Adoption Of Clean Technologies Research Articles

Induced Clean Technology Adoption and International Trade with Heterogeneous Firms

ABSTRACTThis paper introduces an environmental externality and factor-biased technology adoption into a trade model with heterogeneous firms. This study explores how firms’ decisions of technology adoption and of exports are affected by openness to trade and the stringency of environmental regulations. It shows that: (1) these decisions induced by tightened environmental policies depend upon whether the upgraded technology is labor-biased or emission-biased; (2) the environmental impact of trade cost reductions on the aggregate emissions and price of emissions permits varies with the factor-biased feature; and (3) regardless of the factor-biased feature, the trade cost reduction induces firms to export and to upgrade the factor-biased technology, while it forces the least productive firms to exit the market. Moreover, the model is further calibrated to simulate policy scenarios of bilateral and unilateral variations in trade variable costs and environmental policies. The bilateral reduction of emissions c...

Induced clean technology adoption and international trade with heterogeneous firms

ABSTRACTThis paper introduces an environmental externality and factor-biased technology adoption into a trade model with heterogeneous firms. This study explores how firms’ decisions of technology adoption and of exports are affected by openness to trade and the stringency of environmental regulations. It shows that: (1) these decisions induced by tightened environmental policies depend upon whether the upgraded technology is labor-biased or emission-biased; (2) the environmental impact of trade cost reductions on the aggregate emissions and price of emissions permits varies with the factor-biased feature; and (3) regardless of the factor-biased feature, the trade cost reduction induces firms to export and to upgrade the factor-biased technology, while it forces the least productive firms to exit the market. Moreover, the model is further calibrated to simulate policy scenarios of bilateral and unilateral variations in trade variable costs and environmental policies. The bilateral reduction of emissions cap may contribute to welfare gains in both home and foreign countries. The unilateral action of tightening environmental policy in the home country may hurt the home country, but makes the foreign country better off.

The influence of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and real income on CO2 emissions in the USA: evidence from structural break tests

The objective of this study is to explore the influence of the real income (GDP), renewable energy consumption and non-renewable energy consumption on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions for the United States of America (USA) in the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) model for the period 1980-2014. The Zivot-Andrews unit root test with a structural break and the Clemente-Montanes-Reyes unit root test with a structural break report that the analyzed variables become stationary at first-differences. The Gregory-Hansen cointegration test with a structural break and the bounds testing for cointegration in the presence of a structural break show CO2 emissions, the real income, the quadratic real income, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption are cointegrated. The long-run estimates obtained from the ARDL model indicate that increases in renewable energy consumption mitigate environmental degradation whereas increases in non-renewable energy consumption contribute to CO2 emissions. In addition, the EKC hypothesis is not valid for the USA. Since we use time-series econometric approaches that account for structural break in the data, findings of this study are robust, reliable and accurate. The US government is advised to put more weights on renewable sources in energy mix, to support and encourage the use and adoption of renewable energy and clean technologies, and to increase the public awareness of renewable energy for lower levels of emissions.

Role of government towards adoption of cleaner technologies for climate proactivity

PurposeThere is a need for considerable attention on the adoption of cleaner technologies (CT) by firms for climate proactivity for developing countries such as India. Literature survey suggests that government, market and civil society are the key drivers of CT adoption (CTA) in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mediating and moderating role of the government in CTA for climate proactivity.Design/methodology/approachThe data collected from a survey of Indian firms were analyzed through exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis to examine the mediating and moderating role of the government.FindingsThe empirical outcome was compared with the current government policies to summarize the research findings.Research limitations/implicationsThere is scope of future research to examine the moderating and mediating role of market and civil society in CTA for climate proactivity.Practical implicationsThe study will provide significant insight into various stakeholders associated with the CTA such as government, technology manufacturers, marketing community, environmental professionals and associated researchers. The research model will be useful for policymakers, managers and researchers for understanding CTA in the Indian context.Social implicationsThe output model will be useful for the government to formulate forward-looking strategies toward the adoption of CT by industries for climate proactivity.Originality/valueUnlike previous studies in which the government was recognized as a key driver of CTA, this study makes an attempt to test the moderating/mediating role of government in CTA in India. The findings of the study are supported by adequate empirical evidence.

A comparative review of the role of markets and institutions in sustaining innovation in cleantech: a critical mass approach

This paper serves to examine and compare the role of markets and institutions in the adoption of clean technologies ('cleantech') in Canada, Germany and the USA. Sustainable innovation and industry growth in cleantech in a particular jurisdiction can take place when there is ongoing market pressure for cleantech and a 'critical mass' of private sector, government and academic actors, initiatives and structures that support the widespread adoption and use of cleantech. Employing Webb's (2005) sustainable governance approach as a base of analysis, it would appear that Canada lacks the density of institutions, instruments, processes and actors needed to create a critical mass to support sustainable cleantech activity in the long-term. In particular, when compared with Germany and the USA, the Canadian approach lacks key federal support and lacks the degree of private sector and civil society (academic) activity in cleantech that can be observed in those jurisdictions.

Eco-innovation, sustainable supply chains and environmental performance in European industries

The introduction and adoption of green technologies are considered the most cost effective way to reduce environmental pressure without compromising economic competitiveness. The scientific literature has emphasized the crucial role played by diffusion pathways of green technologies along the supply value chain, but empirical quantitative findings on the effectiveness of green technologies in improving environmental performance are scarce. The objective of this paper is to highlight the role of inter-sectoral linkages in shaping the influence played by eco-innovations on sectoral environmental performance. Empirical findings show that both the direct and indirect effects of eco-innovations help reducing environmental stress and that the strength of these impacts varies across the value chain depending on the technology adopted and the type of pollutant under scrutiny. The main implications we can deduce are that, first both corporate and policy governance strategies should specifically address the goal of maximizing environmental gains that can be achieved through the development and adoption of clean technologies along the supply chain, and second both strategies should be coordinated in order to minimize the costs for reducing environmental pressures.

A Cooperative Dynamic Environmental Game of Subgame Consistent Clean Technology Development

Cooperative adoption and development of clean technology play a key role to effectively solving the continual worsening industrial pollution problem. For cooperation over time to be credible, a subgame consistency solution which requires the agreed-upon optimality principle to remain in effect throughout the collaboration duration has to hold. In this paper, we present a cooperative dynamic game of collaborative environmental management with clean technology development. A subgame consistent cooperative scheme is derived. It is the first time that cooperative dynamic environmental games with clean technology development are analyzed. Given that there exist discrete choices of production techniques and switching to clean technology brings about cost savings and improved effectiveness, the group optimal solution cannot be obtained with standard differentiable optimization techniques. To overcome this problem the joint optimal solutions for all the possible patterns of production techniques are computed and the pattern with the highest joint payoff is then selected. The analysis widens the scope of study in collaborative environmental management.

Transient Climate Impacts for Scenarios of Aerosol Emissions from Asia: A Story of Coal versus Gas

Abstract Fuel usage is an important driver of anthropogenic aerosol emissions. In Asia, it is possible that aerosol emissions may increase if business continues as usual, with economic growth driving an increase in coal burning. But it is also possible that emissions may decrease rapidly as a result of the widespread adoption of cleaner technologies or a shift toward noncoal fuels, such as natural gas. In this study, the transient climate impacts of two aerosol emissions scenarios are investigated: a representative concentration pathway 4.5 (RCP4.5) control, which projects a decrease in anthropogenic aerosol emissions, and a scenario with enhanced anthropogenic aerosol emissions from Asia. A coupled atmosphere–ocean configuration of the Community Earth System Model (CESM), including the Community Atmosphere Model, version 5 (CAM5), is used. Three sets of initial conditions are used to produce a three-member ensemble for each scenario. Enhanced Asian aerosol emissions are found to exert a large cooling effect across the Northern Hemisphere, partially offsetting greenhouse gas–induced warming. Aerosol-induced suppression of the East Asian and South Asian summer monsoon precipitation occurs. The enhanced Asian aerosol emissions also remotely impact precipitation in other parts of the world. Over Australia, austral summer monsoon precipitation is enhanced, an effect associated with a southward shift of the intertropical convergence zone, driven by the aerosol-induced cooling of the Northern Hemisphere. Over the Sahel, West African monsoon precipitation is suppressed, likely via a weakening of the West African westerly jet. These results indicate that fuel usage in Asia, through the consequent aerosol emissions and associated radiative effects, might significantly influence future climate both locally and globally.

Clean Technology, Regulation and Government Intervention: The Australian Experience

This study assesses the impact of an Australian carbon pricing scheme and a related grant program on the manufacturing industry. A production function approach is used to isolate and examine the portion of emission change linked to technological shift. It also tests whether exposure to facilities that receive the grant encourages the adoption of clean technology elsewhere. Coinciding with the carbon pricing scheme, there is about 10 per cent reduction in emissions due to a sector-wide shift to cleaner technologies. The effect of the grant program is size dependent, and small and very large facilities mainly invested to reduce emission intensity beyond the average. The exposure to the program mostly affects firms where production is geographically concentrated.

Market and Non-market Policies for Renewable Energy Diffusion: A Unifying Framework and Empirical Evidence from China’s Wind Power Sector

We provide a comprehensive framework of analyzing the diffusion process of renewable technology, incorporating epidemic and pecuniary effects. Relying on a panel dataset consisting of information from 1207 CDM wind projects in thirty provinces over the period 2004-2011, we find strong evidence on the dominant role of the epidemic effect and new evidence on pecuniary effects that generate a diminishing marginal effect of profitability in inducing technology adoption. Our numerical simulation demonstrates that the epidemic effect can play a quantitatively important role in the spread of renewable energy technology and markedly enhance the optimal social welfare. Our findings convey important policy implications for regulators when choosing policy instruments to enhance the diffusion and adoption of clean technology. Price instruments should be complemented by a wide range of non-market instruments to address non-market barriers.

Coming Out Clean: Australian Carbon Pricing and Clean Technology Adoption

Australia implemented a carbon pricing scheme from July 2012 to July 2014 as an emission reduction measure. Using data envelopment analysis, I investigate whether the uptake of clean technology accelerated during this period or whether firms opted for alternate responses. I find that during the scheme firms accelerated the adoption of cleaner technology, especially those lagging in technology. Still, some firms resorted to reallocating operation to their cleaner facilities to avoid investing. The patterns, however, vary from industry to industry. Overall, the scheme led to substantial emission reductions in major emitting industries and elsewhere. A drop of 10.5 per cent in emissions is due to technological shift alone, of which about 6 percentage points are credited to the carbon pricing.

Exploring transport carbon futures using population microsimulation and travel diaries: Beijing to 2030

Evaluating transport policy for cities in developing countries is often constrained by data availability that limits the use of conventional appraisal models. Here, we present a new ‘bottom-up’ methodology to estimate transport CO2 emission from daily urban passenger travel for Beijing, a megacity with relatively sparse data on travel behaviour. A spatial microsimulation, based on an activity diary survey and two sample population censuses, is used to simulate, for Beijing’s urban districts, a realistic synthetic population, and their daily travel and CO2 emission over 2000–2010. This approach provides greater insight into the spatial variability of transport CO2 emission than has previously been possible for Beijing, and further, enables an examination of the role of socio-demographics, urban form and transport developments in contributing to emissions over the modelled period.Using the 2000–2010 CO2 emission estimates as a baseline, CO2 emissions from passenger travel are then modelled to 2030 under scenarios exploring politically plausible strategies on transport (public transport infrastructure investment, and vehicle constraint), urban development (compaction) and vehicle technology (faster adoption of clean vehicle technology). The results showed that, compared to the trend scenario, employing both transport and urban development policies could reduce total passenger CO2 emission to 2030 by 24%, and by 43% if all strategies were applied together. The study reveals the potential of microsimulation in emission estimation for large cities in developing countries where data availability may constrain more traditional approaches.

Adopting Clean Fuels and Technologies on School Buses. Pollution and Health Impacts in Children.

More than 25 million American children breathe polluted air on diesel school buses. Emission reduction policies exist, but the health impacts to individual children have not been evaluated. Using a natural experiment, we characterized the exposures and health of 275 school bus riders before, during, and after the adoption of clean technologies and fuels between 2005 and 2009. Air pollution was measured during 597 trips on 188 school buses. Repeated measures of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), lung function (FEV1, FVC), and absenteeism were also collected monthly (1,768 visits). Mixed-effects models longitudinally related the adoption of diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs), closed crankcase ventilation systems (CCVs), ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD), or biodiesel with exposures and health. Fine and ultrafine particle concentrations were 10-50% lower on buses using ULSD, DOCs, and/or CCVs. ULSD adoption was also associated with reduced FeNO (-16% [95% confidence interval (CI), -21 to -10%]), greater changes in FVC and FEV1 (0.02 [95% CI, 0.003 to 0.05] and 0.01 [95% CI, -0.006 to 0.03] L/yr, respectively), and lower absenteeism (-8% [95% CI, -16.0 to -0.7%]), with stronger associations among patients with asthma. DOCs, and to a lesser extent CCVs, also were associated with improved FeNO, FVC growth, and absenteeism, but these findings were primarily restricted to patients with persistent asthma and were often sensitive to control for ULSD. No health benefits were noted for biodiesel. Extrapolating to the U.S. population, changed fuel/technologies likely reduced absenteeism by more than 14 million/yr. National and local diesel policies appear to have reduced children's exposures and improved health.

Eco-innovation by small and medium-sized firms in Europe: from end-of-pipe to cleaner technologies

This paper focuses on the relevant drivers of eco-innovation in 5,135 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In particular, we study if there are differences between the determinants of end-of-pipe and adoption of cleaner technologies between small and medium firms located in 27 European countries. Using a bivariate probit, significant differences comparing small with medium firms are found. Network involvement measured by cooperation with universities and research agencies is essential in both types of eco-innovation in small firms, but not for mid-sized firms. With regard to environmental regulation, subsidies are important only for small firms, especially for the adoption of cleaner technologies. On the contrary side, existing environmental regulation is a key factor to explain the adoption of cleaner technologies for medium firms but not for smaller ones.

Timing of adoption of clean technologies by regulated monopolies

We consider a monopoly firm producing a good and, at the same time, polluting and using fossil energy. By incurring an investment cost, this firm can adopt a lower production cost clean technology using renewable energy. We determine the optimal adoption date for the firm in the case where it is not regulated at all and in the case where it is regulated at each period. Interestingly, the regulated firm adopts the clean technology earlier than what is socially optimal, as opposed to the nonregulated firm. The regulator can induce the firm to adopt the clean technology at the socially optimal date by a postpone adoption subsidy. Nevertheless, the regulator may be interested in the earlier adoption of the firm to encourage the diffusion of the use of clean technologies in other industries.

Adoption of clean technology for sustainable development: a literature review

The importance of clean technology adoption for sustainable development is widely accepted. However, the extent of diffusion is still lower than expected. A review of literature from 1994 to 2014 was done to find out the determinants of clean technology adoption. These determinants can be categorised into internal and external environment from strategy formulation perspective. Organisations can gain competitive advantage by adopting clean technology. Organisational innovation is a response to environmental change. Hence, it is important to study perception of managers about external environment. A critical review of literature, classification of clean technologies, research trends and prospective areas for research are discussed in this paper.

The impact of energy consumption, income and foreign direct investment on carbon dioxide emissions in Vietnam

The aim of this study is to understand the relationship between CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions, energy consumption, FDI (foreign direct investment) and economic growth in Vietnam over the period from 1976 to 2009. The techniques of cointegration and Granger causality are adopted to examine the relationship between the variables. The results confirm the existence of long-run equilibrium among the variables of interest. Meanwhile, energy consumption and income positively influence CO2 emissions, but square of income has negative impact on CO2 emissions in Vietnam. These outcomes support the EKC (Environmental Kuznets Curve) hypothesis which assumes an inverted U-shaped relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth in Vietnam. The results of this study also reveal that there are two-way causalities between CO2 emissions and income, and between FDI and CO2 emissions in Vietnam. In addition, energy consumption is found to Granger-cause CO2 emissions in the short- and long-run. Energy consumption, FDI and income are the key determinants of CO2 emissions in Vietnam. Therefore, adoption of clean technologies by foreign investment is important in curtailing CO2 emissions in the country, and sustaining economic development at the same time.

The influence of energy prices on adoption of clean technologies and recycling: Evidence from European SMEs

This paper examines the relative influence of energy prices on several environmental practices at firm level among SMEs. To that aim, we explore an EU-wide data-set providing information for 5194 SMEs in 27 European countries. We distinguish between recycling and purchasing and/or development of cleaner technologies and investigate whether the set of external and internal factors to the firm driving the adoption of least-integrated environmental innovation (recycling) differ from those influencing cleaner technologies (either purchased or in-house). The main findings stemming from a multivariate probit model suggest some significant differences among firms performing recycling practices and those purchasing and developing cleaner technologies. In particular, we find that current energy prices only increase the probability to adopt recycling practices while they have no significant effect on the most-integrated environmental innovation (developing cleaner technologies). Our results also indicate that market factors (proxied as expected increases in the demand for green products) are more relevant drivers of the least-advanced eco-innovation than of developing cleaner technologies. Interestingly, we find that higher technological and managerial capabilities are more effective in driving the adoption of cleaner technologies than in enhancing recycling solutions. A positive impact of cooperation and collaboration with universities and private agencies is found only on developing cleaner technologies in-house. This finding confirms the role of knowledge networks for the most-advanced innovative practice. Finally, neither existing nor future environmental regulations have significant impact on environmentally-friendly innovative practices while subsidies only increase the probability of purchasing cleaner technologies.

Maximizing the benefits of improved cookstoves: moving from acquisition to correct and consistent use.

The adoption of clean cooking technologies goes beyond mere product acquisition and requires attention to issues of cooking traditions, user engagement, gender dynamics, culture, and religion to effect correct and consistent use.

Sustainable Drive Tourism: A Catalyst for Change

AbstractDrive tourism remains an under‐researched component of the wider tourism industry. As such, this study reviews the drive tourism phenomenon with attention focused on the anticipated impact of the implementation and adoption of new clean energy technologies. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications for the drive tourist, the drive tourism experience and the drive tourism sector. If new and more sustainable forms of drive tourism can retain their sense of fun, flexibility, and freedom there is every chance that the current initiatives being implemented in the US may become the norm rather than the exception. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.