuous intraday trading. Findings include that trading activity differs significantly between price zones, that most trades occur in the last hours before gate closure and that market participants have to handle substantial price variations during the trading period. The paper also investigates the imbalance settlement rules in the Nordic countries and studies which effects one- and two-price imbalance settlement systems have on the market participants' profitability of intraday trading. - Highlights: • Insights into intraday trading: trading activity and price development. • Special focus is on characteristics of continuous trading. • Intrinsic problems in the Nordic imbalance pricing scheme are discussed. • Implications regarding balancing of generation from vRES.

Etude Climat no. 34 'Including international aviation in the EU ETS: a first step towards a global scheme'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alberola, Emilie; Solier, Boris

2012-01-01

Among the publications of CDC Climat Research, 'Climate Reports' offer in-depth analyses on a given subject. This issue addresses the following points: CO 2 emissions from international aviation, which accounted for 2% of global emissions in 2009, are not currently capped by any international agreement. The inclusion of the aviation sector in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) from January 1 2012 onwards represents a first step towards the implementation of emission reduction regulations based on an emissions trading scheme After the gradual extension of the scope of the EU ETS to new countries since 2005, the European Commission is now assimilating around 5,400 airlines that operate in Europe, two-thirds of which are non-European, into the EU ETS to join the energy generation and manufacturing industries. This European Union's decision assigns quantified CO 2 emission reduction targets to airlines: a 3% reduction in 2012 compared with average CO 2 emissions for the sector between 2004 and 2006, then a 5% reduction between 2013 and 2020. In the short term, the inclusion of the aviation sector in the EU ETS should have an impact on the scheme. Indeed, the aviation sector is expected to represent a new source of demand for allowances. Based on the assumption of an average 2.5% increase in annual emissions between 2012 and 2014, and then of an increase of 2% over the period between 2015 and 2020, airlines would create a shortfall of 382 MtCO 2 between 2012 and 2020. The limited use of Kyoto credits to help them comply offers a maximum import potential of almost 65 MtCO 2 between 2012 and 2020. This inclusion is a test of the EU's proactive policy, which involves encouraging other countries to define their own climate policy, without breaching international law,. The potential exemption of airline operators from emitter countries that introduce equivalent regulations would be a success for the European policy. For the time being, the reaction of some

Wood energy and European trade patterns: why Sweden is the No. 1 biofuel importer in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hillring, B.; Vinterbaeck, J.

1999-01-01

A high tax on fossil fuels in Sweden and more extensive waste legislation in some densely populated European countries, e.g., Germany and the Netherlands, explain why the Swedish imports of wood-fuels and recycled wood-fuels have increased dramatically in the past few years. The industrial use of wood-fuels is strongly dependent on prices of competitive fuels, i.e., fossil fuels, but it is also affected by policy instruments. Energy policies have up to now mainly been national. The expected common energy policy of the European Union, stated in the EU white paper, will have important influences on biofuel trade. Sweden experienced a massive development of district heating systems during the last 20 years. Mainly due to the tax system's carbon dioxide tax, wood-fuels compete successfully on this market with fossil fuels and other untaxed biofuels. Imports help replace fossil fuels. This study, which is a follow-up of a 1993 trade study, examines the forces that drive the increasing biofuel trade in Europe and analyzes the Swedish trade in biofuels. In 1997 imports amounted to 15-24 PJ which is about one fourth of the total biofuel consumed by Swedish district heating and about three times that projected in earlier studies. Out of this, about half was classified as wood-fuels. (author)

On the influence of the European trade barrier on the chinese pv industry: Is the solution to the solar-dispute “successful”?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCarthy, Killian J.

2016-01-01

In July 2013 the European Union (EU) imposed restrictions on Chinese solar photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers, looking to exporting to the EU. In this paper, we consider the impact of this trade barrier, using a sample of 454 stock-listed PV producing firms. We find that the trade barrier erased US$ 8,19 million off the value of the average European PV manufacturers and US$ 247.03 million off the value of the average Chinese PV manufacturers. We also find that while the trade barrier reduced the willingness of the industry to reorganise, it stimulates Chinese manufacturers to reorganise both their domestic and their international operations. The latter, we warn, is likely an attempt by Chinese manufacturers to ‘tariff jump’. We conclude, therefore, that the trade barrier was both inefficient, in that it both hurt the companies it aimed to protect, and ineffective, as those it sought to punish may have circumvented it. - Highlights: • Consider the impact of EU trade restrictions on 454 PV producing firms. • Show that the regulation wiped $8 m off the average European PV manufacturer. • Show that the regulation wiped US$247 m off the value of the average Chinese PV manufacturers. • Show that the regulation stimulated Chinese firms to circumvent the barrier. • Conclude that the trade barrier was inefficient and ineffective.

Quantifying the trade in marine ornamental fishes into Switzerland and an estimation of imports from the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monica V. Biondo

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Millions of marine ornamental fishes are traded every year. Today, over half of the known nearly 4000 coral reef fish species are in trade with poor or no monitoring and demand is increasing. This study investigates their trade into and through Switzerland by analyzing import documents for live animals. In 2009, 151 import declarations with attached species lists for marine ornamental fishes from non-EU countries totaled 28 356 specimens. The 62% of the fishes remaining in Switzerland, comprised 440 marine species from 45 families, the rest transited to EU and non-EU countries. Despite the recognized large trade volume for the European region, due to bilateral agreements, no data is collected for imports from the EU. However, inferred data shows that more than 200 000 marine ornamental fishes could be imported into Switzerland every year and an unknown quantity re-exported. As biggest import region, it is therefore safe to assume, that the European region is importing at least as many marine ornamental fishes as the US. There is no adequate data-collecting system known to be in place in any country for monitoring this trade. The EU Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES to monitor animal diseases could be adjusted to gather compulsory information for the EU and Switzerland. More than half of the species imported into Switzerland are not assessed by the IUCN and therefore marked as ‘not evaluated’ on the Red List. Overall, 70% of all known coral reef fish species have not been evaluated. If coral reef fishes are threatened or endangered due to large, possibly unsustainable numbers traded, it may be rational to monitor the trade in these species through the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES.

European emission trading, renewable energy law and the law of governmental environmental allowances; Europaeischer Emissionshandel, Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz und das Recht der Umweltbeihilfen. Plaedoyer fuer einen ''more environmental approach'' im EU-Wettbewerbsrecht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jacobs, Max

2016-07-01

The book on European emission trading, renewable energy law and the law of governmental environmental allowances covers the following issues: The European emission trading system and the European law on competition, the European emission trading system and competitive concerns; The European renewable energy law and the European law on competition, The European renewable energy law and competitive concerns; environmental protection the European competition policy.

Emissions Trading

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Woerdman, Edwin; Backhaus, Juergen

2014-01-01

Emissions trading is a market-based instrument to achieve environmental targets in a cost-effective way by allowing legal entities to buy and sell emission rights. The current international dissemination and intended linking of emissions trading schemes underlines the growing relevance of this

Emerging product carbon footprint standards and schemes and their possible trade impacts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolwig, S.; Gibbon, P.

2009-12-15

Concern over climate change has stimulated interest in estimating the total amount of greenhouse gasses produced during the life-cycle of goods and services - i.e. during their production, transportation, sale, use and disposal. The outcome of these calculations is referred to as 'product carbon footprints' (PCFs). The paper reviews the rationale, context, coverage and characteristics of emerging standards and certification schemes that estimate and designate PCFs, and discusses the possible impacts on trade, particularly exports from distant and developing countries. It draws on a survey of PCF certification schemes carried out during 2009, on a review of evolving international and national standards, and on a review of consumer surveys. Since 2007 one public standard, and two public and 14 private certification schemes referring to standards for calculating and communicating PCFs have become operational. Two new international standards and several new schemes, including three public ones, are due to become operational by 2011 or earlier. The private schemes are owned by a mixture of voluntary bodies and private companies, including some large retailers. Many provide assistance for reducing carbon footprints or procedures for certification or labelling. Nonetheless, to date only a few thousand products have been footprinted. As PCFs are already becoming market access requirements for bio-fuels imported to the EU, and may also become EU market access requirements for all mass-produced goods within 10-15 years, there is a danger that developing country exporters will lose out as a result. This is because: they are less likely to have the resources necessary for calculating and verifying PCFs; publicly available datasets are less likely to include processes carried out mainly in developing countries; and some existing standards do not currently include production of capital goods in their definition of product life cycles, which imparts a bias against

Renewable Energy Policy Fact sheet - European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-09-01

The EurObserv'ER policy profiles give a snapshot of the renewable energy policy in the EU Member States. The European Union aims to achieve a 20% share (with legally binding national targets) of its final energy consumption from RES by 2020, and at least a 27% share (not broken down into nationally binding targets) by 2030. Key instruments at EU level to promote RES include directives, such as the 2009 Renewable Energy Directive. The EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) is also intended to support RES. The European Commission has also adopted state aid guidelines to ensure that support schemes to promote RES at national level are compatible with EU competition law and internal market rules. Further instruments are research, development and innovation funding programmes, such as Horizon2020, the Innovation Fund, and the NER300 programme. RES are also supported through regional development funds as well as through grants and loans for RES projects and related infrastructure from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). A recast directive on the promotion of RES in the period 2020- 2030 is to be adopted along with governance rules to ensure that the EU-wide RES target for 2030 is met

Cross-border electricity market effects due to price caps in an emission trading system : An agent-based approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Richstein, J.C.; Chappin, E.J.L.; De Vries, L.J.

2014-01-01

The recent low CO2 prices in the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) have triggered a discussion whether the EU ETS needs to be adjusted. We study the effects of CO2 price floors and a price ceiling on the dynamic investment pathway of two interlinked electricity markets (loosely based

Natural gas opportunities, utilization and trades (in a European context)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corke, M.J.

1996-01-01

The historical development of natural gas consumption in Europe has relied heavily on requirements for space heating energy in the residential/commercial sector and for process energy and feedstock in the industrial sector. This paper reviews historical gas utilization trends and considers how these are likely to develop in the future. In addition to the above somewhat negative factors, the bright outlook for gas utilization in both large scale and small scale power and cogeneration facilities is reviewed and the implications of power industry restructuring for natural gas utilization are discussed. Finally, the outlook for overall European natural gas demand and trade is briefly considered. (author)

Systems for carbon trading. An overview

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasselknippe, Henrik

2003-12-01

This paper focuses on the increasing number of regional, national and international systems for trading and transfer of greenhouse gas emission allowances and emission reduction credits. The paper will serve as a platform for further discussions on the development of the international carbon trading market. The analysis builds on the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) Trading Schemes Database, which has been developed by Point Carbon, covering all known trading schemes and programs. A full overview of all existing trading schemes and proposals is presented, showing inter alia the outreach and judicial nature of the systems, the range and nature of emission reduction or credit purchase targets, allocation methods used, links to external systems, and possibilities for the use of project-based credits. A comparative assessment is performed on a number of design criteria, allowing for conclusions to be drawn on the level of harmonisation of these systems, and the identification of convergence or divergence of important operational features. The systems covered in the analysis display considerable variation when it comes to key design criteria and functionality. A rapid integration of many of the planned and active systems seems likely following the agreement on the EU emissions trading scheme, and will be further accelerated if the Kyoto Protocol is ratified

Ethical food standard schemes and global trade

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Daugbjerg, Carsten; Botterill, Linda Courtenay

2012-01-01

Global food trade embodies a range of different interpretations of the nature of food and its role in society. On the one hand, the WTO food regulation regime, in particular the SPS agreement, is based upon a somewhat instrumental value of food consumption in which food is seen as a commodity...... base of each institution while giving expression to both materialist and postmaterialist understandings of the nature of food....... to be traded in accordance with international trade rules. At the same time, a number of private standards, such as GlobalG.A.P and various organic standards, are emerging which embody broadly postmaterialist values that suggest that food purchasing and consumption are also social, ethical and perhaps even...

The Creation of an Energy Security Society as a Way to Decrease Securitization Levels between the European Union and Russia in Energy Trade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olga Khrushcheva

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The energy trade between the European Union and Russia is securitized due to a combination of factors. First, there are securitizing agents within the European Union. Second, the domestic consolidation of the energy sector under governmental control, the Gazprom monopoly on transportation networks linking Central Asian gas with European markets and the state imposed-limits on foreign direct investment may also raise concerns in the European Union. Finally, Russia is also securitizing the energy sphere by claiming that the EU is trying to impose its values on Russia (for example through the Energy Charter Treaty, which contradicts Russian interests. This article combines securitization theory and the English School of thought and argues that the creation of an Energy Security Society could help de-securitize energy trade between the European Union and Russia.

Have Sanctions Modified Iran’s Trade Policy? An Evidence of Asianization and De-Europeanization through the Gravity Model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liudmila Popova

2016-10-01

Full Text Available This study is an empirical attempt to find out whether under sanctions Iran’s trade direction has shifted away from Europe (trade policy of de-Europeanization towards Asia (trade policy of Asianization. The analysis is conducted using a panel-gravity trade model to analyze bilateral trade pattern between Iran and 50 countries from the EU and Asia during the period 2006–2013. To this end, the authors use an extended gravity model by adding new variables, including the index of Chinn–Ito (KAOPEN as an indicator of financial openness, and the composite trade intensity (CTI as an indicator of trade openness. Our findings reveal that the gravity equation fits the data reasonably well. The empirical evidence indicates a significant negative effect of sanctions on Iran–EU bilateral trade (by an average of 46.9%, while it has a positive impact on trade between Iran and the Asian countries (by an average of 85.2%. Overall, these findings confirm that the imposition of various sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program has pushed the country’s foreign trade to reorient away from Europe towards Asia.

Information report submitted by the Commission for European Affairs on the reform of the emission allowances market. Nr 4569

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leroy, Arnaud

2017-01-01

This parliamentary report first proposes a presentation of the European carbon emission allowances market or emission trading scheme (ETS) by recalling the context of its creation, and by describing its operation (a trading platform to reduce CO_2 emission in Europe), and commenting critics which are generally made about this market. Then, the authors present and comment proposals of reform with notably the creation of a reserve fund of stability, and a structural reform of the market. The authors then explain why and how the ETS reform must go beyond that if the European Union wants to meet commitments defined in the Paris agreement

Green certificate trading in the Netherlands in the prospect of the European electricity market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dinica, Valentina; Arentsen, Maarten J.

2003-01-01

The support system for green electricity in the Netherlands has been one of the most complex and complicated systems across Europe. A voluntary trade of green certificates--or green labels--was one of the schemes used in the policy models of the 1990s. The liberalization of the electricity market has attracted substantial changes in the degree and nature of commitment by energy companies and political authorities for renewable electricity. In 2001, a new mechanism for the voluntary trade of green certificates has become operational, replacing the green label trade system one terminated in the end of 2000. This paper presents the two systems of green certificates' trade developed in the Netherlands and discusses their market stimulation potential in the very different economic and industrial circumstances that has surrounded each of them. The paper argues for a need to enable a support system that reduces investment risks as much as possible, and removes the residual, but still strong, institutional, administrative and social barriers for renewables' deployment. But before this, a clear governmental vision on the role of renewables in current energy supply systems is first needed, backed by a coherent policy and sufficient support along the economic dimension of renewables' market diffusion

Harmonisation between National and International Tradeable Permit Schemes. CATEP Synthesis Paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haites, E.

2003-01-01

It is technically possible to link national emissions trading schemes with widely divergent designs. Where design differences create potential problems, technical solutions are available. The greater the similarity of their designs, the easier schemes are to link. During the 2005 - 2007 period the EU Directive, if it is adopted, will lead to the establishment of at least 25 national emissions trading schemes. The Directive specifies many of the design features of these schemes, but leaves the allocation of allowances, rules for banking allowances into the commitment period, use of the opt-out provision, and a few other design features to Member States. The resulting differences among Member State schemes are unlikely to undermine the links between the schemes established by the Directive. The Community may enter into agreements with non-members for mutual recognition of allowances between their emissions trading schemes, but few, if any, links of this type are expected prior to 2008 for practical reasons. Beginning in 2008, Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol establishes an international emissions trading scheme that can link the national trading schemes of Annex I Parties. It imposes no requirements for harmonisation on the national emissions trading schemes linked. Some design differences could create technical problems, although solutions are available and at least one of the governments involved has an incentive to solve the problem. Adverse competitiveness impacts due to differences in the distribution of allowances across national schemes may need to be addressed through institutions such as the WTO. Most of the national trading schemes will also be subject to the EU Directive and be subject to greater harmonisation after 2008. The result is likely to be a progressive expansion and integration of greenhouse gas allowance markets over the next decade

Impacts on CO2 Emission Allowance Prices in China: A Quantile Regression Analysis of the Shanghai Emission Trading Scheme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Zhang

2016-11-01

Full Text Available A pilot regional carbon emission trading scheme (ETS has been implemented in China for more than two years. An investigation into the impacts of different factors on carbon dioxide (CO2 emission allowance prices provides guidance for price-making in 2017 when the nation-wide ETS of China will be established. This paper adopts a quantile regression approach to estimate the impacts of different factors in Shanghai emission trading scheme (SH-ETS, namely, economic growth, energy prices and temperature. The empirical analysis shows that: (i the economic growth in Shanghai leads to a drop in the carbon allowance prices; (ii the oil price has a slightly positive effect on the allowance prices regardless of the ordinary least squares (OLS or quantile regression method; (iii a long-run negative relationship exists between the coal price and the Shanghai emission allowances (SHEA prices, but a positive interaction under different quantiles, especially the 25%–50% quantiles; (iv temperature has a significantly positive effect at the 20%–30% quantiles and a conspicuous negative impact at the right tail of the allowances prices.

How polygeneration schemes may develop under an advanced clean fossil fuel strategy under a joint sino-European initiative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hetland, Jens; Zheng, Li; Shisen, Xu

2009-01-01

In this article the prospect of emerging co-production and polygeneration schemes based on pre-combustion decarbonisation and options for geological storage of the CO 2 are discussed in a European and Chinese setting. Reference is made to European and Chinese undertakings - especially the COACH project that is being conducted under the auspices of the European Commission. COACH is based on principles lined up by the EU-based DYNAMIS project with reference to options for decarbonising fossil fuels within a more sustainable framework. (author)

Linking GHG Emission Trading Systems and Markets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

Several different types of links are possible between different GHG-mitigation systems. These include: Linking two or more emission trading schemes so that emissions trading can occur both within and between different schemes ('direct links'); and Linking emission trading systems to registries/mechanisms and systems that generate offsets from project based mechanisms or from direct purchases/transfers of AAUs ('indirect links').

25 years of European Union (EU) quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs across EU Member States.

Science.gov (United States)

Albuquerque, Tânia G; Oliveira, M Beatriz Pp; Costa, Helena S

2018-05-01

Consumers are increasingly turning their attention to the quality and origin of products that they consume. European Union (EU) quality schemes are associated with a label, which was introduced to allow consumers to perform an informed choice and to protect producers from unfair practices. This present study provides an overview of the last 25 years of EU quality schemes [Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG)] on agricultural products and foodstuffs across the 28 EU Member States. According to the results, it was possible to conclude that Southern European countries have the highest number of registered products. The most used EU quality scheme is PGI, followed by PDO. Concerning the analysis of the evolution in the last 25 years, the number of registered products among EU Member States has increased significantly. The fruit, vegetables and cereals (fresh or processed) category is the one that accounts for the highest percentage (26.8%) of registered products, followed by cheeses and meat products (cooked, salted, smoked) categories, with 17.2% and 13.5%, respectively. Further investigations should address consumer preferences, knowledge and attitudes, especially Northern European countries with a lower number of registered products. Moreover, the investigation and registration of products should be encouraged among all EU Member States to allow the maintenance of important elements of the history, culture and heritage of the local areas, regions and countries. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Bank regulatory Capital Buffer and Liquidity: Evidence from US and European Publicly Traded Banks

OpenAIRE

Distinguin , Isabelle; Roulet , Caroline; Tarazi , Amine

2012-01-01

The theory of financial intermediation highlights various channels through which capital and liquidity are interrelated. Using a simultaneous equations framework, we investigate the relationship between bank regulatory capital buffer and liquidity for European and U.S. publicly traded commercial banks. Previous research studying the determinants of bank capital buffer has neglected the role of liquidity. On the whole, we find that banks do not strengthen their regulatory capital buffer when t...

The European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics Policy Statement No. 6.1: Recommended Guidelines on National Registration Schemes for Medical Physicists.

Science.gov (United States)

Christofides, Stelios; Isidoro, Jorge; Pesznyak, Csilla; Bumbure, Lada; Cremers, Florian; Schmidt, Werner F O

2016-01-01

This EFOMP Policy Statement is an update of Policy Statement No. 6 first published in 1994. The present version takes into account the European Union Parliament and Council Directive 2013/55/EU that amends Directive 2005/36/EU on the recognition of professional qualifications and the European Union Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM laying down the basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation. The European Commission Radiation Protection Report No. 174, Guidelines on Medical Physics Expert and the EFOMP Policy Statement No. 12.1, Recommendations on Medical Physics Education and Training in Europe 2014, are also taken into consideration. The EFOMP National Member Organisations are encouraged to update their Medical Physics registration schemes where these exist or to develop registration schemes taking into account the present version of this EFOMP Policy Statement (Policy Statement No. 6.1"Recommended Guidelines on National Registration Schemes for Medical Physicists"). Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Implications of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP for Investment Flows Between the European Union and the USA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Witkowska Janina

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP is a controversial subject, but at the same time it is perceived to be the most comprehensive international agreement on free trade and investment protection. Among the topics that evoke criticism on the part of different social groups is the investor‑state dispute‑settlement (ISDS, as well as its legal consequences for the EU Member states. A less discussed issue is the potential implications of the agreement on the state of economic co‑operation between the European Union and the USA in the field of investment flows, with special reference to foreign direct investment (FDI. The aim of this paper is to present the discussion related to the ISDS and examine some of the economic, political and legal implications of TTIP provisions for FDI flows between the EU and the USA. The proposals of the European Commission to change the investment protection system might be treated as an attempt to make the system of arbitrage more transparent and convincing to societies, and safer for states. The effects of the TTIP agreement for FDI between both partners might be dependent on the scale of trade creation and diversion effects, and the mirror effects of investment creation and diversion under a free trade area.

Emerging product carbon footprint standards and schemes and their possible trade impacts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bolwig, Simon; Gibbon, Peter

footprints or procedures for certification or labelling. Nonetheless, to date only a few thousand products have been footprinted. As PCFs are already becoming market access requirements for bio-fuels imported to the EU, and may also become EU market access requirements for all mass-produced goods within 10......Concern over climate change has stimulated interest in estimating the total amount of greenhouse gasses produced during the life-cycle of goods and services - i.e. during their production, transportation, sale, use and disposal. The outcome of these calculations is referred to as "product carbon...... footprints" (PCFs). The paper reviews the rationale, context, coverage and characteristics of emerging standards and certification schemes that estimate and designate PCFs, and discusses the possible impacts on trade, particularly exports from distant and developing countries. It draws on a survey of PCF...

Explaining European Emission Allowance Price Dynamics: Evidence from Phase II

OpenAIRE

Wilfried Rickels; Dennis Görlich; Gerrit Oberst

2010-01-01

In 2005, the European Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) established a new commodity: the right to emit a ton of CO2 (EUA). Since its launch, the corresponding price has shown rather turbulent dynamics, including nervous reactions to policy announcements and a price collapse after a visible over-allocation in Phase I. As a consequence, the question whether fundamental factors (fossil fuel prices, economic activity, weather) affect the EUA price remained partially unresolved. Today, being halfwa...

The European Emission Trading System and competition. Anticompetitive measures beyond reach? An assessment of the grandfathering allocation method and the Performance Standard Rate system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weishaar, S.

2006-10-01

The center piece of the European Climate Change Program is the ambitious Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS, Directive 2003/87/EC) which helps Member States to fulfill their Kyoto commitments. It particularly facilitates the old EU 15 Member States to make progress towards meeting their particular greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals committed under the Burden Sharing Agreement. EU Member States have developed national greenhouse gas allowances allocation plans and distributed these allowances to around 5000 operators with approximately 12.000 installations. Differences between allocations can give rise to severe anticompetitive effects. Undue interventions by Member States are largely contained through the application of the four freedoms, while EC Competition law (Articles 81 and 82) is geared to the containment of competitive distortions arising in particular from undue behavior of firms. State involvement in infringements is addressed through Articles 87 (State aid) and 86 (public undertakings) and the 'joint application doctrine' (Articles 10(2), 3(g), 81 and 82) which was developed by the ECJ upon recognition that State measures can undermine the effectiveness of the EC Treaty. The paper examines how anticompetitive distortions originating from Member State action under National Allocation Plans in general and by application of (historical) grandfathering and the (hypothetical) Performance Standard Rate (PSR) allocation format in particular are dealt with under European competition law rules. The PSR System is a relative benchmark system with an intended cap for all participants but without a cap for individual operators. This alternative approach has been developed and is actually in use for the Dutch NOx Emission Trading System. An interdisciplinary industrial economic and competition law framework is chosen to formulate an economic critique. After the introductory part the anticompetitive effects originating in State measures are examined

Investment appraisal of heat and power plants within an emissions trading scheme. Final Report of the INVIS Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurikka, H.; Pirilae, P.

2005-04-01

The opportunity cost for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions has become a new factor influencing investments in heat and power production capacity globally, and in particular in countries with a greenhouse gas emissions trading system, such as the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). There is a considerable power capacity investment need in the coming decades in Finland, in Europe and globally. As the economic lifetime of an investment in heat and power capacity typically ranges from 20-40 years, 'carbon finance' and the EU ETS therefore introduce a considerable and fundamental price risk to the investment problem. In Europe, the price risk is present in all investments and divestments of power production licences or capacity, be it a green-field plant, a retrofit of an existing plant or an acquisition. The objective of the INVIS research project was to extend the knowledge on strategic implications of emissions trading in investments into heat and power generation. This report gives an overview on the main findings of the project. The focus of INVIS project was on (1) quantitative investment appraisal and (2) methods rather than tools or parameter values. Particular attention in the INVIS project was paid to the incorporation of emissions trading in new methods of investment appraisal, which aim at taking into account the value of real options, rights to postpone or revise decisions. The EU ETS modifies the quantitative investment appraisal of heat and power plants directly through the emission allowance price and the number of free allowances and indirectly through impacts on output prices, input prices, taxation, and subsidies. From the risk perspective, the most problematic impact seems to be the regulatory uncertainty in the number of free allowances, which can turn out to be a barrier for investment in fossil-fuel-fired thermal power plants - even combined-cycle gas turbines. The emission allowance price is a stochastic variable, which implies it is

Impact of the european emission trading scheme for the air transportation industry on the valuation of aircraft purchase rights; Impacto de la ley de comercio europeo de emisiones de CO{sub 2} para el sector del transporte aereo en la valoracion de los derechos de compra de aviones

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tarradellas-Espuny, J.; Salamero-Salas, A.; Martinez-Costa, C.

2009-07-01

The European Commission issued a legislative proposal in December 2006, suggesting a cap on CO{sub 2} emissions for all planes arriving or departing from EU airports, while allowing airlines to buy and sell pollution credits on the EU carbon market (Emission Trading Scheme, or ETS). In 2008 the new scheme got the final approval. Real options appear to be ab appropriate methodology to capture the extra value brought by the new legislation on new airplane purchase rights: The airline will surely have the purchase right to the new plane if the operation of the plane generates unused pollution credits that the airline can sell at a minimum price in the carbon market. This paper tries to determine if the impact of ETS in the valuation of aircraft purchase rights is significant enough in monetary terms to include the new legislation in a complex real-option model already proposed by the authors recently. The research concludes that even the impact of ETS justifies its inclusion in the model, the quality of the available sets of historical data still raises some questions. Particularly, the assumption of market efficiency for the Carbon Pool over the recent years needs to be treated with caution. (Author) 9 refs.

Preparing for the emissions trading game

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2001-01-01

Although the deadline (1 April 2001) for the introduction of the climate change levy (or UK greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme) is near, it is difficult to assess the likely impact of the legislation since some of the architecture and much of the detail have yet to be revealed. Meanwhile, there is a growing fear that emissions trading may work against the sectoral energy efficiency agreements and the risks and costs for individual companies are not clear. The views of the CBI are discussed in detail; it is apparently concerned that the DETR's proposals are incomplete in a number of respects and these are discussed. The subjects of grandfathering, outsourcing, electricity generation and plant closures receive special attention. Other aspects discussed are legal issues, sanctions and liability, trading and risks. Tim Denne of Oxera doubts that the UK scheme will achieve the hoped for level of trading. The scheme is likely to be a subject of boardroom debate for several years to come

Carbon Trading in the Policy mix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sijm, J.P.M.; Sorrell, S.

2003-12-01

The Kyoto Protocol is stimulating the development of emissions-trading schemes at the national and international levels. These are being introduced alongside existing policy instruments such as carbon taxes and negotiated agreements, leading to complex problems of policy interaction. But the topic of policy interaction remains under-researched. This paper aims to improve understanding of such interactions by examining the conditions under which a cap-and-trade scheme for carbon-dioxide emissions may usefully coexist with carbon/energy taxes, support mechanisms for renewable electricity, and policies to promote energy efficiency. The paper argues that each of these instrument combinations may be acceptable, provided they contribute to either improving the static or dynamic efficiency of the trading scheme, or delivering other valued policy objectives. But, since the coexisting instruments may raise overall abatement costs while contributing nothing further to emission reductions, the objectives and trade-offs within the policy mix must be explicit

Jack-of-all-trades effects drive biodiversity–ecosystem multifunctionality relationships in European forests

Science.gov (United States)

van der Plas, Fons; Manning, Peter; Allan, Eric; Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael; Verheyen, Kris; Wirth, Christian; Zavala, Miguel A.; Hector, Andy; Ampoorter, Evy; Baeten, Lander; Barbaro, Luc; Bauhus, Jürgen; Benavides, Raquel; Benneter, Adam; Berthold, Felix; Bonal, Damien; Bouriaud, Olivier; Bruelheide, Helge; Bussotti, Filippo; Carnol, Monique; Castagneyrol, Bastien; Charbonnier, Yohan; Coomes, David; Coppi, Andrea; Bastias, Cristina C.; Muhie Dawud, Seid; De Wandeler, Hans; Domisch, Timo; Finér, Leena; Gessler, Arthur; Granier, André; Grossiord, Charlotte; Guyot, Virginie; Hättenschwiler, Stephan; Jactel, Hervé; Jaroszewicz, Bogdan; Joly, François-Xavier; Jucker, Tommaso; Koricheva, Julia; Milligan, Harriet; Müller, Sandra; Muys, Bart; Nguyen, Diem; Pollastrini, Martina; Raulund-Rasmussen, Karsten; Selvi, Federico; Stenlid, Jan; Valladares, Fernando; Vesterdal, Lars; Zielínski, Dawid; Fischer, Markus

2016-01-01

There is considerable evidence that biodiversity promotes multiple ecosystem functions (multifunctionality), thus ensuring the delivery of ecosystem services important for human well-being. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are poorly understood, especially in natural ecosystems. We develop a novel approach to partition biodiversity effects on multifunctionality into three mechanisms and apply this to European forest data. We show that throughout Europe, tree diversity is positively related with multifunctionality when moderate levels of functioning are required, but negatively when very high function levels are desired. For two well-known mechanisms, ‘complementarity' and ‘selection', we detect only minor effects on multifunctionality. Instead a third, so far overlooked mechanism, the ‘jack-of-all-trades' effect, caused by the averaging of individual species effects on function, drives observed patterns. Simulations demonstrate that jack-of-all-trades effects occur whenever species effects on different functions are not perfectly correlated, meaning they may contribute to diversity–multifunctionality relationships in many of the world's ecosystems. PMID:27010076

Integration, Trade Policy and European Footwear Trade

OpenAIRE

Winters, L. Alan

1992-01-01

This paper constructs a simulation model of the EC footwear market with which to consider the effects of EC trade policies. It examines the Southern enlargement of the EC, the quotas imposed on Korean and Taiwanese sales - initially in France and Italy and subsequently, in line with the `1992' programme, EC-wide - and the liberalization of imports from Eastern Europe. Import restrictions are shown to be costly - especially those against Eastern Europe.

Statistical regularities of Carbon emission trading market: Evidence from European Union allowances

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Zeyu; Xiao, Rui; Shi, Haibo; Li, Guihong; Zhou, Xiaofeng

2015-05-01

As an emerging financial market, the trading value of carbon emission trading market has definitely increased. In recent years, the carbon emission allowances have already become a way of investment. They are bought and sold not only by carbon emitters but also by investors. In this paper, we analyzed the price fluctuations of the European Union allowances (EUA) futures in European Climate Exchange (ECX) market from 2007 to 2011. The symmetric and power-law probability density function of return time series was displayed. We found that there are only short-range correlations in price changes (return), while long-range correlations in the absolute of price changes (volatility). Further, detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) approach was applied with focus on long-range autocorrelations and Hurst exponent. We observed long-range power-law autocorrelations in the volatility that quantify risk, and found that they decay much more slowly than the autocorrelation of return time series. Our analysis also showed that the significant cross correlations exist between return time series of EUA and many other returns. These cross correlations exist in a wide range of fields, including stock markets, energy concerned commodities futures, and financial futures. The significant cross-correlations between energy concerned futures and EUA indicate the physical relationship between carbon emission and energy production process. Additionally, the cross-correlations between financial futures and EUA indicate that the speculation behavior may become an important factor that can affect the price of EUA. Finally we modeled the long-range volatility time series of EUA with a particular version of the GARCH process, and the result also suggests long-range volatility autocorrelations.

A European-wide harmonised tradable green certificate scheme for renewable electricity: is it really so beneficial?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rio, Pablo del

2005-01-01

Winds of change are blowing in the public promotion of renewable electricity (RES-E) in Europe. On the one hand, a move to allegedly more market-conform instruments for the promotion of RES-E has already taken place in some Member States. On the other hand, a Directive on the promotion of RES-E has recently been approved setting indicative targets for RES-E consumption and opening the possibility that a harmonised framework for support schemes will be implemented in Europe. This harmonised framework (in combination with trade in RES-E between Member States) can be compared to a situation in which Member States continue to apply their current support schemes. This paper analyses the pros and cons of harmonisation. The main conclusion is that if priority is given to the local/regional/national benefits of RES-E, then harmonisation in combination with a tradable green certificate scheme is not so advantageous for countries. Only if the policy priority is the achievement of the RES-E Directive targets at the minimum costs should harmonisation be favoured by national energy authorities

European Community.

Science.gov (United States)

1987-05-01

The European Community was established in 1951 to reconcile France and Germany after World War II and to make possible the eventual federation of Europe. By 1986, there were 12 member countries: France, Italy, Belgium, the Federal Republic of Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. Principal areas of concern are internal and external trade, agriculture, monetary coordination, fisheries, common industrial and commercial policies, assistance, science and research, and common social and regional policies. The European Community has a budget of US$34.035 billion/year, funded by customs duties and 1.4% of each member's value-added tax. The treaties establishing the European Community call for members to form a common market, a common customs tariff, and common agricultural, transport, economic, and nuclear policies. Major European Community institutions include the Commission, Council of Ministers, European Parliament, Court of Justice, and Economic and Social Committee. The Community is the world's largest trading unit, accounting for 15% of world trade. The 2 main goals of the Community's industrial policy are to create an open internal market and to promote technological innovation in order to improve international competitiveness. The European Community aims to contribute to the economic and social development of Third World countries as well.

Integration of marine transport into the European Emissions Trading System. Environmental, economic and legal analysis of different options

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baeuerle, Tim [Rechtsanwaelte Zimmermann - Gretz - Trautmann - Baeuerle, Heidelberg (Germany); Graichen, Jakob; Meyer, Kristin; Seum, Stefan [Oeko-Institut e.V., Berlin (Germany); Kulessa, Margareta [Mainz Univ. of Applied Sciences (Germany); Oschinski, Matthias

2010-05-15

Marine vessels globally contribute to carbon dioxide emissions with approximately 3.3% (IMO 2009). Interna-tional ocean shipping has been growing significantly over recent years. To date international marine emissions are not part of the Kyoto obligations and the member states at IMO have not implemented instruments that would have limited or reduced the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from ships. The European Union has announced that if no international agreement including reduction targets for seaborne emissions has been approved by the UNFCCC by December 31, 2011, the EC is tasked to submit a proposal for including international marine transport in Euro-pean reduction targets and policy measures. An inclusion of international marine transport in the European Emis-sions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is a likely scenario. The study investigates three options for integrating international ocean shipping into the EU ETS based on: a last period; the last distance travelled and the distance the cargo has travelled. Basing the system on a last period is superior to basing it on last trip or cargo in terms of environmental effectiveness. However, the system would cover vessel activities in international waters, even potentially between two non-European ports, and thus the legal feasi-bility of this challenge is discussed. Another element of the study is the analysis of the economic effects of the inte-gration of international seaborne greenhouse gas emissions into the EU ETS. Overall it can be concluded that the integration of international ocean shipping into the EU ETS is a legally and technically feasible option with no significantly negative or even beneficial economic effects. The extension to vessel activity in international waters secures adequate coverage and environmental effectiveness. This extension to vessel activity in international waters is not only a prerequisite for adequate emissions coverage, but is also associated with the least legal obstacles, is

The Role of European Union Funds in Economic Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian PĂUN

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The European Union project initially started as a peaceful solution for war reconstruction in Europe. European countries decided to cooperate rather than compete in an aggressive way. At the beginning, this project supposed (involved market liberalization, trade barriers removals, market access improvement (initially for coal, steel, energy and, later, for all goods, services, workforce and capital. Unfortunately, in the last decades, all these Single Market facilities have been backed by redistributive schemes, protectionist mechanisms, social engineering, subsidies and facilities packed in so-called ”EU policies”. New ”European” institutions have been created, more and more funds have been involved to financially support this very complex redistributive intervention. The political dimension of the European Union project enhanced the economic dimension and constantly suffocated private markets and the economy. The “incomes” of the European Union that fuel its financial support are coming from taxes and/or inflation (better administered after the introduction of a Single Currency – the Euro. This paper will discuss the relevance of European Funds for economic development, especially for new members in this project.

Reconfiguring trade mark law

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elsmore, Matthew James

2013-01-01

-border setting, with a particular focus on small business and consumers. The article's overall message is to call for a rethink of received wisdom suggesting that trade marks are effective trade-enabling devices. The case is made for reassessing how we think about European trade mark law.......First, this article argues that trade mark law should be approached in a supplementary way, called reconfiguration. Second, the article investigates such a reconfiguration of trade mark law by exploring the interplay of trade marks and service transactions in the Single Market, in the cross...

The electric power trading. The stakes and forecasts of the electric power trading at the time of Enron's failure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-10-01

This study on the electric power trading analyzes the Change and trading mechanisms, the trading part in the european market, identifies the risk and the opportunities of the trading and analyzes the enterprises mastership. (A.L.B.)

Progress in the pattern of intra-industrial trade between the European Union and Latin America: The cases of Brazil and Mexico

OpenAIRE

Rodil Marzábal, Óscar; Sánchez Carreira, María del Carmen; López Arévalo, Jorge Alberto; Arrazola Ovando, Emmanuel

2016-01-01

This study examines changes in the pattern of intra-industrial trade (exchange of different varieties of the same good) between the European Union (EU) and the countries of Latin America (LA) over the last two decades, paying special attention to the cases of Brazil and Mexico. It focuses on the extent to which these trade relations are changing from a traditional profile based on complementarity (inter-industrial) and on static advantages (provision of resources) to a more modern, competitiv...

TradeWind Deliverable 5.1: Effects of increasing wind power penetration on the power flows in European grids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemström, Bettina; Uski-Joutsenvuo, Sanna; Holttinen, Hannele

2008-01-01

This report presents the main activities and results of Work Package 5 – Effects of increasing wind power penetration on the power flows in European grids in the TradeWind project. VTT is the leader of Work Package 5 and carries the overall responsibility of this report. The work is based on power...... flow simulations with a grid and market model developed in TradeWind Work Package 3, led by Sintef Energy Research. VTT, Sintef Energy Research and Risø have carried out the simulations of the different scenarios, analysed the results and written Chapter 4 about the impact of wind power on cross...

The EU system for emissions trading after year 2012; EU:s system foer handel med utslaeppsraetter efter 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Normand, Mathias; Mjureke, David (eds.)

2007-01-15

achieve emission reductions in line with Council Conclusions (7619/1/05) in the form of total emission reductions of the order of 15-30 % in the industrialised countries by 2020. Sweden should press for the Scheme to be linked with other trading schemes, subject to retention of climate integrity. Linking can strengthen global climate policy ties and influence countries not having internationally binding climate commitments towards participating in some climate policy agreement. Linking also helps to counter international distortion of competition. There should be considerable opportunities for the use of CDM (or equivalent) credits in the Scheme, given that the EU has strict commitments on emission reductions. In order to ensure the system's climate integrity and competition neutrality, efforts should be aimed at ensuring that the total quantity of allowances in the Trading Scheme is decided directly at EU level (i.e. top-down), instead of as today starting from national allocation plans (i.e. bottom-up). Sweden should promote continued expansion of the Scheme to other sectors and for other gases. In 2013, it should be expanded to include emissions of carbon dioxide and PFC from primary and secondary aluminium production, carbon dioxide from certain chemical industry sectors, nitrous oxide from certain chemical industry sectors and methane from active coal mines. The European road transport sector can be included in the Scheme. However, this will pose challenges in respect of the effects on industrial competitiveness and developments within the road transport sector. In order to be able to adopt a firm position in the matter of how the road transport sector should be treated in relation to the EU ETS, Sweden should initiate in-depth studies of consequences of different options, including a separate trading scheme for the European transport sector. Purely biofuelled combustion installations should be excluded from the Scheme, and the monitoring requirements for pure

How to dismember a potent instrument - the intractability of the emission trade proposal of the European Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Honkatukia, Juha; Kemppi, Heikki; Perrels, Adriaan

2003-01-01

The initiative of the European Commission to start up an emission trade system is fraught with difficulties. In order to be viable it should provide value added to justify the extra efforts it requires. A review of the draft-directive unveils many critical issues, that undermine the value added. Many proposed measures and conditions increase the cost of participation, and reduce the emission trade market volume, thereby affecting both level and volatility of the permit price. Furthermore, the proposed organisation of the system is unbalanced as it simultaneously leans on a devolution of policy planning tasks, a centralisation of decision rights and, an asymmetry in information levels and deployable specialist knowledge. As a consequence the directive proposals would complicate but not prevent gaming during the establishment and approval phase of the trade system. The paper discusses the burden sharing between trading and non-trading segments in the member countries, with special reference to Finland the possible responses of companies to increased transaction cost and uncertainty, and the consequences of the permit trade requirements for the earlier devised domestic climate policy and as a consequence for energy efficiency policies. The paper is based on a study conducted for the Ministry for the Environment, involving both an in-depth review of the directive and AGE-E3 model based calculations. The paper focuses on the analytical-qualitative clarification of effects. Some model results are added to underline the practical relevance of the identified risks and obstacles

How to dismember a potent instrument - the intractability of the emission trade proposal of the European Commission

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Honkatukia, Juha; Kemppi, Heikki; Perrels, Adriaan [Goverment Inst. of Economic Research, VATT, Helsinki (Finland)

2003-07-01

The initiative of the European Commission to start up an emission trade system is fraught with difficulties. In order to be viable it should provide value added to justify the extra efforts it requires. A review of the draft-directive unveils many critical issues, that undermine the value added. Many proposed measures and conditions increase the cost of participation, and reduce the emission trade market volume, thereby affecting both level and volatility of the permit price. Furthermore, the proposed organisation of the system is unbalanced as it simultaneously leans on a devolution of policy planning tasks, a centralisation of decision rights and, an asymmetry in information levels and deployable specialist knowledge. As a consequence the directive proposals would complicate but not prevent gaming during the establishment and approval phase of the trade system. The paper discusses the burden sharing between trading and non-trading segments in the member countries, with special reference to Finland the possible responses of companies to increased transaction cost and uncertainty, and the consequences of the permit trade requirements for the earlier devised domestic climate policy and as a consequence for energy efficiency policies. The paper is based on a study conducted for the Ministry for the Environment, involving both an in-depth review of the directive and AGE-E3 model based calculations. The paper focuses on the analytical-qualitative clarification of effects. Some model results are added to underline the practical relevance of the identified risks and obstacles.

Green certificates and carbon trading in the Netherlands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boots, M.

2003-01-01

The combination of trading schemes for green certificates and for carbon, as they are implemented and planned in the Netherlands, imply a complete separation of green certificates and CO 2 markets. This means that the costs of CO 2 reduction will be reflected in the spot price of electricity and that the price of green certificates only reflects the additional cost of RE development. However, since the green certificate scheme is already implemented, while the carbon trading scheme is not, it is unclear if currently the green certificate value includes the CO 2 reduction value of RE production. It is important that buyers and sellers in the market for green certificates agree on what they are trading, therefore this issue should be clarified

GLOBAL TRADE. THE KEY TO TRANSATLANTIC COMPETITIVENESS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mădălina Laura CUCIURIANU

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Global trade has an important characteristic in terms of open global markets by means of eliminating barriers to trade and investment. The United States and the European Union, two major international actors and competitors in the economic field, have both the opportunity to change the global trade by concluding the negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. For this reason, this paper tries to find the connections between global trade and transatlantic competitiveness in the way that the global trade can be considered a key to transatlantic competitiveness. The United States and the European Union are global actors and competitors in the global economy and the play field is the global trade. In order to be aware of the importance ofglobal trade in the transatlantic competitiveness, this paper includes also an analysis of the concrete actions that both economic powers are taking in key-sectors of the transatlantic economy.

IMPACT OF ROMANIA’S ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION ON THE AUSTRIAN TRADE, FDI AND LABOUR MARKET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gábor Hunya

2006-05-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the potential impact of Romania’s accession to the European Union on Austria in three major fields: foreign trade, FDI and labour market. While conditions of doing business in Romania have improved in recent years, they are still more complicated than in old and new EU member states. Romania remains a rapidly growing market for investment goods, consumer goods and services alike providing good opportunities for Austrian companies. While the effect of Eastern European labour immigration to Austria can be expected to be marginal on total employment and wages, it may affect specific segments of the labour market. Overall, labour immigration from Romania will remain relatively unproblematic.

Joint efforts to harmonize sound insulation descriptors and classification schemes in Europe (COST TU0901)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Birgit

2010-01-01

Sound insulation descriptors, regulatory requirements and classification schemes in Europe represent a high degree of diversity. One implication is very little exchange of experience of housing design and construction details for different levels of sound insulation; another is trade barriers...... for building systems and products. Unfortunately, there is evidence for a development in the "wrong" direction. For example, sound classification schemes for dwellings exist in nine countries. There is no sign on increasing harmonization, rather the contrary, as more countries are preparing proposals with new......, new housing must meet the needs of the people and offer comfort. Also for existing housing, sound insulation aspects should be taken into account, when renovating housing; otherwise the renovation is not “sustainable”. A joint European Action, COST TU0901 "Integrating and Harmonizing Sound Insulation...

The Intra Industry Trade between Portugal European Union, Portugal Spain, Portugal-France, Portugal Germany, Portugal-Ireland, Portugal-Greece and Portugal-Netherlands - a Dynamic Panel Data Analysis (1996 2000)

OpenAIRE

Horácio Faustino; Nuno Carlos Leitão

2005-01-01

PortugalÂ’s main trade partners have been Spain, Germany and France. In this paper we analyse the intra industry trade in the manufacturing industry between Portugal Spain, Portugal-France, Portugal Germany, Portugal-Ireland and Portugal-Greece. We also present the results of intra industry trade (IIT) between Portugal and the European Union. The innovation, technological progress, human capital, and scale economies are some of the explicative variables of the intra industry trade phenomena. ...

EUROPEAN UNION PARTICIPATION IN NEGOTIATIONS ON TRANSATLANTIC TRADE AND INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. E. Rudenkova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article contributes to the discussion surrounding involvement of interest groups in the political process on the European and global level. My purpose here is to examine how groups of interest can affect EU’s role as a global actor and find out which mode of lobbying regulation could strengthen Europe’s position in global governance. In this article, I am trying to bind concepts which at first glance might seem quite remote: groups of interests and global governance. By analyzing Europe’s position on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP and the Trans-Pacifi c Partnership (TPP, I argue that European ambitions on international arena are undermined by innertensions. These tensions are mainly caused by discrepancy in positions of different groups of interest who try to infl uence the outcome of the political process and, thus, make it less stable and predictable. At the same time, adequate lobbying regulation could increase accountability and transparency and, therefore, help to overcome inconsistencies in EU’s position in global governance system. The results suggest that without proper backing from inside actors like business groups and civil society associations the EU will constantly wobble and will not be able to fully achieve its global goals.

A new classification scheme of European cold-water coral habitats: Implications for ecosystem-based management of the deep sea

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, J. S.; Guillaumont, B.; Tempera, F.; Vertino, A.; Beuck, L.; Ólafsdóttir, S. H.; Smith, C. J.; Fosså, J. H.; van den Beld, I. M. J.; Savini, A.; Rengstorf, A.; Bayle, C.; Bourillet, J.-F.; Arnaud-Haond, S.; Grehan, A.

2017-11-01

Cold-water corals (CWC) can form complex structures which provide refuge, nursery grounds and physical support for a diversity of other living organisms. However, irrespectively from such ecological significance, CWCs are still vulnerable to human pressures such as fishing, pollution, ocean acidification and global warming Providing coherent and representative conservation of vulnerable marine ecosystems including CWCs is one of the aims of the Marine Protected Areas networks being implemented across European seas and oceans under the EC Habitats Directive, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the OSPAR Convention. In order to adequately represent ecosystem diversity, these initiatives require a standardised habitat classification that organises the variety of biological assemblages and provides consistent and functional criteria to map them across European Seas. One such classification system, EUNIS, enables a broad level classification of the deep sea based on abiotic and geomorphological features. More detailed lower biotope-related levels are currently under-developed, particularly with regards to deep-water habitats (>200 m depth). This paper proposes a hierarchical CWC biotope classification scheme that could be incorporated by existing classification schemes such as EUNIS. The scheme was developed within the EU FP7 project CoralFISH to capture the variability of CWC habitats identified using a wealth of seafloor imagery datasets from across the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean. Depending on the resolution of the imagery being interpreted, this hierarchical scheme allows data to be recorded from broad CWC biotope categories down to detailed taxonomy-based levels, thereby providing a flexible yet valuable information level for management. The CWC biotope classification scheme identifies 81 biotopes and highlights the limitations of the classification framework and guidance provided by EUNIS, the EC Habitats Directive, OSPAR and FAO; which largely

Does AFTA Create More Trade for Thailand? An Investigation of Some Key Trade Indicators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piriya Pholphirul

2010-04-01

Full Text Available This paper examines whether the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA creates trade for Thailand or actually diverts it away from the country. It does this by analyzing various trade indicators: the Export Similarity Index, the Intra-Industry Trade Index, and Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA rank correlation. By examining the patterns of trade between Thailand and other members of ASEAN, it reveals a high degree of similarity regarding the trade structure between Thailand and AFTA, which indicates that there will be fewer trade-creation benefits from AFTA and a greater likelihood of trade diversion once the AFTA scheme has been fully implemented. This similarity pattern explains the reasons for future collaboration among member countries and supportive arguments for the future extension of ASEAN ("ASEAN+". Market-penetration and development strategies should be employed by Thai exporters when accessing the ASEAN market.

Enforcement of emissions trading: Sanction regimes of greenhouse gas emissions trading in the EU and China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peeters, M.G.W.M.; Chen, Huizhen

2015-01-01

Abstract: This chapter aims to further the debate regarding the role of law for establishing an adequate enforcement strategy for an emissions trading scheme. We focus on sanction regimes within the EU ETS and the Chinese emissions trading pilot projects. Section 2 sets the scene by pointing at the

International Trade of Biofuels (Brochure)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2013-05-01

In recent years, the production and trade of biofuels has increased to meet global demand for renewable fuels. Ethanol and biodiesel contribute much of this trade because they are the most established biofuels. Their growth has been aided through a variety of policies, especially in the European Union, Brazil, and the United States, but ethanol trade and production have faced more targeted policies and tariffs than biodiesel. This fact sheet contains a summary of the trade of biofuels among nations, including historical data on production, consumption, and trade.

Quotum for CO2. Trading system in preparation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van der Weijden, C.; Dingenen, S.

2002-01-01

CO2 emission rights trading is one of the most promising tools for limiting the release of CO2 in the short term. While development of a trading system continues at the European Union level, the Netherlands is working on a system of its own, which will differ from its European counterpart in various critical respects. Although the Netherlands is likely to be one of the main beneficiaries of emission trading, the nation nevertheless has an obligation to pursue technical innovation [nl

Emissions trading: saviour or destroyer?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dougas, P.; Kearney, B.

2007-01-01

Australia is almost certain to get a greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in the next five years. Trading is now embraced by both political parties at the federal level and by all the states, as a key policy to address greenhouse gas emissions. But the story does not end there - there are crucial design and implementation decisions that will affect the efficiency and effectiveness of an emissions trading scheme and it is vital for the Australian economy that we get this right. Addressing greenhouse gas emissions will be a massive and costly effort and we need to make sure this happens, but at the lowest possible cost. Populist solutions and silver bullets abound, but there are no simple solutions and we need to start taking action on a broad front to minimise the cost. Emissions trading will have significant and lasting effects of the broader Australian economy, but is likely to be felt most in the energy sector. We need informed and rational discussion and policy development to get it right

Price floors for emissions trading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, Peter John; Jotzo, Frank

2011-01-01

Price floors in greenhouse gas emissions trading schemes can guarantee minimum abatement efforts if prices are lower than expected, and they can help manage cost uncertainty, possibly as complements to price ceilings. Provisions for price floors are found in several recent legislative proposals for emissions trading. Implementation however has potential pitfalls. Possible mechanisms are government commitments to buy back permits, a reserve price at auction, or an extra fee or tax on acquittal of emissions permits. Our analysis of these alternatives shows that the fee approach has budgetary advantages and is more compatible with international permit trading than the alternatives. It can also be used to implement more general hybrid approaches to emissions pricing. - Research highlights: → Price floors for emissions trading schemes guarantee a minimum carbon price. → Price floors mean that emissions can be less than specified by the ETS cap. → We examine how price floors can relate to different policy objectives. → We compare different mechanisms for implementing a price floor. → We find that a mechanism where there is an extra tax or fee has advantages.

Emissions Trading: Trends and Prospects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-07-01

This paper provides the latest developments of announced, proposed and existing greenhouse gas emissions trading schemes (ETS) around the world since 2006. It also examines different potential design options for ETS (e.g. coverage, allocation mode, provision for offsets), and how these options are treated in the existing, announced or proposed schemes.

Enforcement of emissions trading - sanction regimes of greenhouse gas emissions trading in the EU and China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Peeters, Marjan; Chen, Huizhen; Weishaar, Stefan

2016-01-01

This chapter aims to further the debate regarding the role of law for establishing an adequate enforcement strategy for an emissions trading scheme. We focus on sanction regimes within the EU ETS and the Chinese emissions trading pilot projects. Section 2 sets the scene by pointing at the need of an

Centre of the European gas market. The European Autumn Gas Conference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Hasselt, F.; Van der Wal, W.; Ruinen, H.

1998-01-01

From the results of the 1997 European Autumn Gas Conference in Barcelona, Spain, it appears that the European gas industry is mainly focused on the liberalization of the European energy market. The main topic of the Conference was 'dealing with surplus'. A brief overview is given of the natural gas trade developments in the European countries. 1 ill., 1 tab. 2 ills

Emissions trading and investment decisions in the power sector-a case study in Finland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurikka, Harri; Koljonen, Tiina

2006-01-01

Organizations, which consider investment in or divestment of power production licences/capacity within the European Community, are exposed to the impacts of the European Union Emission allowance Trading Scheme (EU ETS). In this paper, the consequences of the EU ETS on investment decisions are explored in a country-specific setting in Finland. First, we review the general mechanisms through which the EU ETS influences size, timing and cashflows of an investment. Next, we discuss the projected changes in Finnish power producers' investment environment and examine the financial impacts due to the EU ETS on a case investment decision, a hypothetical condensing power plant (250 MW e ). The standard discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis is extended to take into account the value of two real options: the option to wait and the option to alter operating scale. In a quantitative investment appraisal, the impact of emissions trading not only depends on the expected level of allowance prices, but also on their volatility and correlation with electricity and fuel prices. The case study shows that the uncertainty regarding the allocation of emission allowances is critical in a quantitative investment appraisal of fossil fuel-fired power plants

Panorama 2015 - Greenhouse gas emissions in the road transport sector: moving towards inclusion in the European system of CO2 allowances?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coussy, Paula; Portenart, Philomene; Afriat, Marion; Alberola, Emilie

2014-12-01

In the year 2000, out of 41.8 Gt of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, almost 10% came from transports sector. In Europe, this share of transports GHG emissions rises to 21% and emissions are forecast to rise. Against this background, should the road transport sector be included in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and thereby contribute to national GHG emission reduction targets? (authors)

Benchmark-based emission allocation in a cap-and-trade system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Groenenberg, H.; Blok, K.

2002-01-01

One of the important bottlenecks for the introduction of emission trading is how allowances should be distributed among the participants in a trading scheme. Both grandfathering on the basis of historic emissions and auctioning have important drawbacks. In this paper, we propose an allowance distribution rule based on bench-marking of production processes: each company's share in the total allowance is determined by its production level and a reference emission level per product. The scheme shows some important advantages compared to other schemes

Takeover bids and insider trading

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nelemans, Matthijs; Bainbridge, Stephen M.

2014-01-01

This paper analyses the law and economics of insider trading in the context of takeover bids, focusing on the European regulatory framework. We distinguish between trading by the bidder, by the target and by classical insiders and first address the issue of precisely when information about potential

Income, Economic Structure and Trade: Impacts on Recent Water Use Trends in the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Duarte

2018-01-01

Full Text Available From the mid-1990s to the recent international economic crisis, the European Union (EU27 experienced a significant economic growth and a flat population increase. During these years, the water resources directly used by the EU countries displayed a growing but smooth trend. However, European activities intensively demanded water resources throughout the whole global supply chain. The growth rate of embodied water use was three times higher than the growth in water directly used by these economies. This was mainly due to the large upsurge of virtual water imports in the EU (e.g., about 25% of the change in water imports in the world was directly linked to the increasing imports in the EU27 countries. In this context, we analyze water use changes in the EU27 from 1995 to 2009, combining the production and consumption perspectives. To that aim, we use the environmentally extended input-output approach to obtain the volume of water embodied in domestic production and in trade flows at the sector and country levels. In the empirical analysis, we utilize multi-regional input-output data from the World Input Output Database. In addition, by means of a structural decomposition analysis we identify and quantify the factors explaining changes in these trends. We focus both on the role of domestic production and trade and estimate the associated intensity, technology and scale effects. This analysis is done for different clusters, identifying singular patterns depending on income criteria. Our results confirm the boost of demand growth in that period, the positive but negligible effect of structural change, and the decline in water intensity which, however, was not enough to compensate the effects on water associated to the economic expansion in the period. These findings also point at a gradual substitution of domestic water use for virtual water imports. More concretely, in most countries the food industry tended to reduce its backward linkages with the

Open issues concerning cross border trade mechanism in southeastern European countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gugu, Florin; Mihailescu, Florentina; Cirlan, Florica

2004-01-01

The first South East Europe Electricity Regulatory Forum (SEEER) has agreed that all participants in the 'Athens Process' (AP) should collaborate efficiently in achieving a clear common objective consisting in the creation of a competitive Regional Electricity Market (REM) in South-Eastern Europe (SEE), based on the rules currently in force and being developed in the European Union. The 'Memorandum of Understanding on the REM in SEE and its integration in EU Internal Electricity Market (IEM)' has charged CEER to undertake actions for pursuing a series of specific technical activities. One of the most important actions was the implementation of a trading mechanism such as cross border tariffs. Based on this mechanism the Transmission System Operators, TSO, shall receive compensation for costs incurred as a result of hosting transit flows of electricity on their network. An important problem is the Horizontal Network (HN) cost calculation. Horizontal Network is defined as a part of the transmission network that is most significantly influenced by the cross border exchanges. The calculation of the cost of the SEE HN is in some way problematic because the reorganization of the SEE power sector in different countries is often at the beginning. The paper presents the impact on the TSO's cost claim of the following technical issues which, at present, are not solved in conformity to ETSO CBT mechanism for 2003: - 110 kV network inclusion in the HN definition and its impact on HN cost; - Consideration of the standard cost in the calculation of the HN annual cost; - Consideration of the annual consumption for the calculation of the HN annual cost due to transits (transit key). The Cross Border Trade, CBT, mechanism represents an harmonized payment scheme for the compensation of the national transmission systems for their usage by the cross border flows. The paper addresses the following issues: 1. Assessment of the current state of play in the SEE region; 2. Main principles

Benchmarking and the allocation of emission rights. European Parliament agreement on CO2 emission trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harmsen, H.

2003-01-01

July 2, 2003, the Parliament of the European Union approved the directive for CO2 emission trade, which means that the energy-intensive industry and businesses in Europe have to deal with cost for CO2 emission from 2005 onwards. It is estimated that the Dutch government will have to distribute circa 90 million ton of CO2 emission rights (1.8 billion euro at a price of 20 euro per ton CO2). In order to realize a fair and transparent distribution of the rights use can be made of the Covenant Benchmarking for Energy Efficiency [nl

Abatement of CO2 emissions in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lesourne, J.; Keppler, J.H.; Jaureguy-Naudin, Maite; Smeers, Yves; Bouttes, Jean-Paul; Trochet, Jean-Michel; Dassa, Francois; Neuhoff, Karsten

2008-01-01

This first monograph of the Ifri program on European Governance and Geopolitics of Energy is devoted to the control of carbon dioxide emissions within the European Union. Since it is almost unanimously accepted that Greenhouse Gas emissions constitute the main cause of the observed increase of the world average temperature, the system implemented by the European Union to limit and decrease the CO 2 emissions is a significant pillar of the EU energy policy, the two others being the acceptance by the Member States of long-term commitments (for instance on the future share of renewable energy sources in their energy balance sheet) and the establishment of an internal market for electricity and gas. Though simple in principle, the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is in fact rather complex, and only experts really understand its merits and its deficiencies. These deficiencies are real and will have to be corrected in the future for the system to be effective. At this moment, when the 2005-2007 trial phase of the EU ETS is ending, the monograph has the purpose to stimulate the discussion between experts and to enable all those interested in the topic to understand the issues and to take part in the public debates on the subject. The monograph contains five papers: - 'An Overview of the CO 2 Emission Control System in the European Union' by Jacques Lesourne and Maite Jaureguy-Naudin. - 'Description and Assessment of EU CO 2 Regulations' by Yves Smeers. - 'Assessment of EU CO 2 Regulations' by Jean-Paul Bouttes, Jean-Michel Trochet and Francois Dassa. - 'Investment in Low Carbon Technologies, Policies for the Power Sector' by Karsten Neuhoff. - 'Lessons Learned from the 2005-2007 Trial Phase of the EU Emission Trading System' by Jan Horst Keppler

Industrial DSM in a deregulated European electricity market - a case study of 11 plants in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trygg, Louise; Karlsson, B.G.

2005-01-01

In 2004 Sweden will become part of a common European electricity market. This implies that the price of electricity in Swedish will adapt to a higher European electricity price due to the increase in cross-border trading. Swedish plant is characterized as more electricity-intensive than plant on the European continent, and this, in combination with a higher European electricity price will lead to a precarious scenario. This paper studies the energy use of 11 plants in the municipality of Oskarshamn in Sweden. The aim is to show how these plants can reduce their electricity use to adapt to a European level. We have found that the plants could reduce their use of electricity by 48% and their use of energy by 40%. In a European perspective, where coal-condensing power is assumed to be the marginal production that alters as the electricity demand changes, the decrease in the use of electricity in this study leads to a reduction in global emissions of carbon dioxide of 69,000 tonne a year. Electricity generated in Sweden emits very low emissions of carbon dioxide and have thus consequently very low external cost. The freed capacity in Sweden could therefore replace electricity generated with higher external cost and as a result lower the total external cost in Europe. The emissions from the saved electricity could also be valuable within the EU emissions trading scheme, if the emissions calculation is done assuming the marginal electricity is fossil fuel based

The European programme on climatic change. Assessment and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Creach, Morgane

2008-09-01

After having recalled how the ratification of the Kyoto protocol became the basis of the European programme for the struggle against climatic change (operation of flexibility mechanisms) and how this programme has been implemented, this report describes the content of the first European Climate Change Programme which notably addressed the energy sector with the promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energies, the transport sector, the industry sector with the implementation of the European trading scheme for CO 2 emissions, and a regulation on some fluoridated gases. The second part proposes a contrasted assessment of this first programme. It outlines the difficulties to meet the Kyoto objective and identifies the main reason for that, i.e. the limited abilities of the EU to apply the Kyoto protocol. The third part presents the second programme with an integrated climate-energy policy, the integration of the air transport sector within the ETS, a new strategy of reduction of CO 2 emissions by cars, and the definition of a strategy for adaptation to climate change in Europe

Distance, Transaction Costs, and Preferences in European Trade

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kokko, Ari; Tingvall, Patrik Gustavsson

2014-01-01

Beckerman (1956) and Linder (1961) have suggested that international trade is not determined by supply-side factors alone—perceptions about foreign countries and country preferences matter. We explore the relation between exports, cultural distance, and country preferences in Europe. The results ...... channels, both indirectly through transaction costs and more directly, as countries seem to prefer some trade partners before others....

The Trading Potential of Eastern Europe

OpenAIRE

Wang, Zhen Kun; Winters, L. Alan

1991-01-01

This paper fits a gravity model to the trade of 76 market economies. It then applies the model to data on East European economies to estimate what their trading potential might have been, had behaved like market economies in the mid-1980s. At existing levels of national income, the liberalization of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union is unlikely to affect their mutual trade and trade with developing countries, but it will increase trade with industrial counties by factors of three to thirty....

Development and trade competitiveness of the European wine sector: A gravity analysis of intra-EU flows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pasquale Lombardi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study analyses the intra-EU trade of the world׳s chief wine exporters, namely Italy, France and Spain. Using an augmented version of the gravity model we empirically assess which of the three countries have experienced growth in intra-EU market trade. Effects of transportation costs, as well as demand and supply gaps between origin and destination countries, on the size of bilateral trade flows were specifically taken into account. Estimation results highlight the differences between bulk and bottled wine, providing useful information for European producers and policy-makers involved on regulation of wine sector. As concern bulk wine, Italy and Spain show no element of growth in competitiveness, while France shows a statistically significant annual decrease. In contrast, estimates for bottled wine all show a growth tendency, albeit with a different magnitude of coefficients. Italy is the country with the highest trend, followed by Spain and France which instead has a decidedly modest growth in export values. However, analysis of pricing policies shows that France does not appear to target an increase in export volumes so much as an increase in average unit price, while Italy, and especially Spain, have a tendency to increase export volumes, also to the detriment of prices.

The rise and fall of GO trading in European renewable energy policy. The role of advocacy and policy framing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Maans [Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Kraeftriket 2B, SE 10691 Stockholm (Sweden); Nilsson, Lars J.; Ericsson, Karin [Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, Box 118, SE 22100 Lund (Sweden)

2009-11-15

This paper examines policy processes surrounding the rise and fall of the proposed EU-wide policy instrument designed to help achieve the EU's renewable energy targets - the trading of Guarantees of Origin (GO). It discusses its origins and examines factors in the policy processes over time leading first to its development and then to its abandonment. A first analysis looks at the near-term policy-making process before and after the proposal on GO trading in January 2008, focusing on the European policy-making institutions and influences of interest groups and member state governments. It then takes a step back and looks over a longer time period at how competing policy frames have shaped the agendas underlying the debate. Results show how a strong internal market frame acted as a primary driving force in the Commission to promote the GO trading instrument. The rejection of the GO trading proposal in the Council and Parliament can be largely attributed to the lack of a strong lobby in favour of GO, the accumulated experience with and institutionalisation of national RES support policies such as feed-in tariffs, and growing general political concerns for supply security, innovation and competitiveness. (author)

The rise and fall of GO trading in European renewable energy policy: The role of advocacy and policy framing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Mans, E-mail: mans.nilsson@sei.s [Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Kraeftriket 2B, SE 10691 Stockholm (Sweden); Nilsson, Lars J.; Ericsson, Karin [Environmental and Energy Systems Studies, Lund University, Box 118, SE 22100 Lund (Sweden)

2009-11-15

This paper examines policy processes surrounding the rise and fall of the proposed EU-wide policy instrument designed to help achieve the EU's renewable energy targets-the trading of Guarantees of Origin (GO). It discusses its origins and examines factors in the policy processes over time leading first to its development and then to its abandonment. A first analysis looks at the near-term policy-making process before and after the proposal on GO trading in January 2008, focusing on the European policy-making institutions and influences of interest groups and member state governments. It then takes a step back and looks over a longer time period at how competing policy frames have shaped the agendas underlying the debate. Results show how a strong internal market frame acted as a primary driving force in the Commission to promote the GO trading instrument. The rejection of the GO trading proposal in the Council and Parliament can be largely attributed to the lack of a strong lobby in favour of GO, the accumulated experience with and institutionalisation of national RES support policies such as feed-in tariffs, and growing general political concerns for supply security, innovation and competitiveness.

International Trade of Wood Pellets (Brochure)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2013-05-01

The production of wood pellets has increased dramatically in recent years due in large part to aggressive emissions policy in the European Union; the main markets that currently supply the European market are North America and Russia. However, current market circumstances and trade dynamics could change depending on the development of emerging markets, foreign exchange rates, and the evolution of carbon policies. This fact sheet outlines the existing and potential participants in the wood pellets market, along with historical data on production, trade, and prices.

European insurance scheme to cover geological risk related to geothermal operations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tiberi, U [European Community, General Directorate XVII, ALTERNER Program, Bruxelles (Belgium); Demange, J [BRGM, Orleans (France)

1997-12-01

The development of geothermal energy can contribute significantly to the growth of NRE (new and renewable energies that are non-nuclear and non-combustible) within the European Community and within Europe as a whole. However, the `mining risk` related to this type of operation still constitutes a major obstacle to its development. Operators find it difficult to raise the necessary financing without a guarantee against the risk of failure during the drilling stage. Standard insurance companies will not cover this type of risk, due to its very nature. We must thus therefore find a specific solution. As a result of the oil crises during the 1970s, the French Government decided promote the use of renewable energies in France. The support provided to these energies, or at least to geothermal energy, was to set up a scheme whereby the resource is guaranteed. Thus the operator, by subscribing to the scheme, benefits from a guarantee of the resource. The insurance works at two level: - in the first place, it covers the mining risk during the drilling stage, i.e. should the resource prove to be insufficient, whether in discharge or temperature, for an economically viable operation, then the totality of the costs are reimbursed, apart form the premium and any government subsidy that might have been received. - A second level of guarantee covers the risk of change in the resource`s parameters over a period of 15 years (a study is in progress to consider the possibility of extending this period to 25 years). (orig.)

Greenhouse gas emissions trading and complementary policies. Developing a smart mix for ambitious climate policies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matthes, Felix C.

2010-06-15

. Closer examination of the practical implementation of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) shows very clearly that substantial differences to an ideal type of emissions trading scheme have to be taken into account, which can or should only be eliminated in the longer term or, for practical reasons, not at all. Further, analysis of the market development of the EU ETS up to now demonstrates that a strategic, robustly developed climate policy which meets the ambitiousness described also has to factor in the possibility that an emissions trading scheme cannot produce any long-term scarcity signals for different reasons (e.g. continual opportunities for revision in democratic systems, operational realities) and can thus always only serve the - essential - purpose of clearing emission reduction options close to the market which are available in the short to medium term.

Hydrological challenges to groundwater trading: Lessons from south-west Western Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Skurray, James H.; Roberts, E. J.; Pannell, David J.

2012-01-01

SummaryPerth, Western Australia (pop. 1.6 m) derives 60% of its public water supply from the Gnangara groundwater system (GGS). Horticulture, domestic self-supply, and municipal parks are other major consumers of GGS groundwater. The system supports important wetlands and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. Underlying approximately 2200 km 2 of the Swan Coastal Plain, the GGS comprises several aquifer levels with partial interconnectivity. Supplies of GGS groundwater are under unprecedented stress, due to reduced recharge and increases in extraction. Stored reserves in the superficial aquifer fell by 700 GL between 1979 and 2008. Over a similar period, annual extraction for public supply increased by more than 350% from the system overall. Some management areas are over-allocated by as much as 69%. One potential policy response is a trading scheme for groundwater use. There has been only limited trading between GGS irrigators. Design and implementation of a robust groundwater trading scheme faces hydrological and/or hydro-economic challenges, among others. Groundwater trading involves transfers of the right to extract water. The resulting potential for spatial (and temporal) redistribution of the impacts of extraction requires management. Impacts at the respective selling and buying locations may differ in scale and nature. Negative externalities from groundwater trading may be uncertain as well as not monetarily compensable. An ideal groundwater trading scheme would ensure that marginal costs from trades do not exceed marginal benefits, incorporating future effects and impacts on third-parties. If this condition could be met, all transactions would result in constant or improved overall welfare. This paper examines issues that could reduce public welfare if groundwater trading is not subject to well-designed governance arrangements that are appropriate to meeting the above condition. It also outlines some opportunities to address key risks within the design of a

BP's emissions trading system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Victor, David G.; House, Joshua C.

2006-01-01

Between 1998 and 2001, BP reduced its emissions of greenhouse gases by more than 10%. BP's success in cutting emissions is often equated with its use of an apparently market-based emissions trading program. However no independent study has ever examined the rules and operation of BP's system and the incentives acting on managers to reduce emissions. We use interviews with key managers and with traders in several critical business units to explore the bound of BP's success with emissions trading. No money actually changed hands when permits were traded, and the main effect of the program was to create awareness of money-saving emission controls rather than strong price incentives. We show that the trading system did not operate like a 'textbook' cap and trade scheme. Rather, the BP system operated much like a 'safety valve' trading system, where managers let the market function until the cost of doing so surpassed what the company was willing to tolerate

Did the economic crisis change V4 trade patterns? The case of intra-industry trade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patryk Emanuel TOPOROWSKI

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study revisits knowledge about the post-EU accession intra-industry trade development in the Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic. These countries—through trade liberalisation, European integration and EU accession—strengthened their position in the global value chains, part of which were located in Western Europe. This paper points out that during the global financial crisis, the changes in intra-industry specialisation were not coherent in the Visegrad countries. Moreover, in some cases, the specialisation even intensified. This paper also applies the Arellano-Bover/Blundell-Bond estimator to assess whether EU accession and the later global financial crisis were driving forces of the changing trade patterns of these countries. The results of the estimation proved the positive effect of European integration (before and after EU enlargement and the negative effect of the crisis.

The effects of competing trade regimes on bilateral trade flows: case of Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Predrag Bjelić

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of competing trade regimes on Serbian trade with its most significant (traditional partners, like European Union and CEFTA 2006 signatories, and other untraditional trade partners with favourable trade regime, like the USA. To this end, gravity model with bilateral and time effects is estimated by Hausman-Taylor AR(1 instrumental variable estimator, using panel data on bilateral trade between Serbia and its main trade partners during the period 2001-2010. The results indicate that overall level of development and difference in factor endowments stimulate Serbia’s exports, which is in accordance with theoretical foundation that inter-industry trade is predominant in exports of less developed countries. Moreover, competing trade regimes appear as important determinant of Serbia’s trade relations, whereas additional liberalization of trade regime with the USA as untraditional trade partner, even asymmetrical to Serbia’s favour, cannot divert trade flows from traditional partners in the long-run. This could mean that distance plays more prominent role in bilateral trade than the degree of liberalization of trade regimes in case of Serbia. The result could be due to the contemporaneous effects of trade preferences granted to Serbia by the EU and other CEFTA 2006 signatories, main trading partners of Serbia.

Abatement of CO{sub 2} emissions in the European Union

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lesourne, J.; Keppler, J.H.; Jaureguy-Naudin, Maite; Smeers, Yves; Bouttes, Jean-Paul; Trochet, Jean-Michel; Dassa, Francois; Neuhoff, Karsten

2008-07-01

This first monograph of the Ifri program on European Governance and Geopolitics of Energy is devoted to the control of carbon dioxide emissions within the European Union. Since it is almost unanimously accepted that Greenhouse Gas emissions constitute the main cause of the observed increase of the world average temperature, the system implemented by the European Union to limit and decrease the CO{sub 2} emissions is a significant pillar of the EU energy policy, the two others being the acceptance by the Member States of long-term commitments (for instance on the future share of renewable energy sources in their energy balance sheet) and the establishment of an internal market for electricity and gas. Though simple in principle, the European Union Greenhouse Gas Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is in fact rather complex, and only experts really understand its merits and its deficiencies. These deficiencies are real and will have to be corrected in the future for the system to be effective. At this moment, when the 2005-2007 trial phase of the EU ETS is ending, the monograph has the purpose to stimulate the discussion between experts and to enable all those interested in the topic to understand the issues and to take part in the public debates on the subject. The monograph contains five papers: - 'An Overview of the CO{sub 2} Emission Control System in the European Union' by Jacques Lesourne and Maite Jaureguy-Naudin. - 'Description and Assessment of EU CO{sub 2} Regulations' by Yves Smeers. - 'Assessment of EU CO{sub 2} Regulations' by Jean-Paul Bouttes, Jean-Michel Trochet and Francois Dassa. - 'Investment in Low Carbon Technologies, Policies for the Power Sector' by Karsten Neuhoff. - 'Lessons Learned from the 2005-2007 Trial Phase of the EU Emission Trading System' by Jan Horst Keppler

Is the Classification of International Trade in Horizontal and Vertical Intra-Industry Trade Usable?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jørgen Ulff-Møller; Lüthje, Teit

2001-01-01

with vertical intra-industry trade (between Germany and France) making up 50-60%. The high level of vertical intra-industry trade probably covers up many products shifting between e.g. vertical and horizontal intra-industry. The statement from the literature that the European integration process involves heavy......Abstract On the basis of OECD trade statistics at SITC 5 digit level for the period 1961-1999 we show the classification of international trade in (a) inter-industry trade and (b) horizontal intra-industry and (c) vertical intra-industry trade used in the empirical trade literature to be non stable...... at the individual product level. This indicates that this type of statistical classification based on unit-values is probably not very useful. On the other hand, we also show in accordance with the literature that the aggregate distribution of trade into the three categories apparently is rather stable...

Market Analysis and Risk Management of EU Emissions Trading - MARMET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ollikainen, M.; Aatola, P.; Ollikka, K.; Kumpulainen, A.; Pohjola, T.; Lappalainen, E.

2007-01-01

The first period of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) commenced on January 1st 2005. It implies new challenges to companies included in the scheme. A central challenge is the uncertainty related to the markets. In order to manage their risks and profitability companies need to be able to estimate future price developments of emission allowances. The University of Helsinki is conducting a research project in cooperation with the Helsinki University of Technology that will provide necessary information for analyzing European Union emission allowance (EUA) markets and create risk management competence. The objectives of the research project are (1) to develop a price estimation model for EU emission allowances and (2) to develop risk management competence related to EU ETS. With the price estimation model the short-term price developments of EUAs can be estimated. By utilizing the model companies can reduce uncertainties related to the markets. The project also delivers a general risk management model for EU ETS that aims at improving competitiveness of companies. (orig.)

The European Union’s external trade policy after the Treaty of Lisbon: a neo-gramscian perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilko Ihor

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This paper applies neo-Gramscian theory to analyze the European Union’s external trade policy after the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. It argues that despite the claim that procedural and institutional changes which took place as a result of the ratification of the Treaty serve the general interest of the EU citizens, they were in fact orchestrated by the European transnational capitalist class and serve primarily interests of this group. Paper starts by outlining key institutional and procedural changes introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, briefly outlining their implications for the EU. Further on, rationale for these changes is explained by focusing on socio-economic developments that took place in the EU during the past couple of decades. After outlining how the current hegemonic bloc was established, paper proceeds with explaining why the implemented changes were so important for the dominant in the EU social forces.

Trading in the rain. Rainfall and European power sector emissions. Research note no. 9

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

Analysts often say that temperature and rainfall have an impact on the price of CO 2 , as they influence the conditions of electric power supply and demand. Rainfall mainly affects the capacity of hydropower production, the third largest source of electricity in Europe and by far the leading source of renewable energy. The variability of hydroelectric volumes is indeed usually offset by other, higher-emitting sources of electricity, which has repercussions on the European allowances trading market. In 2005, rainfall was unusually low in several European countries: in the Iberian peninsula and in France, drought is believed to have brought about a rise of approximately 15 Mt CO 2 in power sector emissions. In contrast, hydrological conditions were particularly good in the Nordic countries, allowing them to reduce CO 2 emissions in the region as a whole through hydropower-based exports. The additional allowances demand would therefore have been 'only' about 9 Mt CO 2 . To make the interaction with the CO 2 market easier to understand, an indicator of rainfall in Europe must include this compensating phenomenon resulting from the heterogeneity of the climatic conditions and volumes produced in Europe

Energy trading in the focus of European regulation projects. How REMIT, MiFID II, MiFIR, MAD II and EMIR will professionalize, regulate and endanger energy trading; Energiehandel im Fokus europaeischer Regulierungsvorhaben. Wie REMIT, MiFID II, MiFIR, MAD II und EMIR den Energiehandel professionalisieren, regulieren und gefaehrden

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cieslarczyk, Michael [DLA Piper, Koeln (Germany)

2012-07-01

Many market partners fear that new European standards and initiatives to control energy trading activities will endanger the freedom of the markets. The contribution outlines the specifications of REMIT and also goes into the other European initiatives. (orig.)

Carbon allowance auction design of China's emissions trading scheme: A multi-agent-based approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang, Ling; Wu, Jiaqian; Yu, Lean; Bao, Qin

2017-01-01

In this paper, a multi-agent-based ETS simulation model is proposed for carbon allowance auction design in China. In the proposed model, two main agents, i.e., the government (the ETS implementer) and the firms in different sectors (the ETS targets), are considered. Under the ETS policy, all agents make various decisions individually according to their own goals, and interact with each other through three main markets: the commodity market, the primary carbon auction market and the secondary carbon trading market. Different popular auction designs are introduced into the ETS formulation to offer helpful insights into China's ETS design. (1) Generally, the ETS would lead to positive effects on China's carbon mitigation and energy structure improvement, but a negative impact on economy. (2) As for auction forms, the uniform-price design is relatively moderate, while the discriminative-price design is quite aggressive in both economic damage and emissions reduction. (3) As for carbon price, the uniform-price auction might generate a slightly higher market clearing price than the discriminative-price auction, and the prices under two auction rules fluctuate about RMB 40 per metric ton. (4) As for carbon cap, the total allowances in the carbon auction market should be carefully set to well balance economic growth and mitigation effect. - Highlights: • A multi-agent-based model is proposed for China's emissions trading scheme (ETS). • Two main economic agents are included: government and firms in different sectors. • Auction-based allocation for initial carbon allowances is especially investigated. • Economic and environmental impacts of different auction designs are analyzed. • Results confirm the validity of the model and give helpful insights into ETS design.

Validation of Martilli's urban boundary layer scheme with measurements from two mid-latitude European cities

Science.gov (United States)

Hamdi, R.; Schayes, G.

2007-08-01

Martilli's urban parameterization scheme is improved and implemented in a mesoscale model in order to take into account the typical effects of a real city on the air temperature near the ground and on the surface exchange fluxes. The mesoscale model is run on a single column using atmospheric data and radiation recorded above roof level as forcing. Here, the authors validate Martilli's urban boundary layer scheme using measurements from two mid-latitude European cities: Basel, Switzerland and Marseilles, France. For Basel, the model performance is evaluated with observations of canyon temperature, surface radiation, and energy balance fluxes obtained during the Basel urban boundary layer experiment (BUBBLE). The results show that the urban parameterization scheme represents correctly most of the behavior of the fluxes typical of the city center of Basel, including the large heat uptake by the urban fabric and the positive sensible heat flux at night. For Marseilles, the model performance is evaluated with observations of surface temperature, canyon temperature, surface radiation, and energy balance fluxes collected during the field experiments to constrain models of atmospheric pollution and transport of emissions (ESCOMPTE) and its urban boundary layer (UBL) campaign. At both urban sites, vegetation cover is less than 20%, therefore, particular attention was directed to the ability of Martilli's urban boundary layer scheme to reproduce the observations for the Marseilles city center, where the urban parameters and the synoptic forcing are totally different from Basel. Evaluation of the model with wall, road, and roof surface temperatures gave good results. The model correctly simulates the net radiation, canyon temperature, and the partitioning between the turbulent and storage heat fluxes.

Poland’s Trade with East Asia: An Outlier Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tseng Shoiw-Mei

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Poland achieved an excellent reputation for economic transformation during the recent global recession. The European debt crisis, however, quickly forced the reorientation of Poland’s trade outside of the European Union (EU, especially toward the dynamic region of East Asia. This study analyzes time series data from 1999 to 2013 to detect outliers in order to determine the bilateral trade paths between Poland and each East Asian country during the events of Poland’s accession to the EU in 2004, the global financial crisis from 2008 to 2009, and the European debt crisis from 2010 to 2013. From the Polish standpoint, the results showed significantly clustering outliers in the above periods and in the general trade paths from dependence through distancing and improvement to the chance of approaching East Asian partners. This study also shows that not only China but also several other countries present an excellent opportunity for boosting bilateral trade, especially with regard to Poland’s exports.

Prior authorisation schemes: trade barriers in need of scientific justification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meulen, van der B.M.J.

2010-01-01

Case C-333/08 Commission v. French Republic ‘processing aids’ [2010] ECR-0000 French prior authorisation scheme for processing aids in food production infringes upon Article 34 TFEU** 1. A prior authorisation scheme not complying with the principle of proportionality, infringes upon Article 34 TFEU.

Understanding the side effects of emission trading: implications for waste management.

Science.gov (United States)

Braschel, Nina; Posch, Alfred; Pierer, Magdalena

2014-01-01

The trading of emission allowances is an important market instrument in climate policy. However, the inclusion of certain branches of industry in the trading system not only provides incentives for emission reduction, it also entails unwanted side effects. Thus, the objective of the present study is to identify such side effects-positive and negative-by examining the potential impact of waste management inclusion in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). Desk research was supplemented with qualitative and quantitative empirical analysis (based on expert interviews and a questionnaire) in order to analyse the related perceptions and expectations of actors and stakeholders. The impact of waste management inclusion in the EU ETS is analysed in terms of the following three areas: (i) costs and cost pass-through, (ii), competitiveness and market position, and (iii) carbon leakage. Concerning expectations in the area of costs, both the interviewed experts and the practitioners surveyed thought that costs were likely to increase or that they could be passed on to customers. However, experts and practitioners differed with respect to the possibility of carbon leakage. Clearly, increased knowledge of the possible impact arising from inclusion of the waste sector in the EU ETS would enable managers to become more proactive and to manage waste streams and treatment options more economically.

Multi-period emissions trading in the electricity sector-winners and losers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bode, Sven

2006-01-01

In the context of controlling greenhouse gas emissions, the directive on a Europe-wide trading scheme may be perceived as one of the most important milestones in recent years. Prior to its start, however, a number of very specific design features have to be agreed upon. Regarding the allocation of allowances, a distribution (almost) free of charge seems to be the most likely choice. An aspect that has interestingly attracted little attention in the past is the question of how to allocate emission rights over time. The following paper analyses different allocation options in multi-period emissions trading that are currently discussed in the European context. The options are applied for the electricity sector which is simulated over two periods. The paper distinguishes between a market effect of emissions trading and compliance costs for meeting the emission reduction obligation. The market effect results from a price increase which is due to the fact that opportunity costs for using allowances must be considered. It turns out that the electricity sector as a whole gains from the introduction of the instrument due to the increase of the electricity price. With regard to the different allocation options, it is found that utilities have different preferences depending on the fuel used

Establishment risk from pet-trade freshwater turtles in the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kopecký O.

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The pet-turtle market has grown in recent years and become an important pathway for the introduction of alien species in Europe. The import of Trachemys scripta elegans has been banned by European Commission Regulation due to its species’ expanding territory and negative impact on native species. Since the demand from hobby breeders persists, however, blocking imports of this popular subspecies opens up the possibility for the introduction of other potentially invasive turtles. We determined those turtle species most common in the pet trade within the Czech Republic, which is the most important producer, importer and exporter of ornamental aquatic animals in the EU. The determination of establishment risk for the EU as a whole was then individually evaluated for turtle species based on known establishment models. Chelydra serpentina, Apalone spinifera, Apalone mutica, and Sternotherus odoratus were considered most problematic, because these species have serious establishment risk and are imported to the EU in substantial numbers. Also localities in the EU were identified where probability is highest for establishment of non-native turtles.

Sectoral and regional expansion of emissions trading

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boehringer, Christoph; Bouwe, Dijkstra; Rosendahl, Knut Einar

2011-07-01

We consider an international emissions trading scheme with partial sectoral and regional coverage. Sectoral and regional expansion of the trading scheme is beneficial in aggregate, but not necessarily for individual countries. We simulate international CO{sub 2} emission quota markets using marginal abatement cost functions and the Copenhagen 2020 climate policy targets for selected countries that strategically allocate emissions in a bid to manipulate the quota price. Quota exporters and importers generally have conflicting interests about admitting more countries to the trading coalition, and our results indicate that some countries may lose substantially when the coalition expands in terms of new countries. For a given coalition, expanding sectoral coverage makes most countries better off, but some countries (notably the USA and Russia) may lose out due to loss of strategic advantages. In general, exporters tend to have stronger strategic power than importers.(Author)

An emissions trading scheme design for power industries facing price regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Yong-Gun; Lim, Jong-Soo

2014-01-01

The electricity market, monopolistic in nature, with government price regulation, poses a serious challenge for policy makers with respect to the cost-effectiveness of emissions trading, particularly in Asian countries. This paper argues that a cap-and-trade regulatory system for indirect emissions combined with a rate-based allocation system for direct emissions can achieve market efficiency even in the presence of price and quantity controls in the electricity market. This particular policy mix could provide appropriate incentives for industries to reduce their electricity consumption while inducing power producers to reduce their direct carbon emissions cost-effectively in conditions where there is strict government control of electricity prices. Another advantage of the suggested policy mix is that it allows carbon leakage in cross-border power trades to be effectively eliminated. - Highlights: • A rate-based allocation induces power producers to minimize direct emissions. • A cap-and-trade on indirect emission induces firms to reduce electricity consumption. • These two can jointly achieve market efficiency even in the regulated power market

Legislative Provisions Underlying Trade Unions' Right to Define Their Organizational Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Korobchenko, Victoria V.; Penov, Yury V.; Safonov, Valery A.

2016-01-01

The article contains a comparative analysis of constitutional and other legislative provisions that ensure a trade union's right to define its own administrative structure in European states. The aim of the study is to reveal the management's problems of European trade unions, declarative and empirical mass-character legislative provisions, which…

Renewable energy investments under different support schemes: A real options approach

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boomsma, Trine Krogh; Meade, Nigel; Fleten, Stein-Erik

2012-01-01

-in tariff encourages earlier investment. Nevertheless, as investment has been undertaken, renewable energy certificate trading creates incentives for larger projects. In our baseline scenario and taking the fixed feed-in tariff as a base, the revenue required to trigger investments is 61% higher......This paper adopts a real options approach to analyze investment timing and capacity choice for renewable energy projects under different support schemes. The main purpose is to examine investment behavior under the most extensively employed support schemes, namely, feed-in tariffs and renewable...... energy certificate trading. We consider both multiple sources of uncertainty under each support scheme and uncertainty with respect to any change of support scheme, and we obtain both analytical (when possible) and numerical solutions. In a Nordic case study based on wind power, we find that the feed...

Agricultural protectionism of the European union in the conditions of international trade liberalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marković Ivan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The key objective of agricultural protectionism is reflected in the protection and developing of agriculture sector. Integrated parts of this policy in the European Union are the initial model of agricultural protectionism and a new strategy of agricultural policy, which emerged as a response to the shortcomings of previously existing model. The paper presents the key reforms of agricultural policy, conditioned to internal problems and pressures in the negotiations of trade liberalization of agricultural and food products. Reform solutions for the period of 2014 to the 2020 will have similar goals. The priority will be to develop sustainable food production and sustainable management of natural resources. There is a widespread awareness of sustainable development that includes not only the economic component (which is reflected in the increase in productivity and production efficiency, but also an environmental component (the need to preserve the environment, as well as the social component of sustainable development (integrated rural development. Conducting negotiations in the framework of liberalization of agricultural and food products, there was a gradual reduction of restrictive measures in the field of domestic agriculture protection. However, the European food market is still highly protected from foreign competition because of the many features of the agricultural production sector and the importance of agriculture for the entire society. It is certain that the CAP will lose its narrow agricultural character.

Cognitive radio networks dynamic resource allocation schemes

CERN Document Server

Wang, Shaowei

2014-01-01

This SpringerBrief presents a survey of dynamic resource allocation schemes in Cognitive Radio (CR) Systems, focusing on the spectral-efficiency and energy-efficiency in wireless networks. It also introduces a variety of dynamic resource allocation schemes for CR networks and provides a concise introduction of the landscape of CR technology. The author covers in detail the dynamic resource allocation problem for the motivations and challenges in CR systems. The Spectral- and Energy-Efficient resource allocation schemes are comprehensively investigated, including new insights into the trade-off

Etude Climat no. 43 'Use of Kyoto credits by European installations: from an efficient market to a burst bubble'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stephan, Nicolas; Bellassen, Valentin; Alberola, Emilie

2014-01-01

Among the publications of CDC Climat Research, 'Climate Reports' offer in-depth analyses on a given subject. This issue addresses the following points: During the Phase II of the European Trading Scheme, installations had the option to surrender carbon credits from project-based mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol (CERs and ERUs). The rules set by Member States and approved by the European Commission capped the demand at around 1,400 MtCO 2 between 2008 and 2012. In the end, over 1 billion Kyoto credits (675 million CERs and 383 million ERUs) have been surrendered by EU ETS installations. What conclusions can be drawn from this unique experience in a CO 2 allowance market?

Climate policy, emissions trading and hydrogen : Results of a Mannesmann Pilotentwicklung study and options for the hydrogen community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geres, R.

2002-01-01

The use of emissions trading for the introduction of hydrogen technologies into the market was studied under the Mannesmann Pilotentwicklung. It was argued that the integration of environmental effects becomes part of the business planning on the revenue side, provided a scenario with environmental benefits like the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. New possibilities and opportunities are available for hydrogen technologies. It enables the definition of more detailed projects within the hydrogen community, considering factors such as economic, strategic, technological and political aims. The projects involve both mobile and stationary applications, and cover regional activities as well as international cooperation. Public institutions or the private sector can undertake them. As a result of the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, an emissions trading scheme is scheduled to begin in 2005 inside the European Union. 2 refs., 2 tabs., 2 figs

ROMANIAN FOREIGN TRADE WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION-DINAMICS AND TRENDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihaela-Nona CHILIAN

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The paper presents briefly the evolutions in world trade and Romanian foreign trade, especially with the EU. A significant increase in exports, but also in imports was recorded over the interval 2000-2011, accompanied by major structural changes: decline in the shares of low value added and labor intensive products and advance of the more technologically advanced products. However, Romania's trade balance with the EU and most countries in this region remained negative, similar to other new Member States, which generally import more from than export to the EU. Years 2009-2011 marked a sharp drop and a relative stabilization of the trade deficit with the EU, due to significant reduction in exports, but especially in imports, and to the adjustments induced by the crisis after 2008.

An integrated model for simulating nitrogen trading in an agricultural catchment with complex hydrogeology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, T J; Rutherford, J C; Kerr, S C; Smeaton, D C; Palliser, C C

2013-09-30

Nitrogen loads to several New Zealand lakes are dominated by nonpoint runoff from pastoral farmland which adversely affects lake water quality. A 'cap and trade' scheme is being considered to help meet targets set for nitrogen loads to Lake Rotorua, and a numerical model, NTRADER, has been developed to simulate and compare alternative schemes. NTRADER models both the geophysics of nitrogen generation and transport, including groundwater lag times, and the economics of 'cap and trade' schemes. It integrates the output from several existing models, including a farm-scale nitrogen leaching and abatement model, a farm-scale management economic model, and a catchment-scale nitrogen transport model. This paper details modeling methods and compares possible trading program design features for the Lake Rotorua catchment. Model simulations demonstrate how a cap and trade program could be used to effectively achieve challenging environmental goals in the targeted catchment. However, results also show that, due to complex hydrogeology, satisfactory environmental outcomes may be not achieved unless groundwater lag times are incorporated into the regulatory scheme. One way to do this, as demonstrated here, would be to explicitly include lag times in the cap and trade program. The utility of the model is further demonstrated by quantifying relative differences in abatement costs across potential regulatory schemes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Demand, supply, and trade analysis for the fifth ECE/FAO European timber trends study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baudin, A.

1996-01-01

For this study, supply is explained using prices and costs; separate supply models are estimated for export supply, and supply to domestic markets. Using this approach, elasticities can vary by market (for supply equations) and by source of supply (for demand equations). In addition, substitution behaviour in both consumption and production can be examined. For the 9 countries that are smaller markets for forest products in Europe, a model of total demand (apparent consumption) was estimated using gross domestic product and price as explanatory factors. For these countries, a time-series, cross-section approach was used to estimate elasticities; countries were grouped by per capita income. For all countries, estimated elasticities are generally consistent with those reported in previous TTS, and those reported in the scientific literature. Because trade is modeled, additional information is available regarding the outlook for European forest products consumption, and demand on European forests. Where complete data sets were available, results generally indicate that there is substitution in consumption between imports and domestic production, for most products, in most countries. In addition, import elasticities often are higher than elasticities estimated for consumption from domestic sources. Substitution between exports and domestic markets is also evident in export supply equations. 10 refs, 21 tabs

International trade. Multinational aspects.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozawa, Y

2000-01-01

Of numerous regional economic agreements, the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), South American Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Agreement are examples that are actively pursuing regional integration for freer trade of animals and animal products. The World Trade Organization (WTO) believes that regional and multinational integration initiatives are complements rather than alternatives in the pursuit of more open trade. In the efforts to harmonize SPS standards among multilateral trading nations, it is recommended that national requirements meet the standards developed by the OIE and the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission as the minimum requirements rather than adopting the standards of the lowest common denominator. Regional grouping may hinder multilateral or bilateral trade between the countries of a group and those of the other groups. How to eliminate such non-tariff barriers as traditional trade custom remains to be examined. Ongoing activities of VICH (Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medical Products) may pave the way for more open trade in pharmaceutical products between multilateral regional groups.

The impact of TTIP agreement on the European Union-United States coal trade potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olkuski Tadeusz

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The main aim of the paper is to assess the impact of currently negotiated TTIP agreement (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on the use of hard coal in the EU and the US. Hard coal is the most important fuel in global electricity generation. This also applies to the United States, a leading manufacturer and exporter of this energy source. The US coal is exported to the EU market. The article presents the estimated exports of hard coal from the US to the EU. Due to the fact that price has a major impact on the size of exports, the paper presents the estimated prices, including freight costs, of power coal for the analyzed scenarios. According to one scenario, the US and European prices will be equalized (including freight costs by 2020, while from 2025 on the comparative advantage and competitiveness of the US hard coal will decrease. Taking into account the fact that the export of coal from the United States is free from customs duties, the acceptance of TIPP should not affect the currently existing trade between the two continents and the amount of exported coal. Nevertheless, the question of hard coal economy cannot be separated from other sectors of the energy market, which can be significantly affected by the future agreement.

Trade and production fragmentation : Central European economies in European Union networks of production and marketing

OpenAIRE

Kaminski, Bartlomiej; Ng, Francis

2001-01-01

Developments driven by trade liberalization and tehcnological progress mean that old development strategies, based on state intervention and trade protection, no longer work. Global competition has brought a growing emphasis on product standards, rapid innovation, adaptability, and speedy response. Technology has made possible the fragmentation of production. Firms that become part of glob...

Multiuser switched diversity scheduling schemes

KAUST Repository

Shaqfeh, Mohammad; Alnuweiri, Hussein M.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

2012-01-01

Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed, and ordered scheduling mechanism. The main idea behind these schemes is that slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we characterize the achievable rate region of multiuser switched diversity systems and compare it with the rate region of full feedback multiuser diversity systems. We propose also a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-based scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the feedback thresholds. We finally demonstrate by numerical examples that switched-diversity scheduling schemes operate within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the ultimate network capacity of full feedback systems in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2012 IEEE.

Multiuser switched diversity scheduling schemes

KAUST Repository

Shaqfeh, Mohammad

2012-09-01

Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed, and ordered scheduling mechanism. The main idea behind these schemes is that slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we characterize the achievable rate region of multiuser switched diversity systems and compare it with the rate region of full feedback multiuser diversity systems. We propose also a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-based scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the feedback thresholds. We finally demonstrate by numerical examples that switched-diversity scheduling schemes operate within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the ultimate network capacity of full feedback systems in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2012 IEEE.

Scheme for generation of fully-coherent, TW power level hard X-ray pulses from baseline undulators at the European X-ray FEL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geloni, Gianluca; Kocharyan, Vitali; Saldin, Evgeni

2010-07-01

The most promising way to increase the output power of an X-ray FEL (XFEL) is by tapering the magnetic field of the undulator. Also, significant increase in power is achievable by starting the FEL process from a monochromatic seed rather than from noise. This report proposes to make use of a cascade self-seeding scheme with wake monochromators in a tunable-gap baseline undulator at the European XFEL to create a source capable of delivering coherent radiation of unprecedented characteristics at hard X-ray wavelengths. Compared with SASE X-ray FEL parameters, the radiation from the new source has three truly unique aspects: complete longitudinal and transverse coherence, and a peak brightness three orders of magnitude higher than what is presently available at LCLS. Additionally, the new source will generate hard X-ray beam at extraordinary peak (TW) and average (kW) power level. The proposed source can thus revolutionize fields like single biomolecule imaging, inelastic scattering and nuclear resonant scattering. The self-seeding scheme with the wake monochromator is extremely compact, and takes almost no cost and time to be implemented. The upgrade proposed in this paper could take place during the commissioning stage of the European XFEL, opening a vast new range of applications from the very beginning of operations.We present feasibility study and examplifications for the SASE2 line of the European XFEL. (orig.)

Economic Analysis of the European Climate Policy: the European emissions trading scheme

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Clò (Stefano)

2010-01-01

textabstractThe last two decades have experienced an increasing awareness about global warming, its causes, and potential effects on the ecosystem, in general, and on humankind, in particular. Global warming is nowadays recognized as one of the most impressive global negative externalities and

CO2 trading and its influence on electricity markets. Final report for DTe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franke, M.

2006-02-01

The Dutch Ministry of Economics has asked the Dutch energy regulator (DTe) to gather factual information about the impact of the introduction of the European CO2 emission trading scheme (EU ETS) on the functioning of the Dutch wholesale electricity market and, in particular, to estimate the extent of windfall profits that generators may have realised as a consequence of the EU ETS. DTe has in turn appointed Frontier Economics to assist in the preparation of its advice to the Ministry. Separately, but as a parallel task, DTe has also asked us to provide guidance on the way in which DTe should monitor the performance of the wholesale electricity market in an era of CO2 trading. Section 2 describes the EU ETS, as background to the study. The section describes the institutional context, the way that the emission trading system has generally been implemented at a national level, and the way that the price of European Union Allowances (EUAs or allowances) has developed historically. Section 3 describes the way in which the EU ETS has had an impact on the Dutch electricity market including: the allocation of EUAs to the power sector in the Netherlands; the (theoretical) impact of the EU ETS on electricity generators' incentives; evidence on generators' behaviour; and the empirical evidence of the relationship between EUA prices and electricity prices (or spark and dark spreads). Section 4 provides a conceptual framework for the estimation of windfall profits. Section 5 deals with detailed assumptions that we have made and data issues we have encountered in our attempts to estimate windfall profits; and Section 6 presents and discusses our estimates of windfall profits

Does the European natural gas market pass the competitive benchmark of the theory of storage? Indirect tests for three major trading points

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stronzik, Marcus; Rammerstorfer, Margarethe; Neumann, Anne

2009-01-01

This paper presents the first comparative analysis of the relationship between natural gas storage utilization and price patterns at three major European trading points. Using two indirect tests developed by that are applied in other commodity markets, we impose the no arbitrage condition to model the efficiency of the natural gas market. The results reveal that while operators of European storage facilities realize seasonal arbitrage profits, substantial arbitrage potentials remain. We suggest that the indirect approach is well suited to provide market insights for periods with limited data. We find that overall market performance differs substantially from the competitive benchmark of the theory of storage. (author)

Unemployment Benefits as Redistribution Scheme of Trade Gains - a Positive Analysis

OpenAIRE

de Pinto, Marco

2012-01-01

Trade liberalization is no Pareto-improvement . there are winners (high-skilled) and losers (low-skilled). To compensate the losers the government is assumed to introduce unemployment benefits (UB). These benefits are financed by either a wage tax, a payroll tax, or a profit tax. Using a Melitz -type model of international trade with unionized labour markets and heterogeneous workers we show that: (i) UB .financed by a wage tax reduce aggregate employment but increase welfare measured by per ...

The central importance of the EU emission trading scheme for achievement of the German climate protection target of 40% until 2020

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermann, Hauke; Cludius, Johanna

2014-02-01

Both Germany and the European Union have set themselves targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The EU was the forerunner in 2008 when it adopted the Climate and Energy package and set a target of reducing GHG emissions by 20 % by 2020 compared to 1990. Two years later, Germany adopted a range of national GHG targets in the context of the German government's Energy Concept. This includes a 40% emissions reduction target to be met by 2020. One of the main instruments for achieving GHG emissions reduction targets is the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which covers all large industrial and combustion installations in Europe. According to the agreement made in 2008 (Climate and Energy Package), the effort to achieve the EU's 20 % reduction target by 2020 was split between the ETS sector (2/3 of the reduction effort, representing a 21 % reduction in GHG emissions for installations covered under the ETS compared to 2005) and the non-ETS sector (1/3 of the reduction effort, representing a 10 % reduction compared to 2005). Logically, GHG emissions reductions occurring in German ETS installations count both towards the EU and the national target. This research project has been commissioned to analyse whether the ETS in its cur-rent design can contribute its fair share in efforts to meet the national emissions reduc-tion target. This question is particularly relevant in light of the following considerations: - The new German Coalition Agreement, signed in December 2013, reiterated the national target of a 40 % reduction of GHG emissions by 2020 compared to 1990 levels. - At the same time, the new Coalition Agreement stated that changes to the ETS are only to be considered if the EU GHG emissions reduction target will not be met. - There is a surplus of CO2 allowances on the ETS market, which undermines the credibility of the instrument as well as the integrity of the emissions reduction tar-gets (both European and national). At the same time, the

Cost effects of international trade in meeting EU renewable electricity targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voogt, M.H.; Uyterlinde, M.A.

2006-01-01

The European market for renewable electricity received a major stimulus from the adoption of the Directive on the Promotion of Renewable Electricity. The Directive specifies the indicative targets for electricity supply from renewable energy sources (RES-E) to be reached in European Union (EU) Member States in the year 2010. It also requires Member States to certify the origin of their renewable electricity production. This article presents a first EU-wide quantitative evaluation of the effects of meeting the targets, using an EU-wide system for tradable green certificates (TGC). We calculate the equilibrium price of green certificates and identify which countries are likely to export or import certificates. Cost advantages of participating in such an EU-wide trading scheme are determined for each of the Member States. Moreover, we identify which choice of technologies results in meeting targets at least costs. Results are obtained from a model that quantifies the effects of achieving the RES-E targets in the EU with and without trade. The article provides a brief insight in this model as well as the methodology that was used to specify cost potential curves for renewable electricity in each of the 15 EU Member States. Model calculations show that within the EU-wide TGC system, the total production costs of the last option needed to satisfy the overall EU RES-E target equals 9.2 eurocent/kWh. Assuming that the production price of electricity on the European power market would equal 3 eurocent/kWh in the year 2010, the indicative green certificate price equals 6.2 eurocent/kWh. We conclude that implementation of an EU-wide TGC system is a cost-efficient way of stimulating renewable electricity supply

A Positivity-Preserving Numerical Scheme for Nonlinear Option Pricing Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shengwu Zhou

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A positivity-preserving numerical method for nonlinear Black-Scholes models is developed in this paper. The numerical method is based on a nonstandard approximation of the second partial derivative. The scheme is not only unconditionally stable and positive, but also allows us to solve the discrete equation explicitly. Monotone properties are studied in order to avoid unwanted oscillations of the numerical solution. The numerical results for European put option and European butterfly spread are compared to the standard finite difference scheme. It turns out that the proposed scheme is efficient and reliable.

European and German food legislation facing uncommon foodstuffs.

Science.gov (United States)

Grabowski, Nils Th; Klein, Günter; López, Antonio Martínez

2013-01-01

In Europe, uncommon foodstuff (UFS, i.e., traditional foods from specific European regions and uncommon ethnic foods from non-EU countries) have been contributing to a diversification of the food supply. E-commerce and specialized retail shops are the main sources for UFS. This article discusses the legal bases for UFS introduction and evaluation. By means of 35 representative UFS, this article analyses the possibilities of trade and veterinary inspection of these products in Germany, comparing European Union and national food legislation with the many idiosyncrasies the UFS presents. Conservatory legislation bans the trade with endangered species (primates, cetaceans, songbirds), but for many other species, this is a complex matter that may ban only subpopulations from trade. Although introduction of legal UFS is regulated (yet complicated), the lack of appropriate definitions, intra-European trade harmonization, and of sufficient scientific knowledge hampers a satisfactory evaluation of many UFSs, for example, reptile meat or terrestrial insects. In these cases, official inspection would only be very basic.

Chile-EU Trade Agreement: What Can We Learn from Trade Statistics?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaime de Pablo Valenciano

2015-01-01

Full Text Available An Association Agreement concluded between the European Union and Chile in 2002 included a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA that entered into force in February 2003. Our purpose is to analyse some of the economic consequences of the agricultural part of this agreement focusing in the fruit and vegetable market. Our finding is that market concentration has significantly decreased since the beginning of previous decade and has been reinforced in both markets. This has been an advantage for both Chilean producers and European consumers of fruits and vegetables.

Voluntary agreements, implementation and efficiency. European relevance of case study results. Reflections on transferability to voluntary agreement schemes at the European level

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Helby, Peter

2000-04-01

As a policy instrument, voluntary agreements often fascinate policy-makers.This is fuelled by a number of assumed advantages, such as the opportunity for co-operation rather than confrontation, speed and flexibility and the cost-effectiveness. Some advantages might even be accentuated at the European level: Co-operation has added advantage at the European level where the culture of consensus decision is strong. Flexibility is extra attractive for policy makers dealing with an economy less homogeneous than the average national economy. Speed is certainly welcomed by policy-makers otherwise faced with the slow-winding European legislative process. Cost-effectiveness is eagerly sought by European policy makers facing tight administrative budgets and staff limits. This report examines lessons from the VAIE case studies that may be useful to policy makers engaged in the development of voluntary approaches at the European level. These case studies are about voluntary agreement schemes for industrial energy efficiency deployed in Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, and Sweden. For a summary of these case studies, please refer to the the VAIE final report. More detailed information is available in the VAIE national reports. It needs to be emphasised that the empirical base is very narrow. The 'lessons' presented can only be hypotheses, based on an inductive leap from a very narrow experience. The reader will need to check these hypotheses against her own broader experience and personal judgement. According to the principle of subsidiarity, voluntary agreements should be implemented at the European level only if that would have significant advantage over national action. Action at the European level, rather than the national level, would have these potential advantages: Being more consistent with the development of the single market; Allowing higher demands on energy efficiency without negative effect on competitiveness and employment; Stimulating company

The coal question that emissions trading has not answered

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pearse, Rebecca

2016-01-01

Can emissions trading assist with the task of placing a limit on coal production and consumption in Australia? This paper outlines a critical political economy perspective on coal and a flagship ‘market mechanism’ for emissions reduction. The prospects for an effective emissions trading scheme in coal-dominated economies are considered in light of its theoretical justifications as well as recent attempts to price carbon in Australia. Emissions trading is a weak instrument that does not address real-world failures of coal governance. At their theoretical best, carbon prices produce marginal changes to the cost structure of production. In practice, the Australian case demonstrates emissions trading is an attempt to displace the emissions reduction task away from coal, through compensation arrangements and offsetting. In light of the urgent need to rapidly reduce global emissions, direct regulation and democratisation of coal production and consumption should be flagship climate policy. - Highlights: • Emissions trading schemes (ETS) are weak instruments for placing a limit on coal. • Pre-existing failures of coal governance cannot be addressed by emissions trading. • Considerable transfers of public wealth to coal companies occurred as part of the Australian ETS. • Carbon offset arrangements spatially displace responsibility for reducing emissions away from coal.

Validation of the Martilli's Urban Boundary Layer Scheme with measurements from two mid-latitude European cities

Science.gov (United States)

Hamdi, R.; Schayes, G.

2005-07-01

The Martilli's urban parameterization scheme is improved and implemented in a mesoscale model in order to take into account the typical effects of a real city on the air temperature near the ground and on the surface exchange fluxes. The mesoscale model is run on a single column using atmospheric data and radiation recorded above roof level as forcing. Here, the authors validate the Martilli's urban boundary layer scheme using measurements from two mid-latitude European cities: Basel, Switzerland and Marseilles, France. For Basel, the model performance is evaluated with observations of canyon temperature, surface radiation, and energy balance fluxes obtained during the Basel urban boundary layer experiment (BUBBLE). The results show that the urban parameterization scheme is able to reproduce the generation of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect over urban area and represents correctly most of the behavior of the fluxes typical of the city center of Basel, including the large heat uptake by the urban fabric and the positive sensible heat flux at night. For Marseilles, the model performance is evaluated with observations of surface temperature, canyon temperature, surface radiation, and energy balance fluxes collected during the field experiments to constrain models of atmospheric pollution and transport of emissions (ESCOMPTE) and its urban boundary layer (UBL) campaign. At both urban sites, vegetation cover is less than 20%, therefore, particular attention was directed to the ability of the Martilli's urban boundary layer scheme to reproduce the observations for the Marseilles city center, where the urban parameters and the synoptic forcing are totally different from Basel. Evaluation of the model with wall, road, and roof surface temperatures gave good results. The model correctly simulates the net radiation, canyon temperature, and the partitioning between the turbulent and storage heat fluxes.

A research on EU trade policy system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qi Sitong

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The EU is the world’s largest trade group, occupying an important position in the world trade in goods and services, especially in the field of service trade. The EU trade in services exports and imports are higher than the United States and Japan, and the EU is the world’s largest capital output and input group, and the world’s largest foreign aid providers. With the deepening of the European integration process, Europe’s position in the world economy and trade is on the rise. Therefore, the EU’s trade policy has increasingly become the focus of attention. From the vertical point of view, research directions can be divided into trade in goods policy, trade in services policy, international direct investment policy, trade-related intellectual property policy four field. In this paper, the four vertical areas are illustrated as the focus of the study.

THE EU’S NEIGHBOURHOOD TRADE ARRANGEMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ludmila BORTA

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The elusive outcome of the Doha Round has increased the importance of the preferential trade agreements worldwide. Currently, the EU`s trade policy is driven by preferential negotiations. European bilateralism is important and extremely challenging. This union aims to conclude a significant number of deep and comprehensive free trade agreements, particularly by eliminating tariffs, and also by facilitating the trade of services, investments, procurement and regulatory matters. The EU has granted unilateral preferences to developing countries through tariff free access to the EU market, thereby helping them to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development. Based on the primary motives of Europe’s preferential trade agreements, we have analysed the trade agreements negotiated with geographically close neighbours to which the EU is prepared to offer commercial accession or some slightly less ambitious type of relationship.

Industry protests new emissions trading regime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berends, J.; Schyns, V.

2008-01-01

The new emissions trading proposals presented by the European Commission on January 23rd, 2008, threaten to seriously hamper the competitiveness of European industry in the global market, according to industry organizations. They demand radical changes in the way Brussels allocates emission allowances. It is stated that auctioning of allowances, as the Commission proposes, will drive industry and employment out of Europe

STRUCTURAL EFFECTS AND MUTATIONS CAUSED BY THE ECONOMIC CRISIS ON FURNITURE TRADE AT THE EUROPEAN UNION LEVEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radu Marginean

2013-12-01

Full Text Available he global economic crisis had most negative effects on the entire economic sphere and especially in what the consuming industry is concerned, which may be considered “luxurious”, the way in which we may talk about the furniture industry. Along times of economic crisis at social level, a decrease in financial power at microeconomic, individual level is felt. Under conditions of social decrease in buying capacity, the request for commercial furniture is in rapid fall and thus the industry as such suffers serious structural mutations. Analyzing a series of macroeconomic indices from the European furniture industry led to the result that during the late years there has been a positive trend within the furniture industry in matters of production, however, with concern to trading, the situation is more complicated. There is a behaviour difference in the furniture industry between emergent countries and EU developed states and based on the performed analysis, a SWOT analysis at sectorial level crystallized, in which we propose ways of growth in the European furniture industry.

Market-based support schemes for renewable energy sources

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fagiani, R.

2014-01-01

The European Union set ambitious goals regarding the production of electricity from renewable energy sources and the majority of European governments have implemented policies stimulating investments in such technologies. Support schemes differ in many aspects, not only in their effectivity and

World trade in forest products and wood fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hillring, Bengt

2006-01-01

Wood fuel is a strategic resource for future energy supply and is usually utilised locally. Traditional use of wood fuel and other bioenergy has a share of 10-15% energy supply, used mainly for the household sector. The utilisation for industrial purposes is much smaller but is a strategic resource in the effort to fulfil the Kyoto agreement to replace fossil fuels and to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Many industrialised countries already use a significant share of biofuels in their energy supply e.g. Nordic countries while others like some other European Union countries are planning to increase their use. Production and use of biofuels need to be carried out sustainable. Official statistics do not report trade in such detail that international trade in different biomass types can be fully identified. However, FAO and European Forestry Institute are important sources. In some countries, there is a growing interest in the international trade, because the trade can provide biofuels at lower prices, larger quantities and better quality than domestic alternatives. The first signs of an international market price for wood fuel are indicated in Europe. For the future both the use and the trade of wood fuel is expected to increase. Analyses for trade in charcoal, wood chips, fuel wood and wood residues made in this report identify 'hot' trade spots in Europe, in south East Asia and in North America

Trade Mark Cluttering: An Exploratory Report Commissioned by UKIPO

OpenAIRE

von Graevenitz, Georg; Greenhalgh, Christine; Helmers, Christian; Schautschick, Philipp

2012-01-01

This report explores the problem of “cluttering” of trade mark registers. The report consists of two parts: the first presents a conceptual discussion of “cluttering” of trade mark registers. The second part provides an exploratory empirical analysis of trade mark applications at the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and the European trade mark office (OHIM). This part contains results of a descriptive and an econometric analysis. According to our definition, cluttering arises where fir...

Relatedness and diversification in the European Union (EU-27) and European Neighbourhood Policy countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boschma, Ron; Capone, Gianluca

2016-01-01

This paper analyzes the process of industrial diversification in the countries that were part of the European Union (EU-27) and those that were the target of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in the period 1995–2010 by means of world trade data derived from the BACI database (elaborated UN

Validation of Martilli's urban boundary layer scheme with measurements from two mid-latitude European cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Hamdi

2007-08-01

Full Text Available Martilli's urban parameterization scheme is improved and implemented in a mesoscale model in order to take into account the typical effects of a real city on the air temperature near the ground and on the surface exchange fluxes. The mesoscale model is run on a single column using atmospheric data and radiation recorded above roof level as forcing. Here, the authors validate Martilli's urban boundary layer scheme using measurements from two mid-latitude European cities: Basel, Switzerland and Marseilles, France. For Basel, the model performance is evaluated with observations of canyon temperature, surface radiation, and energy balance fluxes obtained during the Basel urban boundary layer experiment (BUBBLE. The results show that the urban parameterization scheme represents correctly most of the behavior of the fluxes typical of the city center of Basel, including the large heat uptake by the urban fabric and the positive sensible heat flux at night. For Marseilles, the model performance is evaluated with observations of surface temperature, canyon temperature, surface radiation, and energy balance fluxes collected during the field experiments to constrain models of atmospheric pollution and transport of emissions (ESCOMPTE and its urban boundary layer (UBL campaign. At both urban sites, vegetation cover is less than 20%, therefore, particular attention was directed to the ability of Martilli's urban boundary layer scheme to reproduce the observations for the Marseilles city center, where the urban parameters and the synoptic forcing are totally different from Basel. Evaluation of the model with wall, road, and roof surface temperatures gave good results. The model correctly simulates the net radiation, canyon temperature, and the partitioning between the turbulent and storage heat fluxes.

How Green is your scheme? Greenhouse gas control the Australian way

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lo, Alex Y.; Spash, Clive L.

2012-01-01

Australia managed to pass a national carbon pricing scheme into legislation in November 2011, which has come into effect from July 2012. The scheme includes elements of a CO 2 -equivalent tax as a short prelude to emission trading. Several fundamental problems remain unaddressed, including: the continuing rise of emissions, the scale of growth and economic activity, the promotion of emission trading, subsidies to polluters, the hidden promotion of banking and finance sectors. The new policy appears primarily targeted at job creation and business as usual. We argue that the prospects for any meaningful reduction in emission levels are extremely unlikely.

International trade with electric power

OpenAIRE

Årdal, Frode

2009-01-01

In 2003 the European Commission introduced the Directive 2003/54/EC and Regulation 1228/2003/EC which increased the focus on the liberalization of the European electricity market. The international electricity trade has increased and created new challenges related to cross-border transmission and compensation mechanisms. The focus of the report has been to discuss the development of the electricity market in Europe, and the status of international exchange. The report also discusses the con...

Viewls - Possibilities and performance of international biofuel trade from CEEC to WEC[Central and Eastern European Countries; Western European Countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dam, J. van; Faaij, A.; Lewandowski, I. [Utrecht Univ., Dept. of Science, Technology and Society, Utrecht (Netherlands); Zeebroeck, B. van [Transport and Mobility Leuven, Leuven (Belgium); Falkenberg, D.; Hein, M.; Schroeder, G.; Thraen, D.; Weber, M. [Inst. of Energy and Environment, Leipzig (Germany)

2006-05-13

The EU has set high targets to increase the use of renewable energy sources from which a large part has to come from biomass. To meet these targets, a large amount of biomass resources is needed, which requires large areas of land in the EU for energy crop production. However, the availability of good land for energy crop production is limited in Western European countries (WEC). This means that the potential from indigenous biomass resources is not sufficient to meet the set bioenergy targets. At the same time, the expansion of the EU and the inclusion of the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) in agricultural and energy EU policies create potential difficulties as well as opportunities. Agriculture plays an important role in the CEEC furthermore, the share of agricultural employment is still large. In the future rationalization of the current agriculture in the CEEC is expected. This will lead to increased productivity and economic performance. On the other hand, unemployment and an increase in abandoned land are expected as well. A study of the technical biomass production potentials in the CEEC shows that in some scenarios the biomass production potential exceeds the current final energy consumption on a country level. The main objectives of this study are: 1) Define the critical factors to set up a stable international biofuel trade between CEEC and WEC, 2) Estimate the cost performance of the energy carriers delivered in the WEC from the CEEC, 3) Analyze the regional differences in cost performance of the energy carriers in the CEEC. (BA)

Uranium trade and global liberalization of markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elagin, Yu.P.

2003-01-01

Present state of nuclear fuel market is reviewed. Political and economical aspects of nuclear fuel trade, traditional schemes of gain of nuclear fuel, tendencies and last innovations are treated. Price mechanisms, increase in part of traders, price indicators are discussed. Under the liberalization conditions the uranium market and common tendencies on the stages of nuclear fuel cycle as well as prospects of gain and sale of nuclear fuel, electronic trade are considered [ru

DETECTING VERTICAL INTRA-INDUSTRY TRADE IN CULTURAL PRODUCTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Affortunato Francesca

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The European integration process has always since markedly characterized by the increasing incidence of Intra-Industry Trade. This has been theoretically justified on the grounds of the new approaches emerging in international trade literature, based on imperfect competition and differentiated products. In recent years another distinctive economic feature of European Union is the importance gained by the so called “cultural and creative sectors”, which are often studied and monitored by reports for their great growth potential. We provide here a systematic decomposition of world trade in “cultural/creative goods” for the year 2009 (using harmonised bilateral flows for some 213 products defined as “cultural products” by UNESCO, 2009 into three trade types: inter-industry, intra-industry (IIT in horizontally versus vertically differentiated products. We show that the world trade in cultural goods is significantly characterised by two-way trade of vertically differentiated products. Moreover we specifically focus on the Italian peculiarities in the “cultural trade”: therefore we first work out which ones of the world countries are the “top exporters” of these categories of products and then we compute an indicator of the Italian goods’ quality relative to each of these competitors. Not surprisingly, we find that the most important bilateral IIT intensities in cultural products are observed in Europe. However the presence of developing countries is not unimportant. This can be explained partly to as a consequence of the increasing level of trade integration among some Asian countries and as a consequence of an increasing despecialization of firstly industrialized countries in the production and trading of these products. Finally, with reference to the relative quality of Italian cultural products compared with that of the other top-exporters in these sectors, we find that Italian

The Power of Economic Ideas: A Constructivist Political Economy of EU Trade Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Siles-Brügge

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The European Union’s (EU’s 2006 Global Europe communication established an offensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA agenda premised on serving the interests of the EU’s upmarket exporters at the expense of the EU’s remaining “pockets of protection”. This has remained in place with the advent of the 2010 Trade, Growth and World Affairs strategy. Such a development defies both rationalist International Political Economy (IPE explanations – which emphasise the protectionist bias of societal mobilisation – and accounts stressing the institutional insulation of policy-makers from societal pressures because the recent economic crisis and the increased politicisation of EU trade policy by the European Parliament have coexisted without leading to greater protectionism. Adopting a constructivist approach, we show that this turn of events can be explained by the neoliberal ideas internalised by policy-makers in the European Commission’s Directorate-General (DG for Trade. We then deploy a novel heuristic to illustrate how DG Trade acted upon these ideas to strategically construct a powerful discursive imperative for liberalisation.

The surprisingly small but increasing role of international agricultural trade on the European Union’s dependence on mineral phosphorus fertiliser

Science.gov (United States)

Nesme, Thomas; Roques, Solène; Metson, Geneviève S.; Bennett, Elena M.

2016-02-01

Phosphorus (P) is subject to global management challenges due to its importance to both food security and water quality. The European Union (EU) has promoted policies to limit fertiliser over-application and protect water quality for more than 20 years, helping to reduce European P use. Over this time period, the EU has, however, become more reliant on imported agricultural products. These imported products require fertiliser to be used in distant countries to grow crops that will ultimately feed European people and livestock. As such, these imports represent a displacement of European P demand, possibly allowing Europe to decrease its apparent P footprint by moving P use to locations outside the EU. We investigated the effect of EU imports on the European P fertiliser footprint to better understand whether the EU’s decrease in fertiliser use over time resulted from P demand being ‘outsourced’ to other countries or whether it truly represented a decline in P demand. To do this, we quantified the ‘virtual P flow’ defined as the amount of mineral P fertiliser applied to agricultural soils in non-EU countries to support agricultural product imports to the EU. We found that the EU imported a virtual P flow of 0.55 Tg P/yr in 1995 that, surprisingly, decreased to 0.50 Tg P/yr in 2009. These results were contrary to our hypothesis that trade increases would be used to help the EU reduce its domestic P fertiliser use by outsourcing its P footprint abroad. Still, the contribution of virtual P flows to the total P footprint of the EU has increased by 40% from 1995 to 2009 due to a dramatic decrease in domestic P fertiliser use in Europe: in 1995, virtual P was equivalent to 32% of the P used as fertiliser domestically to support domestic consumption but jumped to 53% in 2009. Soybean and palm tree products from South America and South East Asia contributed most to the virtual P flow. These results demonstrate that, although policies in the EU have successfully

Energy and emissions trading. Proceedings; Energie und Klimawandel. Tagungsband

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ehlers, Dirk; Wolffgang, Hans-Michael; Schroeder, Ulrich Jan (eds.)

2010-07-01

Within the 14th Muensteraner Foreign Trade legislation conference at 15th and 16th October, 2009 in Muenster (Federal Republic of Germany), the following lectures were held: (1) National and European energy policy (Dieter Kunhenn); (2) Trade, transport and distribution of energy - actual and future legal aspects (Markus J. Kachel); (3) Liberalization and regulation of energy services at multilateral and bilateral level (Christian Pitschas); (4) Legal protection for foreign direct investigations in the energy sector (Richard Kreindler); (5) Energy cartels in the light of the WTO law (Joerg Philipp Terhechte); (6) Subsidisation of renewable energy in the area of attention between WTO and EU subsidy law (Martin Lukas); (7) Legal aspects of pipeline through the Baltic Sea (Barbara Kaech); (8) Sustainability standards and their compatibility with the WTO law (Lorenz Franken); (9) Economic instruments between Kyoto and Kopenhagen - Quo vadis climate protection? (Benjamin Goeerlach); (10) Emissions rights trading with developing countries (Peter Ebsen); (11) Legal aspects of the European emissions rights trading (Stefan Altenschmidt).

Trading electricity outside the Nordic countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The subject of transborder trade of electricity between the Nordic countries and other North-European countries is dealt with. A detailed comparison of generating capacity, generating costs as well as electricity prices, market structure and national and international regulations is given. This shows that generating costs in the Nordic countries in general are lower than those in other North-European countries. This indicates a potential for transborder trade. Norway has a potential for exporting power while Denmark and Sweden have a potential for energy exports due to current excess capacity. Transmission capacity from the Nordic countries to Germany is limited. As access to the German transmission network is restricted, conditions for trade depend on differences between marginal cost. After transmission cost, those differences do not finance larger investments in further capacity. A change in the market structure in Germany with third party access to the transmission network will allow major consumers to buy directly from producers in the Nordic countries. An opening up of the market should reduce the price load in Germany. This could cause price increases in the Nordic countries. (AB)

The governance challenge for implementing effective market-based climate policies: A case study of The New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Passey, Robert; MacGill, Iain; Outhred, Hugh

2008-01-01

The New South Wales (NSW) Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme (GGAS) in Australia is a baseline and credit emissions trading scheme with the stated aim of reducing the per-capita greenhouse emissions associated with electricity consumption in the state of NSW. Here we provide a detailed assessment of the GGAS design and operation, with a particular emphasis on its effectiveness in delivering physical emissions reductions that would not have occurred in its absence. We find that a number of design features mean a significant proportion of the tradeable 'abatement' certificates are unlikely to correspond to the claimed emissions reductions. While some of these adverse design choices might be corrected, others would seem inherent to the underlying scheme design. Our analysis highlights the major governance challenges with emissions trading approaches and hence the importance of good policy implementation processes including the need for separation of powers through a scheme development process that involves design, assessment and revision. These GGAS lessons would seem relevant for governance with all emissions trading schemes, and has particular implications for cap and trade schemes that incorporate baseline and credit offset schemes, as well as to the 'White Certificate' schemes increasingly being seen as a means of fostering enhanced end-use energy efficiency

A review of social sustainability considerations among EU-approved voluntary schemes for biofuels, with implications for rural livelihoods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

German, Laura; Schoneveld, George

2012-01-01

The rapid expansion of biofuel production and consumption has raised concerns over the social and environmental sustainability of biofuel feedstock production, processing and trade. The European Union (EU) has thus balanced its commitment to biofuels as one option for meeting its renewable energy targets with sustainability criteria for economic operators supplying biofuels to member states. Seven voluntary “EU sustainability schemes” were approved in July, 2011 as a means to verify compliance. While mandated sustainability criteria have a strong environmental focus, a number of these voluntary schemes have social sustainability as a significant component of the requirements put forward for achieving certification. As several of these voluntary schemes are incipient, thereby limiting evidence on their effectiveness in practice, this analysis is based on a comparative analysis of the substantive content or ‘scope’ of these schemes and the likely procedural effectiveness of the same. Findings show that while some schemes have considerable coverage of social sustainability concerns, poor coverage of some critical issues, the presence of schemes lacking any social sustainability requirements, and gaps in procedural rules are likely to undermine the likelihood that social sustainability is achieved through these schemes or the EU sustainability policies lending credibility to them. - Highlights: ► Among 7 voluntary schemes approved by EC-RED for biofuel, social sustainability is sorely lacking. ► 2 Schemes lacking any social sustainability criteria collectively cover all feedstock/regions. ► The strong climate metric effectively sidelines development aspirations of southern producers. ► Only one of 7 standards will leverage the industry's potential as a stimulus to rural development. ► Policies in consumer markets are critical to give teeth to industry-led sustainability schemes.

Fuel trade in the Common Market. Brennstoffhandel im gemeinsamen Markt

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Faross, P [Commission of the European Communities, Brussels (Belgium)

1989-06-01

There is more than a finishing touch to be given to the Common Market to come. The Central Administrative Councilor of the XVII A1 Executive Board of the European Communities in Brussels points out relevant fuel trade changes. Considering the higher trade margins of some of the neighboring countries, German trade, among other things, expects a better profit and loss position. (orig.).

A Unified Trading Model Based on Robust Optimization for Day-Ahead and Real-Time Markets with Wind Power Integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuewen Jiang

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In a conventional electricity market, trading is conducted based on power forecasts in the day-ahead market, while the power imbalance is regulated in the real-time market, which is a separate trading scheme. With large-scale wind power connected into the power grid, power forecast errors increase in the day-ahead market which lowers the economic efficiency of the separate trading scheme. This paper proposes a robust unified trading model that includes the forecasts of real-time prices and imbalance power into the day-ahead trading scheme. The model is developed based on robust optimization in view of the undefined probability distribution of clearing prices of the real-time market. For the model to be used efficiently, an improved quantum-behaved particle swarm algorithm (IQPSO is presented in the paper based on an in-depth analysis of the limitations of the static character of quantum-behaved particle swarm algorithm (QPSO. Finally, the impacts of associated parameters on the separate trading and unified trading model are analyzed to verify the superiority of the proposed model and algorithm.

Regulating different trading venues: The European experience based on MiFID

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Clausen, Nis Jul; Sørensen, Karsten Engsig

2012-01-01

a legal analysis of the changes in trading pattern for securities that had accured sind the implementation of MiFID in 2007......a legal analysis of the changes in trading pattern for securities that had accured sind the implementation of MiFID in 2007...

Global Trade and Indian Politics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lubinski, Christina

2015-01-01

-British Western partners, which could support their struggle for industrial self-reliance. This particular alignment of interests facilitated cooperation and shows that the so-called European experience is more diverse than research has shown so far. The analysis highlights global trading networks beyond...

Global warming agreements, international trade and energy/carbon embodiments: an input-output approach to the Italian case

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mongelli, I.; Tassielli, G.; Notarnicola, B.

2006-01-01

In the Kyoto Protocol the absence of Green House Gases (GHGs) commitments of developing countries (non-Annex I) and the more flexible terms of implementation which are allowed to countries shifting toward a market economy (transition economies) naturally lead to the absence or to less constraining national measures and policies of reduction of the GHGs emissions which, in turn, may determine a comparative advantage in the production of the highest energy/carbon intensive commodities for these countries. These arguments are valid also considering the future implementation of the European Emission Allowance Trading Scheme (EATS). Thus, developing countries may become a haven for the production of not environmental-friendly commodities; in this case, the so-called Pollution Haven Hypothesis, stating that due to freer international trade the comparative advantage may change the economic structure and consequently the trade patterns of the countries linked by trade relationships, could occur. This would lead to the increase of the transfers of energy and carbon embodied in traded commodities from developing countries and transition economies toward Kyoto or EATS constrained countries. The aim of this paper is to verify if for Italy, as a Kyoto and EATS complying country, evidence of a change in the trade patterns, occurred on the basis of the Pollution Haven Hypothesis, does exist and to estimate the magnitude of the under-estimation of the carbon actually emitted: the carbon leakage. The Input-Output model has been used to calculate the intensities of energy consumption and the related Green House Gases emission, for each Italian economic sector

Combined heat and power in the Swedish district heating sector-impact of green certificates and CO2 trading on new investments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knutsson, David; Werner, Sven; Ahlgren, Erik O.

2006-01-01

Combined heat and power (CHP) has been identified by the EU administration as an important means of reducing CO 2 -emissions and increasing the energy efficiency. In Sweden, only about one third of the demand for district heat (DH) is supplied from CHP. This share could be significantly larger if the profitability of CHP generation increased. The objective of this study was to analyse the extent to which the profitability for investments in new CHP plants in the Swedish DH sector have changed thanks to the recently implemented trading schemes for green certificates (TGCs) and CO 2 emissions (TEPs). The analysis was carried out using a simulation model of the Swedish DH sector in which the profitability of CHP investments for all DH systems, with and without the two trading schemes applied, is compared. In addition, a comparison was made of the changes in CHP generation, CO 2 emissions, and operation costs if investments are made in the CHP plant shown to be most profitable in each system according to the model. The study shows that the profitability of investments in CHP plants increased significantly with the introductions of TGC and TEP schemes. If all DH utilities also undertook their most profitable CHP investments, the results indicate a major increase in power generation which, in turn, would reduce the CO 2 emissions from the European power sector by up to 13 Mton/year, assuming that coal condensing power is displaced

Negotiating services liberalization within TTIP : The EU external trade policy at crossroads

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Delimatsis, Panagiotis

2016-01-01

The conclusion of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) constitutes a priority and key component of the new external trade policy of the European Union (EU) and an immediate follow-up to several years of regulatory cooperation between the two global trade powers. In an era of

Nordic air quality co-benefits from European post-2012 climate policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rypdal, Kristin; Rive, Nathan; Astroem, Stefan; Karvosenoja, Niko; Aunan, Kristin; Bak, Jesper L.; Kupiainen, Kaarle; Kukkonen, Jaakko

2007-01-01

Although climate policies target primarily CO 2 , they may indirectly have an impact on air pollutants and thus on air quality. Here we look specifically at the co-benefits of various European post-2012 climate policy scenarios related to air quality in the Nordic region. We analyse how caps on emissions, expansion of the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading System, carbon taxes, and Russian and non-EU Eastern Europe participation after 2012 will influence emissions, air quality, avoided abatement costs, welfare effects, the regional environment and human exposure to particulate matter in the Nordic countries. We find that stricter targets will contribute to reduced emissions of air pollutants, and benefits to ecosystems and human health, which would have required substantial abatement costs if achieved by application of 'end-of-pipe' measures. Due to the assumed use of the flexibility mechanisms, reductions in emissions in the Nordic countries are smaller than in other regions, but the Nordic countries benefit from reductions in emissions in nearby regions. The more sectors that are included in the emissions trading scheme, the greater the emission of air pollutants. If Eastern Europe and Russia were to abandon participation in a climate agreement, the EU and Norway would have to undertake more emission cuts at home in order to meet the same targets. This would benefit ecosystems in southern Scandinavia, but acidification would increase in the north because of increased emissions in Russia

Systemic trade risk of critical resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Klimek, Peter; Obersteiner, Michael; Thurner, Stefan

2015-11-01

In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the role of strongly interconnected markets in causing systemic instability has been increasingly acknowledged. Trade networks of commodities are susceptible to cascades of supply shocks that increase systemic trade risks and pose a threat to geopolitical stability. We show that supply risk, scarcity, and price volatility of nonfuel mineral resources are intricately connected with the structure of the worldwide trade networks spanned by these resources. At the global level, we demonstrate that the scarcity of a resource is closely related to the susceptibility of the trade network with respect to cascading shocks. At the regional level, we find that, to some extent, region-specific price volatility and supply risk can be understood by centrality measures that capture systemic trade risk. The resources associated with the highest systemic trade risk indicators are often those that are produced as by-products of major metals. We identify significant strategic shortcomings in the management of systemic trade risk, in particular in the European Union.

Multilateral, regional and bilateral energy trade governance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leal-Arcas, Rafael; Grasso, Costantino; Rios, Juan Alemany (Queen Mary Univ. of London (United Kingdom))

2014-12-01

The current international energy trade governance system is fragmented and multi-layered. Streamlining it for greater legal cohesiveness and international political and economic cooperation would promote global energy security. The current article explores three levels of energy trade governance: multilateral, regional and bilateral. Most energy-rich countries are part of the multilateral trading system, which is institutionalized by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The article analyzes the multilateral energy trade governance system by focusing on the WTO and energy transportation issues. Regionally, the article focuses on five major regional agreements and their energy-related aspects and examines the various causes that explain the proliferation of regional trade agreements, their compatibility with WTO law, and then provides several examples of regional energy trade governance throughout the world. When it comes to bilateral energy trade governance, this article only addresses the European Union’s (EU) bilateral energy trade relations. The article explores ways in which gaps could be filled and overlaps eliminated whilst remaining true to the high-level normative framework, concentrating on those measures that would enhance EU energy security.

Trade and foreign direct investment: Evidence from South East European countries and new European Union member states

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bardhyl Dauti

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The goal of this research is to provide an empirical assessment of the complementarity or substituting relationship between Trade and FDI in a link to country characteristics, using bilateral level data between FDI and trade for the period 1994 – 2010. In the research, an augmented gravity model has been used to test the relationship between Trade (both export and import, FDI stock and country characteristics between OECD-20 countries and SEE-5 and EU-NMS-10 countries. The empirical model considers how the relationship between FDI and Trade determine whether type of FDI into SEE-5 and EU-NMS-10 from core OECD-20 countries, is vertical or horizontal. With regard to the relationship between exports and FDI, the findings of the research showed mixed evidence, thus supporting vertical FDI for EU-NMS-10 countries, and horizontal FDI for SEE-5 countries. On the other hand, based on the relationship between imports and FDI, the results of the research supported vertical FDI for both EU-NMS-10 and SEE-5 group of countries. The basic conclusion is that the research provides an empirical evidence on the mixed nature of FDI into the host SEE-5 and EU-NMS-10 countries, supporting both complementary and substituting relationship between trade and FDI in the host countries.

Dutch energy policies from a European perspective. Major developments in 2003

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Arkel, W.; Bruijn, A.; Kets, A.; De Lange, T.; Schaeffer, G.J.; Scheepers, M.; Sijm, J.; Uyterlinde, M.; Van Werven, M.

2004-04-01

ECN is not only active in technological research and development; it also plays a major role in policy research and development. Since national energy policy is increasingly influenced by developments at the European level and vice versa, ECN is shifting its attention from a national to a European focus. More and more, national energy and environmental policies are implemented within the framework of EU (European Union) directives, while reversibly the success of European policies is dependent on harmonised national actions in a liberalised European energy market. To demonstrate this shifting research orientation towards a European position ECN decided to highlight four major national topics that dominated policy discussions in the Netherlands during 2003 in this special publication. The first topic concerns changes in national renewable energy policy. Earlier policies had led to a dramatic increase in imports of renewable electricity with major fiscal consequences and it was decided to redress the balance towards stimulating domestic investment in renewable energy capacity. In the summer of 2003 extreme weather events led to an electricity supply crisis providing a short-term argument to look into the policy options for preventing shortages. The opportunities and limitations of demand side response to electricity supply shortages is the second topic addressed. Regarding climate change policies the most notable development undoubtedly concerns the impending implementation of a greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme. The focus in this chapter is on the interaction between the EU directive on emissions trading and the Dutch approach. As a relatively small country the Netherlands has always found it difficult to make appropriate energy research and development choices. During 2003 new directions in RD and D policies were determined. Apart from the optimal choice of nationally relevant research priorities, an additional vexing problem concerns the relative amounts of

Seasonal unit roots in trade variables

OpenAIRE

Carol Alexander; Manuel Cantavella Jordá

1997-01-01

In this paper we examine the presence of seasonal unit roots in trade variables for Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Italy, using the procedure developed by Hylleberg, Engle, Granger, and Yoo (1990) [HEGY]. Both quarterly and monthly data reject the presence of unit roots at most seasonal frequencies, more frequently in quarterly than in monthly data. This has important implications for econometric modeling of trade balance, exchange rates and income in European Union (EU) countries. ...

A Unified Trading Model Based on Robust Optimization for Day-Ahead and Real-Time Markets with Wind Power Integration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jiang, Yuewen; Chen, Meisen; You, Shi

2017-01-01

In a conventional electricity market, trading is conducted based on power forecasts in the day-ahead market, while the power imbalance is regulated in the real-time market, which is a separate trading scheme. With large-scale wind power connected into the power grid, power forecast errors increase...... in the day-ahead market which lowers the economic efficiency of the separate trading scheme. This paper proposes a robust unified trading model that includes the forecasts of real-time prices and imbalance power into the day-ahead trading scheme. The model is developed based on robust optimization in view...... of the undefined probability distribution of clearing prices of the real-time market. For the model to be used efficiently, an improved quantum-behaved particle swarm algorithm (IQPSO) is presented in the paper based on an in-depth analysis of the limitations of the static character of quantum-behaved particle...

Renewable Energy Certificate and Perform, Achieve, Trade mechanisms to enhance the energy security for India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Rajesh; Agarwala, Arun

2013-01-01

The Renewable Energy Certificate and Perform Achieve Trade mechanisms in India are designed to target energy generation and saving, respectively, in line with Clean Development Mechanism implemented by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Renewable Energy Certificate System is a voluntary regulation in India for renewable energy generators and is designed for effective implementation of inter-state transactions by introducing the Renewable Purchase Obligation regulation for consumers and a flexible trading platform for transactions across the country. Another initiative, the Perform Achieve Trade scheme, is an enhanced energy efficiency trading mechanism based on consumption targets that require large energy user sectors to improve efficiency by 1–2% per year. The Perform Achieve Trade programme has introduced mechanisms for the identification of industry sector, designated customer, specific energy consumption and target setting. The Perform Achieve Trade design issues are in test phase in the first cycle of the scheme which will run from 2012 to 2015. This paper discusses key design issues about boundary and target setting for Renewable Energy Certificate and Perform Achieve Trade energy saving certificate (ESCert) A data sharing and trading mechanism for Perform Achieve Trade is also proposed for review and coordination among regulator, designated consumers and traders in the market. - Highlights: ► Renewable Energy Certificate’ and ‘Perform Achieve Trade’ are energy certification programmes. ► REC and PAT programme implementation and the institutional network work are presented. ► The trading and communication network propose for possible linkage between REC, PAT and CDM. ► Independent associations in parallel with CERC and BEE are redefined for two tier review of scheme

What You Should Know About Carbon Markets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Mansanet-Bataller

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Since the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, carbon trading has been in continuous expansion. In this paper, we review the origins of carbon trading in order to understand how carbon trading works in Europe and, specifically, the functioning of the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS and the workings of several spot, futures and options markets where European Union Allowances are traded. As well, the linking of the EU ETS with the other United Nations carbon markets is also studied.

GASTALE. An oligopolistic model of production and trade in the European gas market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boots, M.G.; Rijkers, F.A.M.; Hobbs, B.F.

2003-08-01

The empirical model GASTALE is described and used to analyse the European natural gas market. These analyses focus primarily on the role of the downstream trading companies and their interaction with gas producers. By default, producers of natural gas are assumed to form an oligopoly in the paper. Meanwhile, downstream within-country traders of gas are represented in different versions of the model as local oligopolists or perfect competitors. The model therefore has a two-level structure, in which producers engage in competition a la Cournot, and each producer is a Stackelberg leader with respect to traders, who may be Cournot oligopolists or perfect competitors. The case of Cournot traders results in a new form of energy model, that of successive oligopoly. The model is formulated as a complementarity problem, and is solved by nonlinear programming. Considering this oligopolistic market structure, several tentative conclusions emerge. First, our model results show that successive oligopoly (so-called 'double marginalisation') yields significantly higher prices and lower consumer welfare than if oligopoly exists only on one level. Second, oligopoly in the trading market (because of the high concentration of traders) results in more distortion than oligopoly in production. Third, the level of traders' profits depends on the possibilities of discrimination on the border prices. If price discrimination by producers is allowed, these producers collect a greater share of the margins on end-use prices. Fourth, when the number of traders increases and assuming an oligopolistic downstream structure, end-use prices converge to prices corresponding with perfect competition. Thus, it is important to prevent (or abolish) monopolistic structures in the downstream gas market. In the case where oligopolistic competition among downstream gas companies cannot be prevented, vertical integration should be supported (or at least not be discouraged), especially if it would result in a

The IFIEC method for the allocation of CO2 allowances in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. A review applied to the electricity sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bart Wesselink; Sebastian Klaus Alyssa; Gilbert Kornelis Blok

2008-03-01

Recently the European Commission has published a proposal to improve the function of the EU-ETS by amending the Directive which establishes the EU-ETS. The main changes proposed are the establishment of one EU-wide cap and the use of auctioning for a much greater share of allowances than is currently the case, replacing most of the allocation free of charge. Auctioning of allowances will eliminate the so-called windfall profits that occur under the current allocation free of charge that is based on historic production and emission levels; a grandfathering approach. IFIEC EUROPE, the international federation of industrial energy consumers, asked Ecofys to review the method that IFIEC has developed in recent years to allocate CO2 allowances in the EU emissions trading scheme (EU-ETS). According to IFIEC, their allocation method guarantees the same environmental outcome as other methods, without causing windfall profits and with lower risks of competitiveness loss for so-called exposed industrial users of electricity. It was decided to focus this study on the European electricity sector. This was done for several reasons: CO2 emissions from electricity generation cover a large part of the overall emission under EU-ETS, the electricity sector has a single well defined output (electricity) that can be used to illustrate the potential impact of the IFIEC benchmark based allocation approach, and electricity is a substantial cost factor for IFIEC members. This evaluation covers many aspects of IFIEC's method and compares these with two other allocation methods: auctioning and historic grandfathering. Within the IFIEC method two example approaches are evaluated: a single benchmark for electricity production and fuel-specific benchmarks for coal and gas fired electricity production. In the evaluation, we cover the following aspects: What is the IFIEC method; how does it differ from other allocation methods in character (chapter 2); What is the impact of different allocation

On the way to 2050 - Which ingredients for a de-carbonated future? An analysis of the 'Energy Road map 2050' of the European Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-03-01

This document presents and discusses the climate objective of the Energy road map, some macro-economic hypotheses (oil price, economic growth), the different trajectories defined in the Energy Road map, the role of electricity in the de-carbonation of the energy system, energy savings (potential and under-exploited), the evolution of the installed electric capacity, the balancing of the electric system, the global costs of the energy system, the EU energy bill in 2050, the evolution of electricity price, and the European carbon trading scheme

GMM Estimator: An Application to Intraindustry Trade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nuno Carlos Leitão

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the determinants of intraindustry trade (IIT, horizontal IIT (HIIT, and Vertical IIT (VIIT in the automobile industry in Portugal. The trade in this sector between Portugal and the European Union (EU-27 was examined, between 1995 and 2008, using a dynamic panel data. We apply the GMM system to solve the problems of serial correlation and the endogeneity of some explanatory variables. The findings are consistent with the literature. The difference between per capita incomes and factor endowments present a positive sign. These results are according to Heckscher-Ohlin predictions. The economic dimension has a positive impact on trade. A negative effect of the distance on bilateral trade was expected and the results confirm this, underlining the importance of neighbour partnerships for all trade.

Competition in the European electricity markets – outcomes of a Delphi study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makkonen, Mari; Pätäri, Satu; Jantunen, Ari; Viljainen, Satu

2012-01-01

Internal European electricity markets are a target set by the European Union (EU) and under development at present. This article presents the findings of a Delphi study focusing on the prospects of European electricity markets. The main aim is to report the obstacles that participants in the survey felt were the most critical ones affecting competition in the European electricity markets of the future. The respondents were European electricity market specialists, and the themes of the survey ranged from transmission networks and electricity trade to demand flexibility. One of the key findings was shared concern over the adequacy of transmission network capacity in Europe. It was considered that technical issues, such as existing transmission network bottlenecks, are most likely to form obstacles to creating common European electricity markets if new capacity is not built quickly enough. It was seen by the panellists that electricity trading arrangements, whilst important, are unlikely to form a barrier to the development of an internal electricity market. It was noted that electricity trading issues have recently been the subject of development work in the EU. - Highlights: ► The internal electricity market is a priority of the European Union. ► The Delphi method was used to study competition in the European electricity markets. ► The congested grid hampers the development of internal electricity markets in Europe. ► The significance of a transmission network will be emphasised in the future. ► Electricity trading arrangements are likely to be solved.

Progress with the Scottish Trading Arrangements Group (STAG)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fellows, A.

1998-01-01

Since November 1996 STAG has operated as a forum to allow traders in the Scottish market to consider trading arrangements which will facilitate competition while coping with foreseeable trading requirements beyond the 1998 franchise break. The author has promoted the interest of renewables generators on behalf of the Scottish Renewables Forum throughout this process. An Interim Report summarising the high level options considered was submitted to OFFER in June 1997. This paper summarises the interim report content and draws on other aspects of the Scottish market to review the future prospects in Scotland for trading electricity form wind energy schemes. (Author)

Unilateral action by the EC against unfair trade practices

OpenAIRE

Großmann, Harald

1993-01-01

The European Community has a variety of instruments at its disposal to counter unfair trade practices, but there has long been considerable disagreement within the Community as to when and where they should be applied. To what extent would such measures endanger the benefits of international trade? Can any positive effects be expected?

The development of the European electricity market in a juridical no man’s land

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pront-van Bommel, S.; Dorsman, A.; Westerman, W.; Karan, M.B.; Arslan, Ö.

2011-01-01

Energy trade, including trade in energy derivatives, may entail various potential risks. Conceivably, these risks could jeopardize European Union objectives, such as consumer protection. Under the European Third Energy Package, which recently entered into force, Member States are required to confer

INTERNATIONAL TRADE OF ROMANIA IN THE CONTEXT OF ITS LOW ECONOMIC POTENTIAL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ionel BOSTAN

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The study provides a view on Romanian economy in terms of its competitiveness and potential for sustaining an efficient foreign trade. After reviewing literature and the reports of prestigious institutions and bodies in the area, the author presents several elements providing an accurate image on current quantitative and qualitative parameters of Romanian foreign trade, the internal and foreign processes influencing it and its main trends. The theoretical, legislative and institutional background of the paper was developed earlier by the author in his monograph - "The legal and financial regime applicable to international foreign trade" published in 2008 by ArtPress Publishing House after Romania joined the European Union. In this study, however, the focus is placed on major changes that have occurred in Romania’s foreign trade after it joined the European structures.

Customs as Facilitation of Trade. Case of Albania.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Etleva Bajrami

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Economic cooperation and trade between countries of region is very important as a opening step for entering in big markets like EU-s. All agreements have a huge impact in customs administration for elimination of customs taxes and for facilitation of trade during customs crossing. Trade integration is seen as faster way for countries to complete all necessary condition for European Integration. This process requires fulfillment of all reforms, needed for approaches the development and integration between countries. This process is spread in time because of the feature and difference between society and their economies. Regional economic integration is considered an import component for longterm integration of South Eastern European countries in EU. Membership of Albania in WTO brings a number of free trade agreements, with the main purpose trade liberalization. The essences of these agreements have been liberalization of customs tariffs for increasing foreign trade and attract foreign investors. The loss of customs income will be compensating from imports increasing and economic development in general. The role of Customs has changed from one of a complete focus on revenue collection to a broad role encompassing components of revenue collection, trade facilitation and border security. Simplified customs procedures and documents are very important for improving relation of business and government and also improving business performance. The aim of this paper is to point out the roles, responsibilities and challenges of customs, for concluding this we have conducted a survey for analyzing the performance of customs in Albania.  

Analysis of the European Food Industry

OpenAIRE

Banse, Martin; McDonald, Scott; Joint Research Centre; Institute for Prospective Technological Studies; Kaditi, Eleni

2008-01-01

This report is based on a study assigned to the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) by the European Commission¿s Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC-IPTS) to investigate recent developments in the European food industry and the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade flows on the food industry in the EU-25. The report illustrates trends in and the structure of the European food industry. Past and possible future developments are ana...

Belgium’s position in world trade

OpenAIRE

V. Baugnet; K. Burggraeve; L. Dresse; Ch. Piette; B. Vuidar

2010-01-01

The objective of the article is to give a general overview of the position that Belgium occupies in the world trade stakes and its ability to adjust in response to changes in the international environment. Over the last two decades, world trade has expanded considerably, buoyed up by the rapid growth of new economic centres, the advanced economies generally having seen a drop in their market share. However, the growth in Belgium’s exports has lagged behind the average for twelve European coun...

Labelling schemes: From a consumer perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juhl, Hans Jørn; Stacey, Julia

2000-01-01

Labelling of food products attracts a lot of political attention these days. As a result of a number of food scandals, most European countries have acknowledged the need for more information and better protection of consumers. Labelling schemes are one way of informing and guiding consumers....... However, initiatives in relation to labelling schemes seldom take their point of departure in consumers' needs and expectations; and in many cases, the schemes are defined by the institutions guaranteeing the label. It is therefore interesting to study how consumers actually value labelling schemes....... A recent MAPP study has investigated the value consumers attach the Government-controlled labels 'Ø-mærket' and 'Den Blå Lup' and the private supermarket label 'Mesterhakket' when they purchase minced meat. The results reveal four consumer segments that use labelling schemes for food products very...

CO2 trade and market power in the EU electricity sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tinggaard Svendsen, G.; Vesterdal, M.

2002-01-01

The EU commission is planning to launch an emission trading market for greenhouse gases within near future. This to meet its obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. After a theoretical discussion on market power in such a market, wc turn to the empirical evidence which suggests that a reasonable number of sources of C02 emissions in the power sector exists for bollers larger than 25MW. Overall, together with the contestable single market for electricity, the risk of significant strategies behaviour seems negligible. Thus, the electric utility sector seems a suitable testing ground for an EU-scheme of emissions trading. In the longer run, it will be important to broaden the scope of the trading scheme as the inclusion of other sectors will further limit the risk of market power. (au)

CO2 trade and market power in the EU electricity sector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tinggaard Svendsen, G; Vesterdal, M

2002-07-01

The EU commission is planning to launch an emission trading market for greenhouse gases within near future. This to meet its obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. After a theoretical discussion on market power in such a market, wc turn to the empirical evidence which suggests that a reasonable number of sources of C02 emissions in the power sector exists for bollers larger than 25MW. Overall, together with the contestable single market for electricity, the risk of significant strategis behaviour seems negligible. Thus, the electric utility sector seems a suitable testing ground for an EU-scheme of emissions trading. In the longer run, it will be important to broaden the scope of the trading scheme as the inclusion of other sectors will further limit the risk of market power. (au)

Chinese companies’ awareness and perceptions of the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS): Evidence from a national survey in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Lin; Li, Fengyu; Zhang, Xian

2016-01-01

China announced the launch of a national Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) in 2017; however, companies appear show little enthusiasm for participation in the ETS in China. This paper identifies the factors affecting companies’ awareness and perceptions of ETS by conducting a national survey based on an online questionnaire from May to November 2015 in seven carbon trading pilots. The results indicate that companies’ attitudes towards the ETS are positively influenced by government regulations and policy, public relations management and estimated economic benefit. Of these, public relations management is the decisive factor and estimated economic benefit is confirmed to be a relatively weak predictor. A company's environmental and energy strategy exerts insignificant effects on its preference for the ETS, although the sampled companies are very willing to save energy and reduce emissions. There exists an inverted U-shape relationship between a company's level of mitigation technologies and its attitudes towards the ETS. The carbon price fails to stimulate companies to upgrade mitigation technologies. The majority of companies treat participation in the ETS only as a means of improving ties with governments, as well as of earning a good social reputation, rather than as a cost-effective mechanism to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. - Highlights: • This paper provides a timely study of companies’ awareness of ETS in China. • ETS is not approved by companies as a cost-effective mitigation tool. • External pressure is the most important indicator. • Carbon price fails to promote companies to upgrade mitigation technologies.

China's emissions trading takes steps towards big ambitions

Science.gov (United States)

Jotzo, Frank; Karplus, Valerie; Grubb, Michael; Löschel, Andreas; Neuhoff, Karsten; Wu, Libo; Teng, Fei

2018-04-01

China recently announced its national emissions trading scheme, advancing market-based approaches to cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Its evolution over coming years will determine whether it becomes an effective part of China's portfolio of climate policies.

EU trade in the time of financial crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fojtíková, L.

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The paper is focused on the European Union (EU trade and trade policy in the time of global financial and economic crisis. The analysis of the EU exports and imports points out that the financial crisis has had a negative impact on the intra as well as on the extra-EU trade in the period 2007-2009, but differences among the EU member states have existed. Although the EU tries to support trade development in the world and remove barriers to trade, some protectionist tendencies were recorded in the time of the economic crisis. The last part of the paper gives emphasis to the EU trade policy and some trade measures which have been taken in the EU and its member states to support trade development or vice versa, to protect domestic industries. The results of the analysis show that, although some protectionist tendencies have been recorded both in extra and intra-EU trade, trade relations which are provided among member states are of significant importance all the time.

Il commercio estero dei paesi est europei e dell'URSS negli anni ottanta.(The foreign trade of Eastern European and USSR countries in the 1980s

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. MASTROPASQUA

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Il commercio dei paesi europei e URSS orientale è caratterizzato da una fondamentale asimmetria . Da una parte , vi è commercio intra-area ( intra - COMECON che costituisce la parte prevalente ma è tuttavia meno importante per la crescita . D' altra parte, vi è il commercio con i paesi industrializzati ( est-ovest , che , anche se rappresenta una porzione più piccola , attraverso l'importazione di manufatti ad alto contenuto tecnologico , è fondamentale per il processo di accumulazione interna . Il presente lavoro analizza il commercio le due aree negli ultimi dieci anni . L'autore esamina le principali caratteristiche del commercio intra - Comecon , il commercio est-ovest , le riforme del commercio estero e il problema della convertibilità delle valute in Unione Sovietica .The trade of Eastern European and USSR countries is characterised by a fundamental asymmetry. On the one hand, there is intra-area trade (intra-COMECON which constitutes the prevalent part but is, however, less important for growth. On the other hand, there is trade with industrialised countries (east-west which, although it represents a smaller portion, through the importation of highly technological manufactured goods, is crucial to the process of internal accumulation. The present work analyses the trade to the two areas over the past decade. The author looks at the principal characteristics of intra-COMECON trade, east-west trade, foreign trade reforms and the problem of currency convertibility in the Soviet Union. JEL: F14, P23

Swiss hydropower in competition - an analysis with reference to the future European power supply system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balmer, M.; Spreng, D.; Moest, D.

2006-01-01

This article takes a look at a number of questions in relation to the future use of Swiss hydropower that are neither clear nor unchallenged. Questions concerning the replacement or refurbishment of hydropower schemes that will have to be renewed in the next few years are asked. Also, developments in the European power market are looked at. The future influence of wind power, trading with CO 2 certificates, increases in the price of gas etc. are examined. An analysis of the competitiveness of Swiss hydropower with reference to the European power supply system that was made by the Centre for Energy Policy and Economics CEPE at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH is described. The 'Perseus'-model developed by CEPE and the Industrial Technology Institute at the University of Karlsruhe in Germany is used to analyse possible developments over the period up to 2030. The results are presented in graphical form and commented on

Inspection and market-based regulation through emissions trading. The striking reliance on self-monitoring, self-reporting and verification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peeters, M.

2006-01-01

This contribution discusses inspection with regard to emissions trading. It focuses on the EU greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme. The core rule of emissions trading is that industries need to cover their emissions with tradable emission rights. There are several options for the government to distribute those rights, basically through a free allocation or an auction. The need to cover emissions with a tradable right gives a financial incentive to firms to choose for the reduction of emissions, of course related to the market price of the tradable right. This price-incentive at the same time urges governments to put in place a sound enforcement approach. One of the characteristics of current emissions trading schemes is that they heavily rely on self-monitoring duties. Nevertheless, the ultimate responsibility to inspect rests on the government. However, with the introduction of emissions trading a remarkable shift takes place: instead of the more traditional control of the actual behaviour of industries, inspection by the government ranges under the greenhouse gas emissions-trading instrument much more towards the control of self-monitoring activities. The use of verifiers within the EU greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme is in this respect a unique new provision, but at the same time raises many practical and fundamental questions.

Forecasting stock market averages to enhance profitable trading strategies

OpenAIRE

Haefke, Christian; Helmenstein, Christian

1995-01-01

In this paper we design a simple trading strategy to exploit the hypothesized distinct informational content of the arithmetic and geometric mean. The rejection of cointegration between the two stock market indicators supports this conjecture. The profits generated by this cheaply replicable trading scheme cannot be expected to persist. Therefore we forecast the averages using autoregressive linear and neural network models to gain a competitive advantage relative to other investors. Refining...

Border carbon adjustments: Addressing emissions embodied in trade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakai, Marco; Barrett, John

2016-01-01

Approximately one fourth of global emissions are embodied in international trade and a significant portion flows from non-carbon-priced to carbon-priced economies. Border carbon adjustments (BCAs) figure prominently as instruments to address concerns arising from unilateral climate policy. Estimating the volume of emissions that could be potentially taxed under a BCA scheme has received little attention until now. This paper examines how a number of issues involved in the implementation of BCAs can affect their ability to cover emissions embodied in trade and thus address carbon leakage. These issues range from ensuring compliance with trade provisions and assumptions on the carbon intensity of imports, to determining which countries are included and whether intermediate and final demand are considered. Here we show that the volume of CO_2 captured by a scheme that involved all Annex B countries could be significantly reduced due to these issues, particularly by trade provisions, such as the principle of ‘best available technology’ (BAT). As a consequence, the tariff burdens faced by non-Annex B parties could dwindle considerably. These findings have important policy implications, as they question the effectiveness and practicalities of BCAs to reduce carbon leakage and alleviate competitiveness concerns, adding further arguments against their implementation. - Highlights: •We estimate the volume of emissions that could be potentially taxed by BCAs. •We study the effects of trade provisions and country and sectoral coverage on BCAs. •Trade provisions can significantly reduce the scope and effectiveness of BCAs. •Best available technology and exclusion of electricity reduce tariffs considerably. •BCAs are not optimal policy tools to address carbon leakage concerns.

The Evolution of the Romanian Trade Balance in the Trade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Terzea Elena Ramona

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The present paper aims to analyse the evolution of the trade balance of Romania with the European Union Member States during the 22 years of transition from a centralised system to a democratic economic and social system and an efficient market economy. Nearly 25 years after the events of 1989, Romania has made great steps in order to resettle the entire economic system and to transform it into a functional one. However, the path was filled with inconsistent decisions and with a repositioning of the trajectory dictated by internal or external pressures. The research focuses on a brief analysis of the evolution of the trade between Romania and the EU Member States to determine the effect the integration had on the structural discrepancies between exports and imports.

Combined Heat and Power and Emissions Trading

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2008-07-01

The aim of this IEA Information Paper is to help policy makers and other stakeholders understand the challenges facing the incorporation of high efficiency combined heat and power (CHP) into greenhouse gas (GHG) Emissions Trading Schemes (ETSs) -- and to propose options for overcoming them.

A new equilibrium trading model with asymmetric information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lianzhang Bao

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Taking arbitrage opportunities into consideration in an incomplete market, dealers will pricebonds based on asymmetric information. The dealer with the best offering price wins the bid. The riskpremium in dealer’s offering price is primarily determined by the dealer’s add-on rate of change tothe term structure. To optimize the trading strategy, a new equilibrium trading model is introduced.Optimal sequential estimation scheme for detecting the risk premium due to private inforamtion isproposed based on historical prices, and the best bond pricing formula is given with the accordingoptimal trading strategy. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the economic insights underthe certain stochastic term structure interest rate models.

Structural Changes of International Trade Flows under the Impact of Globalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anca Dachin

2006-08-01

Full Text Available Structural changes of international trade flows indicate modifications in competitiveness of countries, in terms of production, technological upgrading and exports under the pressure of globalization. The paper aims to point out sources of competitive advantages especially in manufacturing exports of different groups of countries. The focus is on the shifts in the structure of manufacturing in the European Union and their effects on international rankings in export performances. An important issue refers to the opportunities given by the enlargement of the European Union and their impact on EU trade structures.

Linking renewable energy CDM projects and TGC schemes: An analysis of different options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Rio, Pablo

2006-01-01

Renewable energy CDM (RE-CDM) projects encourage cost-effective GHG mitigation and enhanced sustainable development opportunities for the host countries. CERs from CDM projects include the value of the former benefits (i.e., 'climate change benefits'), whereas the second can be given value through the issuing and trading of tradable green certificates (TGCs). Countries could agree to trade these TGCs, leading to additional revenues for the investors in renewable energy projects and, therefore, further encouraging the deployment of CDM projects, currently facing significant barriers. However, the design of a combination of CDM projects and TGC schemes raises several conflicting issues and leads to trade-offs. This paper analyses these issues, identifies the alternatives that may exist to link TGC schemes with RE-CDM projects and analyses the impacts of those options on different variables and actors

Linking renewable energy CDM projects and TGC schemes: An analysis of different options

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Del Rio, Pablo [Department of Economics and Business, Facultad de Ciencias Juridicas y Sociales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, C/ Cobertizo de S. Pedro Martir s/n., Toledo-45071 (Spain)]. E-mail: pablo.rio@uclm.es

2006-11-15

Renewable energy CDM (RE-CDM) projects encourage cost-effective GHG mitigation and enhanced sustainable development opportunities for the host countries. CERs from CDM projects include the value of the former benefits (i.e., 'climate change benefits'), whereas the second can be given value through the issuing and trading of tradable green certificates (TGCs). Countries could agree to trade these TGCs, leading to additional revenues for the investors in renewable energy projects and, therefore, further encouraging the deployment of CDM projects, currently facing significant barriers. However, the design of a combination of CDM projects and TGC schemes raises several conflicting issues and leads to trade-offs. This paper analyses these issues, identifies the alternatives that may exist to link TGC schemes with RE-CDM projects and analyses the impacts of those options on different variables and actors.

Greenhouse gas emissions trading and project-based mechanisms. Proceedings - CATEP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2004-01-01

Greenhouse gas emissions trading and project-based mechanisms for greenhouse gas reduction are emerging market-based instruments for climate change policy. This book presents a selection of papers from an international workshop co-sponsored by the OECD and Concerted Action on Tradeable Emissions Permits (CATEP), to discuss key research and policy issues relating to the design and implementation of these instruments. The papers cover the experience of developing and transition countries with greenhouse gas emissions trading and project-based mechanisms. In addition, the papers examine the use of tradeable permits in policy mixes and harmonisation of emissions trading schemes, as well as transition issues relating to greenhouse gas emissions trading markets.

Disentangling regional trade agreements, trade flows and tobacco affordability in sub-Saharan Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Appau, Adriana; Drope, Jeffrey; Labonté, Ronald; Stoklosa, Michal; Lencucha, Raphael

2017-11-14

In principle, trade and investment agreements are meant to boost economic growth. However, the removal of trade barriers and the provision of investment incentives to attract foreign direct investments may facilitate increased trade in and/or more efficient production of commodities considered harmful to health such as tobacco. We analyze existing evidence on trade and investment liberalization and its relationship to tobacco trade in Sub-Saharan African countries. We compare tobacco trading patterns to foreign direct investments made by tobacco companies. We estimate and compare changes in the Konjunkturforschungsstelle (KOF) Economic Globalization measure, relative price measure and cigarette prices. Preferential regional trade agreements appear to have encouraged the consolidation of cigarette production, which has shaped trading patterns of tobacco leaf. Since 2002, British American Tobacco has invested in tobacco manufacturing facilities in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa strategically located to serve different regions in Africa. Following this, British America Tobacco closed factories in Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda, Mauritius and Angola. At the same time, Malawi and Tanzania exported a large percentage of tobacco leaf to European countries. After 2010, there was an increase in tobacco exports from Malawi and Zambia to China, which may be a result of preferential trade agreements the EU and China have with these countries. Economic liberalization has been accompanied by greater cigarette affordability for the countries included in our analysis. However, only excise taxes and income have an effect on cigarette prices within the region. These results suggest that the changing economic structures of international trade and investment are likely heightening the efficiency and effectiveness of the tobacco industry. As tobacco control advocates consider supply-side tobacco control interventions, they must consider carefully the effects of these economic agreements and

Regulations relating to trading of irradiated food in Europe Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehlermann, D.

1997-01-01

Only recently, the European Union has prepared a new draft of a Directive to harmonize the food laws of the 15 member states with regard to food irradiation. At present 3 members have not regulated food irradiation, 4 other members have a total ban, the remaining 8 members have widely varying clearances. Members of the European Economic Area (zone of associated European states) will have to adopt such a Directive once in force. It is expected that the European Parliament soon will pass the Directive which only provides for spices irradiated up to 10 kGy. However, for a transition period of five years it will allow members states to continue with national regulations. The European Single Market should provide for free trade in any item legally marketed in any member state and, hence, for marketing irradiated food to member states which have not yet a clearance or not for that particular food. Other European countries, i e the former members of the COMECON, have widely varying clearances; some are still in the process of renewing their respective juridical systems, and food irradiation is not a priority. For such reasons, imports of irradiated food from such countries into the E U are difficult and diverse. The main factor causing a lack of commercial application of food irradiation and of inter-E U trade is the low interest of food industry and food trade. Consumer acceptance is of second consideration. The European Directive will fulfill the most prominent demand of consumer organization, the labelling of irradiated food with no exception, even for the most minute ingredient. There is no reliable information about quantities of irradiated food in Europe; for official statistics it is considered not different from other food. (Author)

Eastern Dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy: Europeanization Mutual Trap

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Latkina

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyses the Europeanization policy of the European Union towards the Eastern Partnership participant countries. Suffering from the lack of clear strategy and ultimate goal in the European Neighbourhood Policy the European Union enhances external democratization and its governance in post soviet states without immediate Union's membership perspective. Underestimation of common neighbourhood geopolitical duality in the context of growing rivalry between European (EU and Eurasian (Custom Union/Eurasian Economic Union integration gravitation centers presents the Eastern partners of the EU with a fierce dilemma of externally forced immediate geopolitical and civilizational choice while not all of them are well prepared to such a choice. The mutual Europeanization trap here to be studied both for the EU and its Eastern partners (involving Russia is a deficiency of regulating cooperation mechanism in the situation of European and Eurasian free trades zones overlapping. Vilnius Summit 2013 results test the "European aspirations" of the New Independent States and upset the ongoing process of the European Neighbourhood Policy in the context of growing economic interdependence in Wider Europe. Besides, the Ukrainian crisis escalation during 2014 as a new seat of tension provokes unbalance of the whole European security system and creates new dividing lines in Europe from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

TRADE LIBERALISATION IN EUROPE AND THE REST OF THE WORLD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian Spiridon

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The present paper aims to disseminate how liberalisation processes were conducted around the globe and especially in Europe since the XIXth century up to date. The research objective is to review the liberalisation of trade dynamics and create an image of the architecture of the most important trading blocs. Analysis will be conducted considering the three major regional blocs: Europe, North America and East Asia. The main findings will show that, despite the few mutations that occurred in international trade as a result of the emergence of developing nations as major trade partners, the European Union and the United States remain the economic and trade hegemons.

Assessing Measures of Order Flow Toxicity via Perfect Trade Classification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Torben G.; Bondarenko, Oleg

. The VPIN metric involves decomposing volume into active buys and sells. We use the best-bid-offer (BBO) files from the CME Group to construct (near) perfect trade classification measures for the E-mini S&P 500 futures contract. We investigate the accuracy of the ELO Bulk Volume Classification (BVC) scheme...... systematic classification errors that are correlated with trading volume and return volatility. When controlling for trading intensity and volatility, the BVC-VPIN measure has no incremental predictive power for future volatility. We conclude that VPIN is not suitable for measuring order flow imbalances....

OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE THE VALUE OF SLOVENIA’S TRADE IN GOODS WITH THE PACIFIC RIM COUNTRIES – THE CASE OF AUSTRALIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

DEJAN ROMIH

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Slovenia is, like many other countries, especially small ones, dependent on exports and imports of goods and services. European countries are Slovenia’s main trade partners, together accounting for almost 90 per cent of the value of Slovenia’s trade in goods. There are various reasons for this, such as the relatively short distance between Slovenia and other European countries. If Slovenia wants to increase the value of its trade with non-European countries, it should adopt a number of measures, such as increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of its trade promotion. In this paper the authors discuss opportunities to increase the value of Slovenia’s trade in goods with the Pacific Rim countries by focusing on the specific case of Australia.

Monetary union and forest products trade- The case of the euro

Science.gov (United States)

Joseph Buongiorno

2015-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine if the establishment of a monetary union in European countries had affected the international trade of forest products between the euro-using countries. A differential gravity model of bilateral trade flows was developed and estimated with panel data for the bilateral trade between 12 euro countries from 1988 to 2013, for...

Cross-Country Electricity Trade, Renewable Energy and European Transmission Infrastructure Policy

OpenAIRE

Abrell, Jan; Rausch, Sebastian

2016-01-01

This paper develops a multi-country multi-sector general equilibrium model, integrating high-frequency electricity dispatch and trade decisions, to study the e ects of electricity transmission infrastructure (TI) expansion and re- newable energy (RE) penetration in Europe for gains from trade and carbon dioxide emissions in the power sector. TI can bene t or degrade environ- mental outcomes, depending on RE penetration: it complements emissions abatement by mitigating dispatch problems associ...

Panorama 2014 - Overview of new carbon markets at international level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coussy, Paula

2013-12-01

Although carbon prices on the European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) are at their lowest since 2008 and international negotiations in relation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have been stagnating since the 2009 Copenhagen Agreement, nearly seventeen emissions trading markets have been identified at international level. Without counting the European ETS which has existed since 2005, eleven new markets have emerged since 2008 and a further five are set to commence trading in 2014. Of these eleven active markets, five are in Asia, three are in North America, one is in Oceania, one is in Central Asia and one is in Europe. It should be pointed out that to date, no markets are scheduled to begin trading in Africa. Although four markets have announced their intention to work together between now and 2020, the creation of an international emissions trading scheme is not on the immediate horizon. (author)

The analysis of food products retailing in European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rapaić Stevan

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Author is analyzing a share of food products in the structural profile of retail trade in European Union by presenting areas of retailing in which food, beverages, and tobacco products are predominant. The main task of retailing is to overcome gaps in time and space between production and consumption, in order to meet the needs of consumers. This main task of retailing becomes more difficult considering the fact that the European Union consists of demanding consumers that expect all products, especially food, to be served to them at the most accessible places, in most suitable time, and with prices that coincide with the worth of products. In the structure of retail trade of the European Union, food products can be found in sector of non-specialised in-store retailing (hypermarkets, supermarkets, Cash&Carry stores as well as in sector of specialised in-store food retailing (butcher shops, bakeries, fish markets, etc.. Restructure of retailing, internationalization, and concentration of total retail trade network are only some of the basic trends in contemporary retail sale of food products in the European Union, that are being explored in this text.

Determinants of Intra-Industry Trade in Agricultural and Food Products Between Poland and EU Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Łapinska Justyna

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The present study investigates the country-specific determinants of intra-industry trade between Poland and its European Union trading partners in agricultural and food products during the time period 2002-2011. An econometric model for panel data is applied for the analysis of the factors determining Polish bilateral intra-industry trade with European Union countries. The research leads to the formulation of a statement that the intensity of intra-industry trade in agricultural and food products is positively influenced by the intensity of trade with EU countries and the level of economic development of the member countries (as measured by the size of their GDP per capita. Increase in intra-trade turnover is also facilitated by EU membership and by the fact that Poland’s trade partners use similar Slavic-based languages. Relative differences in the size of the economies and relative differences in Poland’s and its trading partners’ levels of economic development have a negative impact. The degree of the imbalance of trade turnover between trading partners also negatively influences the intensity of intra-trade exchange. The research confirms that the impact of all of the identified factors determining intra-industry trade is consistent with the predictions of the theory.

Developments in the emissions trading market 2009; Utvecklingen paa utslaeppsraettsmarknaden 2009

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bohnstedt, Sophie; Karlberg, Marie; Myrman, Johanna

2010-07-01

The Energy Agency has analyzed the development of emissions trading within the EU and globally in 2009. The analysis relates to larger events which mainly affected the prices and traded volumes during the year. The analysis includes the market for European emissions, markets for the project-based mechanisms, development of trade with the assigned emission units (AAUs), the unregulated market and developments in other trading in the world. The report is based on existing studies and monitoring of markets development during January to November 2009

The physical dimension of international trade. Part 1. Direct global flows between 1962 and 2005

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dittrich, Monika; Bringezu, Stefan

2010-01-01

The physical dimension of international trade is attaining increased importance. This article describes a method to calculate complete physical trade flows for all countries which report their trade to the UN. The method is based on the UN Comtrade database and it was used to calculate world-wide physical trade flows for all reporting countries in nine selected years between 1962 and 2005. The results show increasing global trade with global direct material trade flows reaching about 10 billion tonnes in 2005, corresponding to a physical trade volume of about 20 billion tonnes (adding both total imports and total exports). The share from European countries is declining, mainly in favour of Asian countries. The dominant traded commodity in physical units was fossil fuels, mainly oil. Physical trade balances were used to identify the dominant resource suppliers and demanders. Australia was the principal resource supplier over the period with a diverse material export structure. It was followed by mainly oil-exporting countries with varying volumes. As regards to regions, Latin America, south-east Asian islands and central Asia were big resource exporters, mostly with increasing absolute amounts of net exports. The largest net importers were Japan, the United States and single European countries. Emerging countries like the 'Asian Tigers' with major industrial productive sectors are growing net importers, some of them to an even higher degree than European countries. Altogether, with the major exception of Australia and Canada, industrialized countries are net importers and developing countries and transition countries are net exporters, but there are important differences within these groups. (author)

How to design greenhouse gas trading in the EU?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard; Vesterdal, Morten

2001-01-01

A new and remarkable Green Paper about how to trade Greenhouse gases (GHG) in the EU has recently been published by the Commission of the European Union. This to achieve the stated 8% reduction target level. The Green Paper raises ten questions about how greenhouse gas permit trading should...... be designed in the EU before year 2005. These ten questions can be compressed into four main issues, namely target group, allocation of emission allowances, how to mix emission trading with other instruments and fourth enforcement. In the literature, there is a strong need to guide decision...... concerning the future design of GHG permit trading in the EU....

How to Design Greenhouse Gas Trading in the EU?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard; Vesterdal, Morten

2003-01-01

A new and remarkable Green Paper about how to trade Greenhouse gases (GHG) in the EU has recently been published by the Commission of the European Union. This to achieve the stated 8% reduction target level. The Green Paper raises ten questions about how greenhouse gas permit trading should...... be designed in the EU before year 2005. These ten questions can be compressed into four main issues, namely target group, allocation of emission allowances, how to mix emission trading with other instruments and fourth enforcement. In the literature, there is a strong need to guide decision...... concerning the future design of GHG permit trading in the EU. Udgivelsesdato: NOV...

The future of the Europe of energy: towards the domestic energy market; network codes: where are we; the gas infrastructure European grid, which ambitions for 2030?; Action to boost the carbon market; LPG in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2014-01-01

A set of articles first discusses the perspective of creation of a European domestic energy market which appears in the elaboration of the French energy policy, whereas industrial actors are still reluctant. The second article briefly comments the progress in the elaboration of common rules by the European Union for the creation of this European energy domestic market, i.e. the network codes. The third article addresses the common projects of energy infrastructures presented by the European Commission in 2013: about half of these projects are concerning gas infrastructures, and could be quickly achieved. The next article discusses the proposals and reactions about the strategic framework presented in January 2014 by the European Commission for 2030. An article briefly presents measures taken to boost the carbon emission trading scheme. The last article addresses the evolution of the LPG market in Europe, and outlines that its development potential is still under-exploited

Creating a level playing field? The concentration and centralisation of emissions in the European Union Emissions Trading System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bryant, Gareth

2016-01-01

This article questions the assumption that carbon markets create a level playing field by exploring the relationship between the organisation of capital and the organisation of emissions in the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). It constructs a database by matching installations and owners to reveal that a relatively small number of large-scale coal-fired power stations, owned by a very small group of states and corporations, are responsible for a significant proportion of greenhouse gas emissions. The findings are analysed by considering how technological dependence on coal together with the corporate institutional form combine to support the socio-spatial concentration and centralisation of capital and emissions. Case studies of the consolidation of the seven largest polluting owners from Europe's coal-dependent electricity sector and the carbon trading strategies of the two largest polluters, RWE and E.ON, then assess the impacts of energy liberalisation and emissions trading policies. The article concludes that EU energy and climate policies are pulling in different directions by clustering responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions and diffusing responsibility to address climate change. The uneven distribution of emissions within the EU ETS makes an alternative policy approach that directly targets the biggest corporate and state polluters both feasible and necessary. - Highlights: • 20 ultimate owners are responsible for one-half of 2005–12 EU ETS emissions. • 83 installations are responsible for one-third of 2005–12 EU ETS emissions. • Focus on technological dependence on coal and the corporate institutional form. • Energy liberalisation policy has consolidated responsibility for emissions. • Carbon markets have diffused responsibility for addressing climate change.

Emissions trading and innovation in the German electricity industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cames, Martin

2010-07-01

One major objective of the introduction of emissions trading in the European Union was to promote innovation towards mitigating climate change. Focusing on the German electricity industry, the extent to which this objective has been achieved up to now and how the design of the trading scheme could be improved towards achieving the intended objective shall be analyzed in this thesis. These questions are tackled in the thesis from a theoretical and an empirical perspective. The theoretical analysis was largely based on neoclassical environmental economics by using an algebraic model which allowed for comparison of the relevant companies' profits under various configurations of the analyzed design options. The empirical analysis was grounded on two surveys of the electricity industry - one before the start of emissions trading, the other after two and a half years of experience - which enabled identification of the concrete changes in the companies' perceptions and attitudes towards innovation due to the introduction of emissions trading. The analysis reveals some indications that the instrument has basically functioned as originally intended although it has certainly not yet developed its full potential in terms of promoting innovation towards a more climate friendly electricity system. From an environmental innovation perspective the following improvements are essential: (1) Closure provisions should be abolished as soon as possible because they basically extend the lifetime of old installations and thus rather delay innovation. (2) Fuel-specific allocation to new entrants should also be abandoned since it eliminates - at least partly - the incentives to shift investments towards technologies which use more carbon friendly fuels such as natural gas or biomass. (3) Introducing full auctioning for the electricity industry would remedy both of the above-mentioned weaknesses and at the same time eliminate the windfall profit generated by free allocation of allowances

Emissions trading and innovation in the German electricity industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cames, Martin

2010-07-01

One major objective of the introduction of emissions trading in the European Union was to promote innovation towards mitigating climate change. Focusing on the German electricity industry, the extent to which this objective has been achieved up to now and how the design of the trading scheme could be improved towards achieving the intended objective shall be analyzed in this thesis. These questions are tackled in the thesis from a theoretical and an empirical perspective. The theoretical analysis was largely based on neoclassical environmental economics by using an algebraic model which allowed for comparison of the relevant companies' profits under various configurations of the analyzed design options. The empirical analysis was grounded on two surveys of the electricity industry - one before the start of emissions trading, the other after two and a half years of experience - which enabled identification of the concrete changes in the companies' perceptions and attitudes towards innovation due to the introduction of emissions trading. The analysis reveals some indications that the instrument has basically functioned as originally intended although it has certainly not yet developed its full potential in terms of promoting innovation towards a more climate friendly electricity system. From an environmental innovation perspective the following improvements are essential: (1) Closure provisions should be abolished as soon as possible because they basically extend the lifetime of old installations and thus rather delay innovation. (2) Fuel-specific allocation to new entrants should also be abandoned since it eliminates - at least partly - the incentives to shift investments towards technologies which use more carbon friendly fuels such as natural gas or biomass. (3) Introducing full auctioning for the electricity industry would remedy both of the above-mentioned weaknesses and at the same time eliminate the windfall profit generated by free allocation of

Pan-European management of electricity portfolios: Risks and opportunities of contract bundling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gampert, Markus; Madlener, Reinhard

2011-01-01

Due to the liberalization of energy markets in the European Union, today's European utilities not only focus on electricity supply, but also offer exchange-traded 'structured products' or portfolio management for unbundling financial and physical risk positions. Many utilities are only able to provide these services in their domestic markets. In a globalized economy, the need for a centrally organized pan-European portfolio management has arisen, as it allows a simplified commodity sourcing in combination with an optimized risk management. In this paper, we examine the challenges to be overcome for establishing a European-wide bundling of electricity contracts. For this purpose, a case study based on the business perspective of RWE Supply and Trading in Central and Eastern Europe is carried out. In a first step, we analyze general requirements for a pan-European bundling of electricity contracts. Then, RWE's situation in Europe is examined, based on which we finally propose a concept to meet customer demands in Central and Eastern Europe. - Research highlights: → Analysis of electricity market liberalization in Central and Eastern Europe. → Identification of requirements and problems for pan-European bundling of contracts. → Case study based on RWE Supply and Trading perspective in Central and Eastern Europe. → Model development for pan-European unbundling of financial/physical risk positions.

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

OpenAIRE

Arnim, Rudi von; Beck, Stefan; Compa, Lance; Eberhardt, Pia; Grumiller, Jan; Raza, Werner; Taylor, Lance; Tröster, Bernhard; Scherrer, Christoph

2014-01-01

The United States of America and the European Union are currently negotiating a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). It is one of the most ambitious free trade and investment initiatives, going much further than eliminating tariffs. TTIP mainly aims at reducing “non-tariff barriers”. While tariffs on goods have been imposed with an eye to foreign competition, most of the non-tariff barriers are the laws and regulations that are the result of social struggles for the protecti...

On the transition from tin-rich to antimony-rich European white soda-glass trade beads for the Senecas of Northeastern North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sempowski, M.L.; Nohe, A.W.; Moreau, J.F.; Karklins, K.; Aufreiter, S.; Toronto Univ. ON; Hancock, R.G.V.; Royal Military College, Kingston, ON

2000-01-01

It has been shown that several modifications occurred, over the span of the 17th to 19th centuries, in the agents used to opacify European-made white soda-glass beads that were transmitted as trade goods to northeastern North America. Tin was used at the beginning of the 17th century, followed by Sb later in the century, and then by As during the 18th and 19th centuries. In an attempt to define more closely the transition from Sn-rich to Sb-rich white beads, 198 white glass beads from a number of archaeological sites in western New York State were analyzed. It was shown that the arrival of Sb-white soda-glass trade beads began in this region during the period from approximately A.D. 1625-1640, and that they had completely replaced Sn-white beads by A.D. 1675. Specific bead chemistries link a number of the archaeological sites. (author)

Economic, environmental and international trade effects of the EU Directive on energy tax harmonization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kohlhaas, Michael; Schumacher, Katja; Diekmann, Jochen; Schumacher, Dieter; Carmes, Martin

2005-01-01

In October 2003, the European Union introduced a Directive, which widens the scope of the EU's minimum taxation system from mineral oils to all energy products including coal, natural gas and electricity. It aims at reducing distortions that currently exist between Member States as well as between energy products. In addition, it increases previous minimum tax rates and thus the incentive to use energy more efficiently. The Directive will lead to changes in the energy tax schemes in a number of countries, in particular some southern Member Countries (Greece, Spain, Portugal) and most of the new Member States. In this paper, we analyze the effects of the EU energy tax harmonization with GTAP-E, a computable general equilibrium model. Particular focus is placed on the Eastern European countries, which became new members of the EU in May 2004. We investigate the effects of the tax harmonization on overall economic growth and sectoral development. Special attention is paid to international trade in order to analyze if competitiveness concerns, which have been forwarded in the context of energy taxation are valid. Furthermore, the effect on energy consumption and emissions and thus the contribution to the EU's climate change targets is analyzed

Neutron activation analysis of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century European blue glass trade beads from the eastern Great Lakes area of North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hancock, R.G.V.; Chafe, A.; Kenyon, I.

1994-01-01

Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century European blue glass trade beads from aboriginal sites in the eastern Great Lakes area of North America have been analysed non-destructively using low neutron dose instrumental neutron activation analysis, so that the beads could be returned to their keepers. Dark blue (cobalt-coloured) beads are readily separable from turquoise (copper-coloured) beads. Differences in the chemistries of the turquoise blue beads appear to be useful in separating glass beads from the two centuries. Low calcium, sixteenth-century turquoise beads tend to disintegrate by a leaching of the alkali metals. (Author)

Trade-facilitated technology spillovers in energy productivity convergence processes across EU countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan, Jun; Baylis, Kathy; Mulder, Peter

2015-01-01

This empirical paper tests for trade-facilitated spillovers in the convergence of energy productivity across 16 European Union (EU) countries from 1995 to 2005. One might anticipate that by inducing specialization, trade limits the potential for convergence in energy productivity. Conversely, by inducing competition and knowledge diffusion, trade may spur sectors to greater energy productivity. Unlike most previous work on convergence, we explain productivity dynamics from cross-country interactions at a detailed sector level and apply a spatial panel data approach to explicitly account for trade-flow related spatial effects in the convergence analysis. Our study confirms the existence of convergence in manufacturing energy productivity, caused by efficiency improvements in lagging countries, while undermined by increasing international differences in sector structure. Further, we find that trade flows explain 30 to 40% of the unobserved variation in energy productivity. Trade continues to explain the unobserved variation in energy productivity even after accounting for geographic proximity. Last, we find that those countries and sectors with higher dependence on trade both have higher energy productivity growth and a higher rate of convergence, further implying that trade can enhance energy productivity. Thus, unlike concerns that trade may spur a ‘race to the bottom’, we find that promoting trade may help stimulate energy efficiency improvements across countries. - Highlights: • We test for trade-facilitated spillovers in cross-country energy productivity convergence. • We use a spatial panel-data approach and data for 16 European Union countries. • Efficiency improvements in lagging countries cause energy productivity convergence. • Trade flows explain 30 to 40% of unobserved variation in energy productivity. • Higher dependence on trade means higher rates of energy productivity growth

Change in the financing scheme for radioactive waste in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svobodová, Tereza

2018-01-01

Financing radioactive waste management is an issue every country using nuclear power has to deal with. A European directive even makes this binding for Euratom Member States. Germany changed its financing scheme entirely during the past year, thereby moving closer to other states' schemes. Germany replaced the funds put aside by the operators with a public fund to which the companies contribute. Now it is the government that is responsible for radioactive waste. This paper describes the regulation and information collection system on the European level and analyses the former and current German systems, their advantages and potential hazards. (orig.)

Electricity trade under financial market supervision; Der Stromhandel unter Finanzmarktaufsicht

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hagena, Martin

2011-07-01

With the competitive opening of the electricity market at European and national level, the goods electricity became a freely traded commodity. The author of the contribution under consideration describes the legal consequences related to financial market for trading electricity in the context of the current Directive 2004/39/EC now under consideration of the commodity futures trading in its representational scope. The statements clearly indicate that the power market is a goods market with its own laws and not a classical financial market. It considers what characteristics exist in electricity trading and whether and how they are considered for regulatory purposes.

Trade across frontiers: an overview of International trade before the advent of modern economic system in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aboyade Sunday Ariyo

2015-03-01

Full Text Available El área ahora designadaNigeria tiene una larga historia de las comunidades de comercio a través de las fronteras con las tierras vecinas y distantes mucho antes de la llegada de los europeos y la introducción de los modernos sistema de comercio internacional. Las diversas organizaciones políticas que surgieron y que controlan diferentes partes de la zona participa-ron y se beneficiaron de manera efectiva del comercio de larga distancia, lo que les dio la oportunidad de intercambiar sus excedentes por lo que les faltaba, pero que estaba disponible en otros lugares, lejos o cerca. Con referencia a la naturaleza del medio ambiente de Nigeria, la especialización regional, las relaciones de comercio exterior y la capacidad de la economía tradicional, este trabajo examina el comercio internacional de la Nigeria precolonial y su im-pacto en la economía. Se concluye que la distorsión del comercio interregional y de la estructura de la economía nigeriana precolonial comenzó con la penetración gradual de los euro-peos en el interior del país para llevar a cabo la compra directa de palma a los productores después de la abolición del comercio de esclavos.     Palabras clave: Comercio, Comercio internacional, el comercio a larga distancia, el comercio exterior, la economía nigeriana.  _____________________ Abstract: The area now designated Nigeria has a long history of communities trading across frontiers with neighbours and distant lands long be-fore the arrival of the Europeans and the introduction of modern international trading system. The various polities that emerged and con-trolled different parts of the area participated effectively and benefited from long distance trade, which afforded them the opportunity to exchange their abundance for what they lacked but which was available elsewhere whether far or near. With reference to the nature of the Nigerian environment, regional specialisation, external trade relations and the capacity

Trade Union Cooperation in the EU: Views Among Swedish Trade Unions and Their Members

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bengt Furåker

2013-09-01

Full Text Available This article compares views among Swedish trade unions with those of their members regarding cross-national union cooperation in Europe or the EU. Data are derived from two different surveys, one among trade unions in 2010–2011 and the other among employees in 2006. It turns out that trade unions are generally more affirmative than their members to transnational union cooperation. In the employee survey, differences appear between members of the three peak-level organizations—the LO (manual workers, the TCO (white-collar workers, and Saco (professionals. However, controlling for education, these differences cannot be verified statistically. Higher education—which above all Saco members have—is linked to more positive attitudes toward transnational union cooperation. The gap between the organizations and their affiliates concerning engagement in European issues appears to be larger in the LO than in Saco, with the TCO somewhere in the middle.

Secondary Education in the European Union: Structures, Organisation and Administration.

Science.gov (United States)

EURYDICE European Unit, Brussels (Belgium).

This study examines the existing secondary education structures of the European Union member nations, the organization of education, teacher training, and the way in which secondary education is managed in Europe today. The three European Free Trade Association/European Economic Area (EFTA/EEC) countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) also…

It’s not the Fish that Stinks! EU Trade Relations with Morocco under the Scrutiny of the General Court of the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandra Hummelbrunner

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The EU’s international agreements with Morocco on trade in agricultural and fishery products have drawn criticism due to their application to the disputed territory of Western Sahara, a territory that remains on the list of non-self-governing territories to be decolonised in accordance with the right of self-determination of the indigenous Sahrawi people. Recently, the Sahrawi liberation movement Front Polisario brought an action for annulment before the General Court of the European Union (GC against the Council Decision approving the conclusion of one such agreement, alleging multiple violations of European and international legal norms. Interestingly, although the GC concurred by annulling the Decision insofar as it applies to Western Sahara, it chose to exclusively base its judgment on EU fundamental rights, invoking the EU’s failure to ensure that the fundamental rights of the Sahrawi people were not infringed by applying the agreements to Western Sahara. By summarily setting aside Front Polisario’s other claims, several relevant questions of applicable international and European law, which warrant further discussion, remain. This article examines these questions using the GC’s judgment in Front Polisario, thereby combining general matters of international and European law with the specific circumstances of the EU-Morocco relations and Western Sahara.

Watershed-based point sources permitting strategy and dynamic permit-trading analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Shu-Kuang; Chang, Ni-Bin

2007-09-01

Permit-trading policy in a total maximum daily load (TMDL) program may provide an additional avenue to produce environmental benefit, which closely approximates what would be achieved through a command and control approach, with relatively lower costs. One of the important considerations that might affect the effective trading mechanism is to determine the dynamic transaction prices and trading ratios in response to seasonal changes of assimilative capacity in the river. Advanced studies associated with multi-temporal spatially varied trading ratios among point sources to manage water pollution hold considerable potential for industries and policy makers alike. This paper aims to present an integrated simulation and optimization analysis for generating spatially varied trading ratios and evaluating seasonal transaction prices accordingly. It is designed to configure a permit-trading structure basin-wide and provide decision makers with a wealth of cost-effective, technology-oriented, risk-informed, and community-based management strategies. The case study, seamlessly integrating a QUAL2E simulation model with an optimal waste load allocation (WLA) scheme in a designated TMDL study area, helps understand the complexity of varying environmental resources values over space and time. The pollutants of concern in this region, which are eligible for trading, mainly include both biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N). The problem solution, as a consequence, suggests an array of waste load reduction targets in a well-defined WLA scheme and exhibits a dynamic permit-trading framework among different sub-watersheds in the study area. Research findings gained in this paper may extend to any transferable dynamic-discharge permit (TDDP) program worldwide.

The market microstructure of the European Climate Exchange

OpenAIRE

Mizrach, Bruce; Otsubo, Yoichi

2011-01-01

This paper analyzes the market microstructure of the European Climate Exchange, the largest EU ETS trading venue. The ECX captures 2/3 of the screen traded market in EUA and more than 90% in CER. 2009 Trading volumes total ?22 billion and are growing, with EUA transactions doubling, and CER volume up 61%. Spreads range from ?0:02 to ?0:06 for EUA and from ?0:07 to ?0:18 for CER. Market impact estimates imply that an average trade will move the EUA market by 1.08 euro centimes and the CER mark...

The trading relationship between the EU and Mercosur: the mediatory role of Brazil

OpenAIRE

Santos, Filipa Daniela Gomes dos

2015-01-01

Dissertação de mestrado em European and Transglobal Business Law The global multilateralism has been the option for the expansion of trade and economic investments. The objectives of free trade exceeded the traditional notion of trade in goods liberalization to include contemporary topics such as services, investment and intellectual property and to be consistent with the rules established by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The interest of developing countries to impleme...

Tendances Carbone n. 11 Feb. 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wemaere, M.

2007-01-01

This newsletter treats, first, of the introduction of aviation industry into the European emissions trading scheme. Then it makes a synthesis of the European CO 2 market over the last 13 months: traded volumes, spot prices, climate indexes (temperature, precipitations), economic activity indicators (industrial production index, business leaders' confidence index, changes in energy prices, CO 2 quotas allocated to European Union countries, and detailed indicators of CO 2 market, climate, economic activity and energy prices. (J.S.)

Milestones of European Integration: Which matters most for Export Openness?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hiller, Sanne; Kruse, Robinson

The European integration process has removed barriers to trade within Europe. We analyze which integration step has most profoundly influenced the trending behavior of export openness. We endogenously determine the single most decisive break in the trend, account for strong cross-country heteroge......The European integration process has removed barriers to trade within Europe. We analyze which integration step has most profoundly influenced the trending behavior of export openness. We endogenously determine the single most decisive break in the trend, account for strong cross...... and the Netherlands are the Euro introduction, the Maastricht Treaty, the Exchange Rate Mechanism I and the merge of EFTA and EEC to the European Economic Area, respectively. Our empirical results have important implications for inner-European economic development, as export openness feeds back into growth...

Employees, Trade Secrets and Restrictive Covenants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kamperman Sanders, Anselm; Heath, C.

2017-01-01

The book covers the protection of trade secrets and the law on post-contractual non-compete clauses (restrictive covenants) in an employment context. The topic is approached on an international and comparative level (chapters 1–3 and 10), and by way of country reports covering several European and

Water-quality trading: Can we get the prices of pollution right?

Science.gov (United States)

Konishi, Yoshifumi; Coggins, Jay S.; Wang, Bin

2015-05-01

Water-quality trading requires inducing permit prices that account properly for spatially explicit damage relationships. We compare recent work by Hung and Shaw (2005) and Farrow et al. (2005) for river systems exhibiting branching and nonlinear damages. The Hung-Shaw scheme is robust to nonlinear damages, but not to hot spots occurring at the confluence of two branches. The Farrow et al. (2005) scheme is robust to branching, but not to nonlinear damages. We also compare the two schemes to each other. Neither dominates from a welfare perspective, but the comparison appears to tilt in favor of the Farrow et al. scheme.

Support schemes and market design in international offshore grids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schröder, Sascha Thorsten

2013-01-01

International offshore grids can combine the grid connection of offshore wind parks with the possibility for international power trading in the future. This paper investigates the choice of support scheme and power market design in international offshore grids and derives resulting incentives...... support. For a stable investment framework in the near future, a tendering/feed-in tariff may be the best choice. It avoids exposing wind farms to balancing with multiple countries. In the long run, also other support scheme options may be of interest....

Examination of forest products trade between Turkey and European ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

USER

2010-04-19

Apr 19, 2010 ... effectively use their resources in the economic aspect. Recently, a lot of ... big power in the economic and trade area, evaluated the current ..... Spain. 1.20 7.54 9.05. Sweden. 1.45 5.84 8.50. United Kingdom 1.13 8.83 9.96.

European Electricity Markets in Crisis: Diagnostic and Way Forward

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roques, Fabien

2013-01-01

The European electricity industry is going through a profound crisis as several factors combine to create a challenging operating environment for thermal plants. The key issue is that the regulatory and market framework create a climate of deep policy and regulatory uncertainty which will hamper investments and will not deliver on the long term objectives of decarbonization and competitiveness of the European economy. This report analyses both the short and long term challenges for the European electricity markets, and highlights some directions for reform. The report has three main parts. The first part describes the current status quo and challenges associated with the long term decarbonization of the European economy: Section 1 sets the scene by describing the current challenges for the European electricity industry and the challenges associated with the long term decarbonization of the European economy; Section 2 quantifies the investment challenge for the electricity industry and shows how the current regulatory uncertainty undermines investments and will likely not deliver on the stated policy objectives; The second part of the report focusses on the 'extrinsic' issues which affect electricity markets: Section 3 reviews the wider context for electricity market liberalization, which calls for a rethink of the European energy policy framework, including the recent developments in global energy markets, as well as the impact of rising energy prices on economic competitiveness; Section 4 presents the distortive effects of support policies for low carbon technologies and the issues with the European carbon Trading Scheme; The third and last part of the report concentrates on the 'intrinsic issues' with electricity markets: Section 5 details the experience to date with European electricity markets liberalization, and highlights the achievements as well as the shortcomings of the liberalization and integration process; Section 6 dwells into the 'intrinsic issues

Compensation schemes, liquidity provision, and asset prices: An experimental analysis

OpenAIRE

Baghestanian, Sascha; Gortner, Paul; Massenot, Baptiste

2015-01-01

In an experimental setting in which investors can entrust their money to traders, we investigate how compensation schemes affect liquidity provision and asset prices. Investors face a trade-off between risk and return. At the benefit of a potentially higher return, they can entrust their money to a trader. However this investment is risky, as the trader might not be trustworthy. Alternatively, they can opt for a safe but low return. We study how subjects solve this trade-off when traders are ...

CONSIDERATIONS ON TRANSACTIONS OF FOREIGN TRADE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paliu-Popa Lucia

2009-05-01

Full Text Available In the complex connection process of national economies to global economy flows, an important role has the foreign trade, which in recent decades has become, in the market economy conditions, one of the factors determining for economic growth. Foreign trade, as a separate branch of the national economy is an important factor of economic growth, caused by the internationalization of business and determining for the process of globalization. For Romania, a country still in transition and recent member of the European Union is particularly important to enhance the participation to international trade in goods and services, but also attracting foreign investments in the economy as the main possibilities for the re-industry and restructuring the national economy in order to creation and maintenance of sustainable competitive advantages. Starting from these considerations, in this article I addressed/aproached the theoretical aspects of foreign trade, without omitting intracomunity purchases and deliveries of goods.

Impact assessment and policy learning in the European Commission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruddy, Thomas F.; Hilty, Lorenz M.

2008-01-01

Governance for sustainable development requires policy coherence and Environmental Policy Integration, which are being hindered by difficulties coordinating the two separate impact assessment processes being conducted in the European Commission. One of them, the Commission-wide Impact Assessment process, looks primarily at EU-internal impacts, whereas the other one, Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) in DG Trade, looks outward to other countries and intergovernmental organizations. Ideally, the two processes should complement one another, especially as the two are set to continue being done in parallel. The paper uses a case study of the reform of the European sugar regime under a World Trade Organization ruling to demonstrate how the two impact assessment processes could better complement one another. Feedback from the experience had with existing trade agreements could then promote policy learning and inform the negotiations on new agreements. The number of new bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements is expected to continue rising, thus increasing the importance of the Commission-wide Impact Assessment process required for them