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The importance of biodiversity valuation is widely understood in academia and is increasingly used in policy making and other fora. For example, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), through the Conference of the Parties (COP), recognises that "economic valuation of biodiversity and biological resources is an important tool for well-targeted and calibrated economic incentive measures". Further, it encourages the Parties to "take into account economic, social, cultural and ethical valuation in the development of relevant incentive measures" (CBD COP Decision IV/10). Biodiversity valuation should be an integral part of environmental economic policy, providing information to policy makers in their quest to identify priorities and equate trade-offs. As part of its effort to support governments in using valuation methods to assess the value of biological diversity, the OECD commissioned this series of case studies. They cover the state of the art on economic valuation and on the interface between economic and ecological valuation.
Is the value of reducing environmental risk greater for children than for adults? If so, what does this mean for policy makers? This report, the final output of the Valuation of Environment-Related Health Impacts (VERHI) project, presents new research findings on these key environmental policy questions.
The authors estimate a "VSL" (Value of a Statistical Life) for children and adults based on new methodological approaches for valuing children’s health. The survey work is distinguished by its international dimension (surveys were conducted in the Czech Republic, Italy and the United Kingdom) and by the extensive development efforts undertaken.
The result: Two new survey instruments based on different methodological approaches; new estimates of the VSL for adults and children; analysis of the effects of context and other factors on risk preferences; presentation of novel ways to communicate risk, including a variety of visual aids; and insights that identify interesting paths for further study.
Economic valuation is widely used in OECD countries as a way of assessing the (usually monetary) value of goods that have no markets. In the rural context, valuation methods are used to argue for or against projects and policy choices in areas as diverse as agricultural support policies, local economic development, land use and biodiversity assessment.
This volume reviews a range of different valuation methodologies -- stated preferences, cost-benefit, revealed preferences, and others -- and looks at how these different approaches influence choices in rural policy. Its aim is to assess whether some set of international guidelines or standards could be used to reduce the subjectivity of the evidentiary information.
This report reviews vehicle emissions standards in Europe, Japan and the United States, providing the reader with valuable comparisons. It also examines incentives for sulphur free fuels - which can contribute to reducing both conventional air emissions and carbon dioxide. It describes emissions control technologies and the impact of emissions on health and the environment and assesses the adequacy of emissions limits for new passenger cars and heavy duty diesel engines.
Do voluntary approaches deliver the expected environmental benefits? Do they help reach environmental targets in a cost-effective way? This report provides an assessment of the use of voluntary approaches building on a number of new case studies. Analysis is on the environmental effectiveness, economic efficiency and the administrative costs either used in isolation or as part of “policy mixes”. The book concludes that the environmental effectiveness of voluntary approaches is often questionable, and their economic efficiency is generally low.
Voluntary approaches are schemes whereby firms make commitments to improve their environmental performance.They cover arrangements such as public voluntary programmes, negotiated agreements or unilateral commitments. Until recently, voluntary approaches have not been subject to systematic analysis, inasmuch as, unlike taxes and tradable permits, they have not been prescribed by economic theory. Voluntary approaches were "invented" by those who devise and implement them: policy-makers, business associations, individual firms, non-governmental associations, etc.
The use of voluntary approaches in environmental policy (e.g.negotiated agreements between Government and industry) is spreading and attracting growing interest in OECD countries. This book provides a systematic analysis of the different types of voluntary approaches, their economic characteristics, their role and effectiveness.