Environmental Opportunity Costs Research Articles

LCA to evaluate the environmental opportunity cost of biological performances in finfish farming

PurposeMortality and suboptimal biological performance are a widespread problem in finfish farming. The associated losses constitute an environmental opportunity cost that needs to be thoroughly assessed to prioritize actions aiming at reducing the environmental impacts of finfish aquaculture. We here propose and demonstrate the use of a new parameterized and consequential LCA model of sea-trout production designed to assess the environmental opportunity costs of suboptimal biological performances, considering distinct mortalities and biological feed conversion ratios (FCRs) along the rearing process.MethodsPrimary data was collected in Danish and Italian farms to reconstitute the whole production process for sea-reared trouts. The level of detail allowed us to divide this production into seven different growth stages for which mortality and biological FCR can be assessed and modified. Excretion and valorization of fish sludge were modeled with a calibrated mass-balance model. Together with fish sludge, dead fish was modeled as valorized by anaerobic digestion. The foreground system was linked to the consequential version of ecoinvent 3.8 for which the embedded uncertainty was considered in Monte Carlo simulations. The model was used to assess the current environmental opportunity costs and evaluate the effect of losses happening at different timings along the rearing process.Results and discussionResults showed a low environmental opportunity cost for the current mortality rate of 5% as suppressing this mortality decreased impacts by 3.5 to 5% across impact categories. Decreasing the biological FCR decreased the environmental impacts proportionally. The timing of the losses was shown to greatly influence the environmental opportunity cost, and the same mortality rate happening in the late stages had substantially more impact than in the first stages. The valorization of the dead fish showed a negligible contribution to the reduction of impacts in the current system but showed a substantial contribution in the case of higher mortalities, such as observed for other farms and foreseen in the future.ConclusionThe model demonstrated that assessing an opportunity cost by multiplying the lost biomass by a unique impact factor constitutes an oversimplification neglecting the losses timing and the fact that fish biomass is not a marketable product. Even though the current environmental opportunity cost for losses appeared neglectable, suboptimal biological FCR should be tackled. The model and approach can be used to project trout farming within future disease regimes and assess the trade-offs regarding fish health issues and new treatments and practices.

Restoring farmlands for food and nature

Changes in the intensity and extent of farmland have a profound impact on life on Earth. Although nature-rich farmlands have conservation value, their promotion competes with the protection and restoration of natural habitat. Restoring the productive capacity of existing farmland can help maximize opportunities for the restoration of both nature-rich farmlands and natural habitat.

Expected carbon emissions from a rubber plantation in Central Africa

The development of agriculture on degraded lands is increasingly seen as a strategy to boost food availability and economic productivity while minimizing environmental degradation and loss of forests. To understand the effects of agricultural production on forest carbon, we quantify the aboveground carbon (AGC) of a degraded forest in northeast Gabon (the Olam Rubber Gabon concession) designated for development to a rubber plantation. Combining field measurements from 19 1-ha tree plots and aerial LiDAR, we estimate forest AGC stocks and emissions under four development scenarios: no development, 30-year rubber rotation, extended rubber rotation (replanting of plantation in stages at 30 and 40 years), and 30-year oil palm rotation. On average, the degraded forest in the study area stored 123.8 Mg C ha−1, a mean AGC lower than the Gabon average (141.6 Mg C ha−1) but substantially higher than the 75 Mg C ha−1 threshold recommended by the High Carbon Stock protocol. Converting secondary forest to plantation might incur high environmental opportunity costs from lost carbon sequestration through forest succession and growth. In this study, we estimate that a rubber plantation can sequester similar amounts of AGC as secondary forest by the end of a 30-year rotation; however, the time-averaged AGC of regenerating secondary forests under no development would be 184% higher than a mature rubber plantation with a 30-year rotation, 169% higher than an extended rubber rotation, and 512% higher than a 30-year oil palm rotation. When degraded forest is developed for agriculture, measures should be taken to avoid emissions and prolong carbon retention. We specifically estimate carbon retention from extended harvest rotations and conserving high carbon value areas as set-asides and highlight recommendations from the literature such as minimizing soil disturbance and creating rubber timber products (e.g. furniture). To minimize carbon emissions from agriculture, crop plantation area should be minimized at national and regional scales in highly forested countries, and new plantations should be coupled explicitly with effective forest restoration actions, through suitable regulation and planning, to mitigate or compensate for their climate and biodiversity impacts.

Economic and environmental benefits of recovery networks for WEEE in Europe

The EU directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) imposes the obligation to collect a large share of the end-of-life products on electronics manufacturers. Environmental aspects, however, are often considered only rudimentarily. Based on previous research and real-world data, a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) model of a European reverse network for WEEE is developed, including collection, high-value recovery, or third-party collection and recycling. The results comprise optimal network decisions and corresponding opportunity costs for economic and 21 environmental categories (18 midpoints, 3 endpoints). The evaluation of the environmental impact is based on data from the ecoinvent database, characterized using the ReCiPe 2016 Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) method. The results unveil conflicts and congruencies between the objectives. Collection and high-value recovery are preferable in up to six countries for economically optimal networks and in up to 15 countries with optimal benefit for global warming and fossil resource depletion. Discrepancies in objective values are larger between economic and most of the environmental solutions than in between most of the environmental ones. The dimensions land use and freshwater eutrophication show the least conflicts with the economic rationale. Solutions for mineral resource depletion prefer third-party collection and recycling. Conflicts between solutions are resolved by the ε-constraint method. Sensitivity analyses show the robustness of key findings. This study emphasizes the importance of a broad assessment of environmental impacts as well as mutual economic and environmental opportunity costs in large-scale recovery networks for WEEE.

Economic growth for ecological conversions: South Korean case

BackgroundSprawl has been named as one of the critical reasons for the latest social problems in many parts of the world. This is particularly true for developing countries, as their national status largely depends on economic stability and interacts with the rise and decline of major cities. This study focuses on a detailed notion on environmental impact of physical expansion and answers how to specifically estimate the ecological impact of sprawl using the GIS and ecological valuation method. Especially, South Korean cities are examined to identify how development-oriented growth would affect natural stock and the ecology as a whole.ResultsBy implementing land cover datasets and an estimation method, value transfer, the authors examine the economic losses of Korean ecological stock between 1980 and 2000. Since 1980, the society has gained a significant amount of growth in its national economics. Specifically, GDP has increased from about $40 billion to $640 billion. However, due to its rapid growth, the entire natural stock has lost about 5% of its total features, using the median economic values. If calculated with the maximum values, it is about a 7% decrease. The results indicate that $2076/person for environmental opportunity costs is estimated as a consequence of rapid urbanization.ConclusionsIf we had estimated the ecological consumptions of rapid growth from the beginning and considered $2076/person for environmental opportunity costs, then the development patterns and other associated urban planning agendas would have shifted accordingly to increase the overall sustainability. Like most developing cities in the world, major cities in South Korea and the central government concentrated its main strategy on economic growth. Doing so stimulated national economy and made it possible to level up the quality of life. If this quality of life needs to be sustained for a long term, then we should focus on our usage of ecological features, as their characteristics are completely different from man-made resources.

The economic and environmental cost of delayed GM crop adoption: The case of Australia's GM canola moratorium

ABSTRACTIncorporating socio-economic considerations (SECs) into national biosafety regulations regarding genetically modified (GM) crops have opportunity costs. Australia approved the cultivation of GM canola through a science-based risk assessment in 2003, but allowed state moratoria to be instituted based on potential trade impacts over the period 2004 to 2008 and 2010 in the main canola growing states. This analysis constructs a counterfactual assessment using Canadian GM canola adoption data to create an S-Curve of adoption in Australia to measure the environmental and economic opportunity costs of Australia's SEC-based moratoria between 2004 and 2014. The environmental impacts are measured through the amount of chemical active ingredients applied during pest management, the Environmental Impact Quotient indicator, and greenhouse gas emissions. The economic impacts are measured through the variable costs of the weed control programs, yield and the contribution margin. The environmental opportunity costs from delaying the adoption of GM canola in Australia include an additional 6.5 million kilograms of active ingredients applied to canola land; a 14.3% increase in environmental impact to farmers, consumers and the ecology; 8.7 million litres of diesel fuel burned; and an additional 24.2 million kilograms of greenhouse gas (GHG) and compound emissions released. The economic opportunity costs of the SEC-based moratoria resulted in foregone output of 1.1 million metric tonnes of canola and a net economic loss to canola farmers' of AU$485.6 million. The paper provides some of the first quantified, post-adoption evidence on the opportunity cost and environmental impacts of incorporating SECs into GM crop regulation.

The opportunity costs of commuting: the value of a commuting satellite account framework with an example from Lisbon Metropolitan Area

ABSTRACTCommuting affects regional and urban economies. It shapes urban areas, defines their relationships with neighboring regions, intensifies economic flows and exacerbates energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This paper sets out a proposal for an innovative commuting satellite account (CSA), integrated in a multi-regional input–output model. This framework combines commuting activities with regional distribution of income, distinct household consumption structures, real estate renting activities and the energy consumption and environmental flows incorporated in the different industries. To assess the opportunity costs of commuting, the CSA framework is applied to the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The socio-economic-environmental impacts of a scenario in which commuters become non-commuters by moving their residence to the municipality in which they work are estimated. The analysis indicates that: commuting, in general, induces significant economic and environmental opportunity costs. Finally, the adoption of policy-oriented recommendations contributing to limit sprawling in metropolitan regions is discussed.

Economic, social, energy and environmental assessment of inter-municipality commuting: The case of Portugal

Commuting is one of the main contributors to the high energy consumption patterns in modern economies. The need to reduce the energy spent in commuting has attracted the attention of academics and policy makers. The main goal of this research is to improve knowledge of the economic, social, energy and environmental opportunity costs of inter-municipality commuting and to support policy-oriented strategies that explicitly take them into account. For this, we use hypothetical assumptions based on the baseline scenario that Portuguese households do not travel between municipalities for commuting purposes coupled with the expected changes in private final consumption. Accordingly, the direct, indirect and induced opportunity costs of inter-municipality commuting are assessed using an input–output model. The significance of the estimated virtual net benefits of commuting is analyzed according to their macroeconomic (GVA, taxes, international imports and employment), energy (primary energy consumption) and environmental (CO2 emissions) dimensions. The results obtained empirically indicate that inter-municipality commuting has significant opportunity costs in the GVA and GDP as well as in primary energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The results also indicate that commuters in metropolitan regions and long-distance commuters are responsible for a major share of these opportunity costs.

Natural resource use conflict: gold mining in tropical rainforest in Ghana

Gold is frequently mined in rainforests that can provide either gold or forest benefits, but not both. This conflict in resource use occurs in Ghana, a developing country in the tropics where the capital needed for mining is obtained from foreign direct investment (FDI). We use a dynamic model to show that an ad valorem severance tax on gross revenue can be used to internalize environmental opportunity costs. The optimal tax must equal the ratio of marginal benefits from forest use to marginal benefits from gold extraction. Furthermore, the tax should increase (decrease) when adjusted net return on all other assets in the economy is higher (lower) than the growth in the price of gold. Empirical results suggest that the 3 per cent tax rate currently used in Ghana is too low to fully represent the external cost of extraction (i.e., lost forest benefits).