Athens, Greece

28 Jun - 01 Jul 2017
23rd Annual Conference

of the European Association
of Environmental and Resource Economists

Policy Sessions

Policy Session: Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) – Adapting to climate change in developing countries

Time: Thursday, June 29, 09:00 – 11:00

Organizer: David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley

Summary: Adaptation to climate change in developing countries is a major challenge. CSA is a major policy framework introduced by FAO and other multilateral organizations and is considered by many countries. It is crucial to have economic analysis evaluate and help to shape this agenda. The purpose of the session is to introduce CSA and present analysis evaluating various aspects of it and form a discussion. It will address: (i) adaptation and mitigation, (ii) strategies to enhance resilience and address uncertainty regarding extreme weather events and other shocks, (iii) innovation policies and the role of biotechnology and information technology, and (iv) institutional design and international cooperation, including issues associated with migration and disaster assistance.

Chair: David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley

Panelists

Aslihan Arslan, IFAD
Thomas Reardon, Michigan State University
Christian Gollier, Toulouse School of Economics
Leslie Lipper, Integrated Science and Partnership Council, CGIAR

Policy Session: Using insights from behavioural economics in environmental policymaking: status quo, knowledge gaps and key challenges

Time: Thursday, June 29, 14:15 – 16:15

Organizers: Shardul Agrawala, Elisabetta Cornago, Alexandros Dimitropoulos and Walid Oueslati, OECD Environment Directorate

Summary: Behavioural economics provides insights into the psychological underpinnings of environmental problems. These insights can help policymakers develop more cost-effective instruments to protect the environment. Governments across the globe are becoming increasingly willing to incorporate these insights in environmental policymaking and embark on empirical assessments of their effects on individual behaviour. This session aims to provide an opportunity to policymakers, academics and researchers to discuss latest developments in the application of these insights to environmental policymaking, share lessons learnt from this process, and identify key knowledge gaps and remaining challenges. The session will aim to provide answers to three questions:

I. What are the main characteristics of recent applications of insights from behavioural economics to environmental policy?

II. What have been the most important challenges in the application of these insights to policymaking and what are the main barriers to their further use?

III. Which environmental policy areas present the largest untapped potential for the application of insights from behavioural economics and why?

The session will help participants to: (i) gain a better understanding of the use of behavioural economics in environmental policymaking; (ii) discover which findings from relevant academic research have also been proved to work in policy practice, and which ones have not; and (iii) identify key knowledge gaps and promising opportunities for future research in this area.

Chair: Alexandros Dimitropoulos, OECD Environment Directorate

Panelists

Elisabetta Cornago, OECD Environment Directorate
Karine Nyborg, University of Oslo
Sara Rafael Almeida, European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, Foresight, Behavioural Insights and Design for Policy Unit
Jason F. Shogren, University of Wyoming
Herman R.J. Vollebergh, University of Tilburg and PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
Opher Zylbertal, Regulatory Policy and Behavioral Insights, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Israel

Policy Session: Low-carbon and resilient cities

Time: Thursday, June 29, 14:15 – 16:15

Organizers: Stefano Pareglio, Giovanni Guastella, Francesco Bosello, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Summary: With more than a half of the world population living in urbanised areas, cities represent the place where both the environmental problems and the policy solutions originate. Adequate urban planning and resource management policies can effectively contain emissions and enhance mitigation leveraging on nature-based solutions. The session brings together scientists and policy-makers to discuss the state of the art of the global pathway to low-carbon and resilient cities and the challenges for the implementation of successful and effective adaptation policies.

Chair: Carlo Carraro, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Panelists

Rudiger Ahrend, Regional Economics and Governance Unit, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
Margaretha Breil, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei
Walid Oueslati, Environment and Economic Integration Division, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
Gerardo Sanchez Martinez, World Health Organisation
Giovanni Guastella, and Stefano Pareglio, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Policy Session: The new SDG Index and Dashboards and SDGs implementation in Greece and neighbouring regions

Time: Thursday, June 29, 16:45 – 18:45

Organizer: Phoebe Koundouri, Athens University of Economics and Business, International Center for Research on the Environment and the Economy (ICRE8), and Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics

Summary: The topic of Sustainable development is one that has lately attracted scientists from different fields and areas of expertise including a very large number of environmental and resource economists. In 2012, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) to mobilize global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical problem solving for sustainable development, including the design and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted in 2015 by the United Nations. The world-renowned professor of economics Jeffrey D. Sachs, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor and bestselling author is currently the Director of SDSN. Following the adoption of the SDGs, SDSN is now committed to supporting the implementation of the SDGs at local, national, and global scales. The SDSN aims to accelerate joint learning and help to overcome the compartmentalization of technical and policy work by promoting integrated approaches to advance solutions in sustainable development and to realize the SDG goals. Based in New York and Paris, the SDSN works closely with UN agencies, multilateral financing institutions, the private sector and civil society. Through a growing number of National and Regional Networks, SDSN supports the localization and implementation of SDGs, develops long-term transformative pathways for sustainable development, promotes education around Agenda 2030, and launches solution initiatives.

The Greek SDSN has been included in the SDSN network and is co-hosted by ICRE8: International Center for Research on the Environment and the Economy and PESD: Political Economy of Sustainable Development Lab at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens. It is co-chaired by Prof. Phoebe Koundouri and Prof. Andreas Papandreou, aiming to contribute to achieving the goals of the SDSN network. This policy session will introduce UN SDSN Network Global and Greece, will present the SDG Index and Dashboards – Global Report on tracking SDG progress and ensuring accountability (the report shows how leaders can deliver on their promise and it urges countries not to lose the momentum for important reforms. In order to achieve the ambitious goals, immediate and comprehensive action is needed in the crucial first years of implementation of the new global agenda.), will present the thematic priorities of UN SDSN-Greece (Natural Capital Valuation: Sustainable Investment Allocation, Climate Change: Mitigation and Adaptation Policies, Sustainable Development in Times of Crisis) and will discuss the current work on SDGs implementation in Greece.

In this policy session we will discuss SDSN structure, main goals and activities, Greek-related projects and relevant initiatives, potential for collaboration with relevant Mediterranean and Central Asia Initiatives.

Chair: Phoebe Koundouri, Athens University of Economics and Business and ICRE8

Panelists

David Durand-Delacre, Networks Program, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, France, “The SDG Index and Dashboards 2017: uses for SDG implementation”
George Papandreou, Former Prime Minister of Greece, Global Leadership Council of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network, “The role and potential of Greece in SDGs implementation”
Yannis Ioannidis, Strategic Management Board, SDSN-Greece, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and ICRE8, “Information technology and sustainable development in Greece and the OpenAIRE COnnect project’
Fikret Adaman, Bogazici University, Chair SDSN Turkey, “Implementing SDGs: the Mediterranean perspective”
Stefanos Xenarios, University of Central Asia, “SDGs implementation in Central Asia”
Phoebe Koundouri, United Nations Sustainable Developments Solutions Network, Greece, “Integrating natural resource economic valuation in the implementation of SDGs: a snapshot of current European projects under ICRE8”

Policy Session: The Trump Administration, climate change, and the world

Time: Friday, June 30, 09:00 – 11:00

Organizer: Michael Hanemann, Arizona State University

Summary: The new US administration has indicated ambitious plans to promote the fossil fuel industry, to reduce or eliminate governmental programs aimed at reducing US greenhouse gas emissions, and possibly to defund government sponsored scientific and economic research on climate change. The panel will assess where things stand, what might be the future consequences for climate policy in the US and internationally, and the implications for what economic research should be conducted and how it might be presented from several vantage points – a view from Washington, a view from California, a view from Brussels, and a view from the UK.

Chair: Michael Hanemann, Arizona State University

Panelists

Frank Convery, Environmental Defense Fund
Carolyn Fischer, Resources for the Future
Michael Hanemann Arizona State University
Thomas Sterner, University of Gothenburg

Policy Session: Migration, forced displacement and climate change

Time: Friday, June 30, 14:15 – 16:15

Organizer: Cristina Cattaneo, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Summary: Human migration has been identified as an important response to climate-induced environmental stress. By worsening the living conditions in certain places or even making habitation impossible, climatic stress induces individuals to move from one place to another. Migration represents an important factor of adaptation. This strategy, however, is not available to all individuals. The inability to migrate of some groups, for example the poorest, the eldest and women, may expose a large number of people to great risks. At the same time, migration may produce indirect effects on resources and populations, generating ripple mechanisms that affect regions located at a great distance from the ones directly hit. Migration might cause new sources of stress in the receiving countries, it might become a driver of social unrest or intensify an uneven resource distribution. With the change in climate that current concentrations of greenhouse gas have already committed us to, environmental stress is bound to increase, and even more so in areas which are particularly vulnerable to it. Forced displacement has its own environmental and climate change related challenges distinct from migration. Forcibly displaced people who are settled in camps or settlements frequently are settled in remote, under-developed areas which can be subject to environmental degradation and adverse impacts on climate change. The aim of this session is to provide the audience with a quick but detailed overview of the current state of knowledge about forced displacement and the links between climate change and migration. Panelists will then explore ways in which different policies can contribute towards a better management of the direct and indirect impacts of climate-induced migration, including agricultural policies. The focus will be on migration, development, and foreign and humanitarian policies, as well as the challenges for Europe in order to effectively manage migration in the era of climate change.

Chair: Cristina Cattaneo, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Panelists

Katrin Millock, French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and Paris School of Economics
Ingmar Schumacher, IPAG Business School, Paris
Marco Grasso, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca
Theresa Beltramo, UNHCR
Lenio Myrivili, University of the Aegean and Chief Resilience Officer as elected Councilmember in the City of Athens

Policy Session: Central banks and climate change

Time: Friday, June 30, 14:15 – 16:15

Organizer: Emanuele Campiglio, Vienna University of Economics and Business, and London School of Economics and Political Science

Summary: Climate-related risks are likely to have deep repercussions on the financial system, in the form of both physical damages and transition costs. In the current macroeconomic context, central banks and regulators can be decisive in managing the repercussions of such risks. The proposed session will examine the ongoing policy initiatives and academic debate, while discussing the prospects for more targeted interventions and their limitations.

Chair: Emanuele Campiglio, Vienna University of Economics and Business

Panelists

Yannis Dafermos, University of the West of England
Etienne Espagne, CEPII
Pierre Monnin, Council on Economic Policies
Josh Ryan-Collins, New Economics Foundation
Guido Schotten, De Nederlandsche Bank
Misa Tanaka, Bank of England

Policy Session: Nudging the environment

Time: Friday, June 30, 16:45 – 18:45

Organizers: Justus Wesseler, Wageningen University, and David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley

Summary: Choice architecture is increasingly in the centre of attention of environmental policy makers. Governments around the world are engaging in the possibilities of choice architecture to promote environmental goals (e.g. the UK's Behavioral Insights Team or the White House "Nudge Unit"). Despite the fact that measures of choice architecture such as nudging and debiasing (removing or lowering cognitive biases) are often perceived as a new form of regulation, traditional branches from economics and law are increasingly looking into how these techniques are embedded into the rules of ‘free’ markets and their ability to complement traditional forms of regulation. Also critical voices have been raised on ethical grounds. The session will discuss the advantage and disadvantages of “nudging” as an environmental policy tool, from different perspectives.

Chair: David Zilberman, University of California, Berkeley

Panelists

Amir Heiman, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Tom Reardon, Michigan State University
Justus Wesseler, Wageningen University

Policy Session: Climate change in Greece: impacts and policies

Time: Saturday, July 1, 09:00 – 11:00

Organizer: The Climate Change Impacts Study Committee, Bank of Greece

Summary: The interdisciplinary Climate Change Impacts Study Committee (CCISC) was set up in March 2009 by the Bank of Greece, with the aim of studying the economic, social and environmental impacts of climate change in Greece. The Committee has completed reports on "The Environmental, Economic and Social Impacts of Climate Change in Greece", "Greek Tourism and Climate Change: Adaptation Policy and a New Growth Strategy", and has recently finalized the first draft of Greece’s National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy (NCCAS). In this session, the panelists will present, and discuss with the audience, current results regarding the physical and economic impacts of climate change in Greece, along with the emerging policy issues.

Chair: Anastasios Xepapadeas, Athens University of Economics and Business and University of Bologna

Panelists

Pandelis Capros: National Technical University of Athens, “Economic impacts of climate change on the Greek economy using CGE models”
Andreas Karamanos, Agricultural University of Athens, “Climate change and the Greek agricultural sector”
Andreas Papandreou, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, “Greek climate change policy and the COP 21”
Eftichios Sartzetakis, University of Macedonia, “Climate change and the Greek tourism sector”
Christos Zerefos, Professor Emeritus, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and Member of the Academy of Athen, “Climate change in Greece: present situation and future trends”

Policy Session: Trade and climate policies in the context of the Paris Agreement

Time: Saturday, July 1, 14:45 – 16:45

Organizer: ZhongXiang Zhang, China Country Representative, EAERE; China Academy of Energy, Environmental and Industrial Economics; and Tianjin University

Summary: To hold the average rise in global temperature below 2°C above pre-industrial levels requires a significant cut in greenhouse gas emissions. With greenhouse gas emissions embodied in virtually all products produced and traded in every conceivable economic sector, effectively addressing climate change will require a fundamental transformation of our economy and the ways that energy is produced and used. This will certainly have a bearing on world trade as it will affect the cost of production of traded products and therefore their competitive positions in the world market.

The Paris Agreement is built on a bottom-up approach. This decentralized nature of the climate agreement means that countries have considerable flexibility in determining their own climate targets and instruments incorporated in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Moreover, under the Paris Agreement, countries will be mandated to submit an updated NDCs every five years, with parties expected to progress in the levels of ambition in each round in line with their national circumstances. In order to meet their existing and future targets with minimum adverse effects on their own, countries with differentiated legal and political systems are highly likely to pursue wide-ranging climate-related policies. This will increase interactions between the climate and trade regimes, likely generating increasing spillover effects on trade and in some cases testing the limits of trade rules. At the same time, trade offers solutions to climate change. Trade can help achieve a more efficient use of resources, contribute to scaling up climate-friendly technologies, support a shift to a cleaner energy mix, and offer opportunities for collaboration among countries.

This climate-trade nexus has become the focus of an academic debate and gains increasing attention as governments are taking great efforts to forge a post-2020 climate change regime to level the carbon playing field. While the objectives of the UN Climate Convention and the WTO do not explicitly conflict with each other, such desirable policy coordination between the two regimes has not been addressed in a sufficiently serious manner. To enhance synergies between the two regimes, thisy session will address issues that include but are not limited to: climate change and international trade regulation; trade elements in countries’ climate contributions; climate contribution of the environmental goods agreement; carbon leakage and border adjustment measures; inclusion of consumption of carbon intensive materials in carbon pricing; climate clubs at the intersection of pricing, technology investment and trade; strategic subsidies for renewable energy technologies; and WTO perspective for climate-related policies. This session will provide the audience with (a) a very informed and focused insights into trade and climate change policies, and (b) an opportunity to engage in the debate.

Chair: ZhongXiang Zhang, China Academy of Energy, Environmental and Industrial Economics; and Tianjin University

Panelists